I was glad to see some fine acting from Jo Bo Ah, nothing like her performance in Shut Up: Flower Boy Band. Looks like she is maturing as an actress and I look forward to her next movies. She took a serious challenge with this role and I must confess I was worried she might not have what it takes YET to pull it off. But she did! And her chemistry with Jang Hyuk was beyond my wildest expectations, more so as their age gap IRL is 15 years and he is such a sunbae to her!!! They are both smoking hot and manage to suck the viewer into the story and keep him holding his breath most of the time.
Yes, you have some mature content and violent scenes here and there, but nothing gratuitous! Let's face it: you cannot dive into the depths of human mind and soul without getting a bit dirty in the process. Lust, obsession, betrayal, guilt, revenge are not easy to portrayal, nor digest. So beware!
I majored in Psychology (plus my father is a PE teacher LOL), so I liked this movie very much, but it sure won't be everyone's cup of tea. However it's worth watching and you won't get bored for sure.
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The story is not a very complicated one. You have an obsessive school girl who's crazy about her teacher and thinks what they have is love. The teacher wavers slightly and pays the price for it with his family at stake. A simple setting but what sets this movie apart are the layers of complexities in each character's personality. More so than the obsession, the film makes you see these characters as individuals whose stories you are watching. A really well directed and written piece.
The actors did a splendid job. Jang Hyuk and Jo Bo Ah were completely engrossed in their roles. I really need to mention that these people have a huge age gap in real life and to portray such a tender and hard-to-digest topic with such realism is commendable. There were times when I was too repulsed to watch the scenes but couldn't take my eyes off of the screen because the actors were doing such a brilliant job. Worth the watch for the actors' work if not anything else.
It is definitely not something just anybody can see. You need the appetite for this sort of movie. When they say there's lust, betrayal, obsession and revenge, they mean it. There's no sugarcoating anything here. Just raw emotions. In fact, I don't think I'd be able to watch this movie again even if I wanted to. Everyone gave such a powerful performance, It's going to stay in my head for a long time.
I might not have enjoyed this movie in the true sense of enjoying a movie, but I sure respect and admire the work. It's a really good movie. Not made for everyone though. It's also rated R because of explicit scenes that are shown, but there's nothing extremely offensive about them. So that's another thing to consider before watching the movie if you're not ready for that sort of content.
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Jang Hyuk looks so young and hot in the film with his fringe down and those muscles. Jo Bo Ah did wonderfully and outperformed all. I applaud her for picking such a hard role and exceeding at it.
I remember that the music fit the film well. The production and cinematography was just perfect. The camera angels added to much to the intensity and sense of loss.
Not for everyone. A contradictory and conflicted account on the human passion and inner conflicts.
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The story was simple, but quietly and effectively told. If you are adverse to mature scenes, this will not be the movie for you. While there is not much in the way of skin shown, a couple of scenes are pretty explicit.
They are not gratuitous, though and they are integral to the story we are being shown. Jang Hyuk's character finds himself in quite the predicament for a moment's indiscretion. His student swiftly spirals out of control and so does his life. I can't give away what happens, but the buildup of tension and ultimate climax (no pun intended) left me with my jaw hanging open.
Acting was sensational. The actress that played Young Eun gave me goosebumps. Her portrayal of YE was the best performance in the movie.
Music - don't really remember the music, so it didn't stand out
Re-watch value - marked lower because the punch is gone once you've seen it.
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Jo Bo Ah portrays the main lead as a chilling and psychotic character and showcased her amazing acting abilities. But she also had this ability to somehow still make you sympathise with the character and understand her to some level instead of just seeing her as someone who is crazy and obsessed. I loved how at the start of the film she was cute and flirty and as the movie went on she became more and more unravelled. Even at her most psychotic stages there was still a glimpse of that high school girl that was reaching out for help and for someone to love her.
