100% Recommend
Josee, I can say, is a really calm movie. The movie is focusing on how Josee who 'trapped' in her house finally met Young-Seok and then experiencing something new in her life. I can feel how the two characters who came from totally different backgrounds finally in love with each other.The movie cinematography was also amazing. My favorite one is when they were in Scotland, it was so pleasing to the eye.
The main characters in this movie, Josee and Young-Seok are played by two talented actors, Han Ji-Min and Nam Joo-Hyuk. They portrayed Josee and Young-Seok really well. No doubt for their acting skills. I loooove how they can bring the characters alive. Especially Young-Seok, he didn't cry much in this movie but I can already feel what he's going through. Well done, Nam Joo-Hyuk.
Must watch. You really don't wanna missed it.
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Two people who make pit stops, in this journey called life, right next to each other.
Josée is a mysterious, pretty woman who is helped up onto her wheelchair by an engineering student, Lee Young-seok. She offers him free meals every time he goes by their house and he helps her out, closing the distance between them little by little.The movie is shot mostly from a third person's perspective thus lessening the probability of forming a real connection with the characters. Much like we're looking into their lives through the hole in the wall that Josée uses to look outside.
To be perfectly honest, I expected there to be waterworks because this pairing brought us one of the most heartbreaking dramas, Light in your eyes. But I gradually came to realise that this movie isn't supposed to make you cry. It is meant to bring you to tears, to leave them dangling for their lives right at the waterline. It needs you to think which then brings in this feeling of knowing, of understanding the characters and why they did what they did and why they brought in conflict when it didn't seem necessary. We don't really see how the characters feel but rather how they express it. The movie captures you not because of the characters individually but how they interact in a closed space. The feeling is so surreal and something I have never experienced before.
There are just a handful of characters and it is extremely aesthetic. While it seems like a vague and open ending to most, I really saw finality in it. There is great beauty in Josée and her white lies. A great beauty in their little world. A world built on loneliness and helplessness but one that blossomed into independence.
Do I recommend this movie? Yes but only in a specific kind of mood. Like I said it won't give you a good cry, you are just left sitting and staring at the void as the credits roll in and a beautiful song plays. However, it gives you an immense sense of empathy, of understanding without hearing. So, if you're in the mood for a slow-burning, introspective movie filled with beautiful cinematography and exceptionally acting especially from Nam Joo-hyuk, then yes.
I give Josée an 9/10.
(PS: I see so much of kind-hearted Nam Do-san in Young-seok. These two were also engineers, so it made me smile, all nostalgic. And Han Ji-min is just wow, but I don't think I've to say that specifically.)
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Confusing, artsy, beautiful that makes you ponder away...
I am going to be honest, I just finished watching this movie and I am deeply confused, but somehow I think that is part of the point of this movie (or I´m not that smart and missed something) .The reason why I am so confused is because the line between the imagination and reality is constantly crossed to the point where it is impossible to know what is real and what is not. This is done beautifully. The acting is superb and the artistic elements are constantly near.
I liked the way they showed different aspects of life with a disability in a not so very understanding society while not turning the person in to hero just for breathing, but a letting her be a human being with emotions, desire and fear.
I guess I can say this is one of those movies that will have you ponder over what you just saw, its not really a tear jarker and defiantly not a feel good but more of a feel something and ponder away analyzing things kind of movie maybe even one you will have to see again to understand what you just saw.
Edit: after thinking some more I have changed the ratings to a 9 because:
1. It kept my mind going.
2. I found 2 interpertations for the movie that I'm ok with one sad, and one happy. So why choose when you can have both.
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A story that will make you silently cry while driving
This is the first commercial movie of the director Kim Jong Kwan. The cinematography and the color grading are insanely beautiful. Josee gave me the lingering feeling of each characters by pulling me to see their daily life, habit, and their true nature. I brought my own tissue box just in case I might need it and I did.I have watched Nam joo hyuk and han jimin performance in the light in your eyes. These both A-listers give this movie undoubtfully overflowing chemistry. The looks in their eyes tells everything. I really liked the josee's house and how close young seok's routine as comp-science student with with my routine. I watched this alone and felt empty after getting out of the cinema. I rethink the plot a lot while driving back home and reflecting it to my life. Leaving me silently cried.
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Subtle and Calm Yet Profoundly Deep
Compared to its Japanese counterpart, Josee, the Korean version, is subtle, and slow. For the most part, you get to see how the lives of Josee (Han Ji Min) and Young Seok slowly intertwine. I honestly loved how the movie was calm and quiet yet it pierced through my heart. It was so heartfelt. I strongly recommend it to everyone who wants to see a great movie. Both Nam Joo Hyuk and Han Ji Min did a fantastic job portraying their characters.I must say Nam Joo Hyuk is really suited for melodramas. At the end of the movie, there was a scene where he was looking out the window. He had this sad look on his eyes, and I just wanted to hug him so bad. I cried so hard, seeing his face... Without saying a word, he was able to move me. I felt Young Seok's sadness and longing.
Overall, I can say that Josee is a movie with a profound emotional depth. Yes, the movie might have a lot of quiet moments, but that made it stood out. That's real life! It's not made up of big moments, but life is filled with quiet and intimate moments. It's the little things that make the biggest impact, and Josee was able to convey that message well. Props to the director and actors for a job well done. Josee is now on my list of favorite movies, and it will always be close to my heart!
