Tune in for Love (2019)

A Strange, but sweet, love story.

A strange love story between two people that are so different yet alike. A bad boy desperately trying to live a normal life who just can’t seem to escape his past. And a girl who seems to have very little self esteem but finds happiness in him. They are constantly pulled apart only to somehow find each other. This is the entire storyline. The story moves slow and doesn’t seem to go anywhere. This is one of those dramas that gives you a life story to digest. It’s somewhat interesting, is all I can say about it. There was some romance. A very unique and strange romance but still a sweet one. It has a happy ending and makes you feel good when its finished.

Kim Go Eun did a great job her portrayal of Mi Soo. She is such a versatile actress and she didn’t disappoint me in this one. Check this one out and tell me what you think.

Read More

objectively, this isn't a masterpiece... but the chemistry, editing and direction would make you fall in love with it!

Story :
the movie is cut down in various time leaps where you get to see these two characters meet and depart numerous times, because of unavoidable circumstances. even though this could have gotten repetitive and tiring, it doesn't. it's quite believable and it really rises your anticipation for them to finally get together for good. except for the last time they "broke up" but i'll get to it later in the spoilers section.
however, it isn't a unique story. this isn't something that has never been done before, especially in korean cinema. we have seen multiple such stories where a couple makes up and breaks up in span of years. so that's why i wouldn't rate it very high on story.

Acting/Cast :
This. This is what made the movie special. at least, for me. The cast is wonderful. The chemistry between the leads is so amazing you'll giggle along with their cute moments, their shy glances and their subtle and slow advances. It's so beautiful to watch and it's so well done. They feel so natural that you wouldn't for a second think you're watching two actors act.
shout out to their first kiss (if you can even call it that lmao) — it was SOOO PRECIOUS!
jung hae in is such a comfort for eyes. and, no i'm not talking about his visuals. any drama, any scene, any character he is in, you just get enchanted by his performance. and i believe he has literally mastered the art of the sub-genre that is 'slow burns'. his performance was beautiful, but then i expect nothing less from him.
kim go eun was a SURPRISE! i have only watched her in Goblin and then now in The King : Eternal Monarch. both shows that i don't really like, in fact i dropped the latter. so to see her here was refreshing. she was very natural and believable in her performance.

Also, special mention to the direction and editing of this movie. the way it was done, this felt so much more personal instead of watching a movie. it felt like i'm taking a small dive into the personal lives of these two characters and i'm there with them, seeing them experience these emotions and conflicts. so kudos to that!

Issues (spoilers) :
Now to the negatives. I'll just point them out in a list, cuz i'm tired of typing and this already feels TOOOOOOO long!
— the last break up felt so unnecessary. there was no reason why the FL would leave him out of the blue when literally a scene ago she wanted him to stay with her and not visit that family anymore. it felt like this was done just to create drama for the final climax.
— the villainization in the last twenty minutes felt really out of the blue. served literally zero purpose to the story and also ruined the beautiful friendship the FL had with him.
— i wished they had explained more about what the friend meant when he said "only the ML was forgiven" for the mistake.

so, all in all, i am giving it a nine, even after all these issues, because this really was my cup of tea. i loved it bc i'm a very character-driven stories lover. it had the characters, it had the chemistry. i was sold!

Read More

Tune in for love, remember it for something else

A seemingly innocent puppy love combined with strong nostalgic 90's music. After the first day of October, 1994, Mi-soo's (Kim Go-eun) and Hyeon-woo's (Jung Hae-in) lives were never the same again. It was almost certain that they are destined for one another, but timing could have never been more wrong. With that, it was also interesting to see how thestory unfolded throughout different parts of their lives.

One thing that stood out here was that I liked about the circumstances that they meet and later reconnected were different, which was realistic and integrated with the technology that was common at that time. First they meet in 1994 while tuning in the radio (basically the meaning of the title), in 1997 with the use of email, and 2000 with the use of mobile phones. But despite the use of technology for their love story to develop, it just wasn't their time yet. Also, them meeting more than once despite now living separately was too coincidental. Yet, what I noticed really well here was their emotions every time they met which helped the atmosphere and story's credibility - it was most often longing with each other, and the ache when they have to separate again. It also emphasized the slowness of this slow-burn romance movie and built this tension as to when and how they would end up together.

It was intriguing while waiting when the right timing is. But when it finally happened, I felt that the thrill disappeared and the pacing became stagnant as they now focused on Hyeon-woo's past, which should've been explained more in detail. I really was curious as to why Hyeon-woo became like that, but there were only tidbits revealed about him and I (the viewer) had to fill in the gaps, which was disappointing. I get that the direction was to be more subtle and nuanced, but it wasn't executed properly well here, since there were still loose ends.

Also, a trope which I did not expect to find here is the martyr complex which often leads to miscommunication. Well, since it was already added to the story, it would've made more sense had it been introduced earlier and not just ramdomly added near the end. Not only that it lost the thrill of the "waiting game" between the two, but it shifted the story angle. Although it was somewhat saved by the cheesy ending, not that I'm complaining since it went back to the roots of their connection. In my prospective thinking, with this type of communication or lack thereof, I doubt that their relationship would succeed in the long run.

