The Recipe (2010)

The Recipe is laid out almost like a treasure hunt; with the treasure being a woman who makes the most delicious Doenjang Stew. The search for her yields clues to the recipe for the stew and the story of the woman, both being intertwined. It also uncovers a love story within.

Almost the whole first half is the reporter looking for and discovering clues that lead to her, step by step, person by person that touched her life. Once he gets close enough, you get a glimpse of her life and her love and the story of how her delicious recipe came to be. It's a little slow going at first but don't let that stop you.

This movie has an ethereal, magical quality to it and it made me want to eat Doenjang Stew really bad...even though I've never had it in my life.

The story is beautifully written and very well acted. The Ume tree forests, the soybean fields and the mountains are all shot beautifully. Once again, Lee Yo Won does a great job and Lee Dong Wook is wonderful. Ryu Seong Ryong plays the reporter and I really like him in this. (He played the gay art gallery owner in Personal Taste) This is a very different role. I didn't recognize him at first.

This is a small, quiet movie but it's a lovely story. I wasn't bored at all but I think you have to be in the mood for quiet.

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This quietly moving film about a reporter's search for the perfect doenjang exudes in curiosity, a sense of wanting to taste, of wanting discover what made the perfect stew perfect, of wanting to uncover the circumstances that made all these people go ga-ga over it, and finally of wanting to search for the woman who made it.

Dooenjang/The Recipe is a perfect example of a simple story made extraordinary. Lee Yo Won, as usual, portrays her character with grace and calmness and Lee Dong Wook was the perfect 'masked goblin.' But the best performance goes to Ryu Seong Ryong, who played the inquisitive, go-getter reporter who went to great lengths just to piece every bit of truth behind the story that makes up The Recipe.

Story - If you're just as inquisitive and scientific, this story will guarantee you a 10
Cast and Music - awesome
Rewatch Value - Although a tragedy, still highly rewatchable masterpiece

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