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Messed-up ending
This showed so much promise but I feel robbed by the ending. No logic to how the film finished like that, leaving you flabbergasted by an ludicrous finish.Was the director getting bored with the film and just threw that ending in there !! Even the talented leads must of been frustrated wasting their time on this sadly. Jumping forward five years and suddenly he's marrying the other woman, shes suddenly got her act together and is driving a car . No lead up to this point, just a stupid reference to a whisky distillery in Scotland !!!
Where did all their money come from ?
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Soul film
I do agree with all the good reviews about this film and some extra message I've got out of watching this film are - courage and closure.Sometimes in a challenging situation we hope we will have the courage to hang on to someone that are dear to us. However this film has delivered us a message that letting go is also a form of courage and positive decision.
Like many others, I'd thought this would be a sobbing piece but I was quite surprised with how the story was told, this is a really good piece of film - beautifully shot, brilliant casting, good chemistry and obviously the cinematography and post work was really nice to see.
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i wanted to come here with you
i was so excited to watch this movie and it didn’t disappoint. it was such a calm, collected and just an overall very realistic but simple story that really pulled me in. The color grading, the sceneries, the acting, everything was pretty much on point. Again, it’s a very simple story about two very different people coming together to find love and heal eachother, but also about how not every relationship is meant to be. The scotland scene where we think youngseok and josee finally made it which transitions into josee staring at the scenery alone breaks my heart. Their relationship goes through different phases just like seasons, from their first meeting that starts off like spring to when it becomes miserable like autumn and then eventually cold like winter. They truly loved eachother when they were together, and still do even after they drifted away but no one is to actually blame. They were in many ways broken and some relationships despite the love are just not meant to be and everyone has their own path to follow eventually and it’s okay. Joo hyuk and jimin are honestly one of the best pairings, and they have shown it on both the light in your eyes and now josee. I cant wait for their third project i.e here. i hope they get a happy ending in that.Was this review helpful to you?
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Something films leave you with lingering emotions as the credits roll. That has you slowly pondering about your own life or anything significant in general. Josée was a very calming movie about a tender loving relationship between a wheelchair bound and a poor college student. Josée is a bit of a wonder. We don't know her real name, only what she calls herself, why she is in the chair and her wild imagination leads her to tell different stories about her origins and what she has done. The film takes us on a journey seeing Josée take the steps to find joy and happiness outside of her lonely, isolated life through Young-seok. Our characters slowly drift apart towards the end, still loving each other but in a better, stable and healthy place in their lives, keeping our hearts at bay. The cinematography, whether it was the initial darkness of the surroundings that slowly turn bright as our characters grow, the background weather and various locations used was all great. It fit the subtle tone that the film is presented with. Han Ji Min and Nam Joo Hyuk are splendid as our respective roles. Heartfelt and sincere from the heart. They are the true reasons why this film was so touching in many ways. Was this review helpful to you?
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What's real?
This movie invites the audience to an active interpretation - not only of the emotions and intentions of the characters, but also of the actual plot. Is the depicted event "real"? Is it her imagination? Is is his imagination? It also leaves you asking, what is more important: being free or being loved? Is it possible to have a relationship that is free from a power struggle? Why does the main character identify with that particular novel character, Josée?The impact of this movie is so strong because of great acting, matching music and beautiful cinematography. I recommend it to people who enjoy some food for thought.
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Nonetheless, it was a pretty powerful story. The female lead, disabled and reclusive, finds solace from life in books. So much so, that she will tell the tales she's read as if she's actually lived them. Which, in her mind and with her imagination - i suppose you could say she did, in a way. This was definitely a comfort mechanism - given the fact that she hadn't been able to live and explore much in her life. And that's why some of the most powerful and memorable moments in the film were when she lived in the moment. When she realizes that she's living her own story right now. And she actively works to make them count and reminisce on them.
Other really powerful scenes are when the male lead introduces her to google maps so that she can explore the world, right at her fingertips. Not just from her imagination and words on the page, but in front of her eyes. I think this was also a form of therapy for him as well. He appears to feel trapped by circumstances and gives in readily with the whims of others for any sort of comfort. So helping the FL was very much helping himself in a way too.
This is, above all else, a slow-paced character-driven story focused on personal growth. These 3 components are the key factors in determining whether this film is for you or not.
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Wonderful and depresding at the same time
puh, what can I say about this. I felt so depressed after watching this and liked it at the same time.I would have liked, that the pair would end up in a kind of happy end. But - and that was my feeling from the beginning - they are to different and it would be to unbelievable.
At first he wanted to help her because of her disability. After he realized her pretty face he got more and more interested in her life and lost interest in his current sex benefitted friendships.
After they open up to each other, they live together. He helped her currently with her disability, but you see: he is pretty, tall, well educated... During this time, there are so much unlucky undertones in the behavior of both.
The moment he was happy to see the negative pregnancy test.
The permanent sad eyes of her.
The depressing living area. The kind she is related to him.
At the end, there is a scene, where both visit Scotland- and while I felt happy for them, it left me in disbelieving. ...and it was truly only her fantasy, because he moved on in the meantime and would marry another woman. This is like the world goes round, but it is so sad.
The actors are all very good and the film is slow, but at the same time rushed. There are no unnecessary scenes and we know about the situation within a few sentences.
I enjoyed watching it, but wouldn't watch it again, because it left me depressed. If I give my living time to films, it should cheer me up with magical and unrealistic love stories.
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