I think the highlight for this movie would be the music since it was very fitting with the mood in every scene it was played, and it created more substance to the story. Personally, I felt several emotions every time a song would play. At the start, it was more nostalgic yet sweet and innocent; in the middle it was bittersweet yet still hopeful; and in the end it was romantic and cheesy, just like the story itself.

Overall, a mellow slow-burn romance with great chemistry but the sudden loss of "thrill" on the succeeding parts of their relationship and its almost toxic miscommunication trope (basically the shift of storytelling) diminished the spark that was felt in the beginning. Still, its ending was satisfactorily done so no major complaints aside from the loose ends. Tune in for love, remember it for something else.

Read More

[Written/Watched Nov 14, 2019 on Letterboxd. Expanded 1/23/2021]

"Tune in for Love" is not particularly remarkable as a romance film (though I can hardly think of any that are). Centralized around the passage of time highlighted through popular music of its chosen era, the ups and downs of the leads relationships hits predicable notes.

It even goes the extra mile and throws in the easily remedied failures of communication that only arise for the sake of the plot (as opposed to a natural breakdown in their dynamic). Still, the production of the film is clean and sharp enough, and its the performances --- as opposed to the characters --- that keep you committed to the story.

There is a lot about "Tune in for Love" that's too becomes saccharine and melodramatic towards the end, but a film that chooses to end with Coldplay's wobbly "Fix You", is one I can appreciate.

Read More

There were times when I felt like the story was rushing and there were many holes. Like the first 3 year gap came so quick and they really didn't explain what exactly happens to boy who died. What happens to all the friends, what happens to Min Su's boss at the end, but in general the story was different and cute. I also think that the actors saved the movie. They made me feel something different yet beautiful. As for the gaps, the editing was bad, I couldn't find the prefect transitions during all the time gaps. Long story short, I think the person needs to watch this in order to understand what I'm trying to say and agree or disagree with me.

Read More

Romance For The Romantic

Tune in for love is a movie is about 2 teenagers as they grow in the late 1980s in Seoul and their struggle to keep their love for each other even as they age with many odds around them.

Firstly, I applaud the performances which were amazing they really embedded the feeling of growing up through the years and the way they kind of went through those experiences with the audience was eye-catching and very interesting. it is very much a romance movie not much of comedy and I could feel the director's mind in the way the scenes where sequenced. The storyline, however, is not much original they did convey it in a very unique way but you could feel and feel the mainstream romance theme and lines in some of the scenes. I do however love the fact that they came from struggling backgrounds and how it affected them in different ways throughout the course of their years. The coming of age theme is very imputed in the story and it goes from teenage delinquency to youthful pleasure all the way to adulthood turmoil up until their early 30s.

One thing I did not understand was the need for them to completely feel like the world was against them being together when it really wasn't. There were some scenes that decisions made would have turned out in a smoother result not only for the characters but for the audience as well. I had my differences on how they went about their relationship at the latter end of the film.

Overall, it was very interesting and its a kind of scenery and fewer lines movie, it kind of hits like that and I love it. Shoutout to the director of cinematography and the director, I really loved the way it was portrayed at various angles and shots and to Kim Go Eun and Jung Hae In who did absolutely wonderful in this title. If you like the portrayal of a relationship with a coming of age theme this is definitely the movie to watch. WATCH IT!

Read More

Amazing korean indie film vibes, but it tried a little too hard at the end

This movie definitely has a lot of shortcomings, but it does one thing really right. Which is to capture the feeling of nostalgia and innocence. And this was definitely what made me give this movie a rather high rating still. It did not fail to convey the genuine feelings of youth... and personally, that was enough to make me fall in love with this movie. The wonderful emotional impact was largely due to the actors’ chemistry, the awesome soundtrack, the 35mm-Film colours and the 90’s -00’s fashion/set design... but it definitely wasn’t the plot.

The plot was a whole mess. It’s almost as if they spent the whole year paying attention to the details of the set design and the fashion and the cinematography and everything else *EXCEPT* for the plot. There was not enough depth in Mi-Soo’s character for us to sympathise with her...
And I totally get what they were trying to do with Hyun Woo’s character - mysterious, brooding, hesitant, and how like Mi-Soo wants to like him but she’s actually secretly scared of him and is sceptical about his criminal record... and how no one has ever trusted him bcs of his criminal record... I get that, but I could only get that in the second time watching and it wasn’t fleshed out very well either. It just felt kinda premature instead of real character growth. It’s a good point to explore though, just not executed well I guess- Since the audience did not have any trust issues with Hyun Woo and was expecting an “innocent cute love story” instead.

All in all, the feeling of nostalgia was so well developed that it will probably last you for the whole two hours. You won’t feel accomplished after watching it, nor would you feel like you’ve been enlightened about some higher level knowledge about life... instead it’s kinda like revisiting an old friend, or finding a dusty photo book with photos of your past... it’s that warm feeling that will be in a little corner of your heart for awhile 💛

Read More