The movie kept me on the edge of my seat especially towards the end and the cinematography really added to the chilling atmosphere that some parts of the movie gives off. It's definitely one to watch if you like movies with dark themes and raw emotions.
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Not So Innocent .....
Picture a man in his 30's, not much of a winner in his life. Married a woman whom he got pregnant after many years of dating. She comes from a rich family who helped him get a teaching job in a community all girl school. Then picture a student who was born out of wedlock as her mother is the mistress of a rich corporate businessman. Traumatized, feeling un-loved and mentally disturbed.When these two meet, TROUBLE follows. Teacher gets into a weak moment of escapism from his not so ideal life lusting for the student who goes all out to possess this man and his love. In her mentally deranged way, she eases herself into his life, his home, unable to let go. Whilst the teacher realized he should not have encouraged her in the first place, everything becomes a little too late to reign the student in. Thus we have a very exciting, thrilling movie well played.
Jang Hyuk as usual magnificent and believable in the role of this unlucky teacher who truly got the greatest lesson and regret in his life, The nervous and naturally selfish wife played by Sun Woo did a really good job trying to keep and protect the family she has and Jo Bo-Ah was mesmerizing and nerve wrecking perfect in the mentally disturbed student role. This movie reminds me of "Fatal Attraction" played by Michael Douglas and Glen Close. This Korean movie with Jang Hyuk and Jo Bo-Ah did an equally good job in keeping us at the edge of our seat. Highly recommended to watch. Enjoy!
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I watched it without watching the trailer and only reading the plot, I just thought-- oh, a student-teacher relationship, seems exciting to watch! I didnt expect much, but what surprised me is I can now call Jang Hyuk as the kind of melodrama. A great actor definitely describes his existence. Jo Bo Ah didn't failed, I totally loved her after watching this!
I watched this before going to sleep, It's because I have definitely no idea but what will happen next.. The suspense scenes feels a little bland because I should be getting goosebumps that time, or maybe I was just too shocked because wow, what a bomb.
This movie have ranked 2nd of my favorite Psycho-School-Thriller movie of all time, first was Kokuhaku.
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If it was not love, what was it?
I ended up not knowing what was real or fake.If it was not love, what was it?
Sometimes we must agree that they are awful people; they will hunt you until it is over for them or you.
What a nice movie! I started this movie without expectations. I had to recognize that I watched it for Jang Hyuk, who never disappoints and is gifted. Every single time that I have watched his work, if he cried, so did I.
This movie showed us how easily we can manipulate a teenager's mind and how wounded some of them are.
Overall, I enjoyed this movie; all the actors did an excellent job, and I ended up empathizing with all of them (most of the characters took awful decisions, but they were under pressure, so).
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So what can I say about this movie ? It was a really pleasant watch.
First of all, I have to talk about the acting. Everyone did a good job considering their character, which were not made to display all of their talent except for one character: Yong Eun. Jo Bo Ah did an excellent, I would even say a brilliant job in portraying the twisted Yong Eun, it totally blew me away, which is one of the reason I liked this movie.
Now about the story, as you may have read on the summary above, it revolves around Jun Gi a stressed out PE teacher which one day gives in to his emotions and do something that will throw his life into a spiral of chaos BUT it's not only that, it's not only the story of a PE teacher and a "yandere" student, it has (at least I think it has) another underlying meaning that you will understood throughout the movie and especially thanks to the last scene, which is why I would recommend anyone to watch this movie closely up until the end.
To conclude this review, I would recommend this movie, it might not be the best movie out there, but it's still a really good movie to watch
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Obsession
I didn't expect much from this movie, but it was decent, in my opinion. I digested this movie with the motto that this is fiction. The main teacher was problematic; cheating and taboo relationships will leave a bitter taste in your mouth, but the wife was so mature and pretty.Still try it out if you want to see an age-gap relationship or teacher-student romance. Jo Bo Ah acted like a true lunatic, and her character will stay in my mind rent-free. Ending was surprising but still I think that's what happen if you f around.
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