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The Butterfly
This review may contain spoilers
What a difference a day makes
A Day takes the tired trope of the repeated day and gives it a karmic twist. Part taut thriller, part redemption story bordering on melodrama more than once, it managed to make all the parts work together to pull off a satisfying story.
Kim Joon Yeong is a famous surgeon who travels the world and is on magazine covers and hounded for autographs. At home, his daughter is less than enthralled with his career because he misses important days and times with her like her birthday. Lee Min Chul is an EMT who argues with his wife when she asks about having a baby. Both men are tied up in their own lives and careers and can't see the negative impact they are making on the females in their lives. When both the daughter and the wife are killed over and over and over regardless of how cleverly the men act, they find that there is someone else caught up in their endless day of agony, someone they have also impacted negatively.
Karma comes calling as they find themselves in hell. Because the victims are innocent it's impossible to not root for the men to break the curse and find a way out for their loved ones. Despite their herculean and sometimes murderous efforts the day seems to never end. Kim Joon Yeong finally realizes his part in the bloody drama and what needs to be done to stop the deaths and who actually needs to be saved.
As well made as the film was, the thriller dragged during some of the unremitting days and the bloody streets began to feel repetitious losing some of their emotional intensity. The overwrought score had a tendency to overwhelm the scenes instead of enhancing them. As well as all the actors portrayed their parts, there are only so many tears that remain effective scene after scene. There were one too many scenes played for overly dramatic effect for my tastes. Finally, Kim needs to spend more time with his daughter and tell her about stranger danger and to pay attention to traffic and not ignore her father's desperate requests.
Yet for the drawbacks, I did find much of the story and acting compelling. Redemption tales are catnip to me. There's a reason the film is also named Haru. For though something was taken, something was also given. Where life was lost, life was also created. A Day managed to weave together a story of revenge, grief, rage, and forgiveness culminating into a beautiful ending.
2/9/23
Kim Joon Yeong is a famous surgeon who travels the world and is on magazine covers and hounded for autographs. At home, his daughter is less than enthralled with his career because he misses important days and times with her like her birthday. Lee Min Chul is an EMT who argues with his wife when she asks about having a baby. Both men are tied up in their own lives and careers and can't see the negative impact they are making on the females in their lives. When both the daughter and the wife are killed over and over and over regardless of how cleverly the men act, they find that there is someone else caught up in their endless day of agony, someone they have also impacted negatively.
Karma comes calling as they find themselves in hell. Because the victims are innocent it's impossible to not root for the men to break the curse and find a way out for their loved ones. Despite their herculean and sometimes murderous efforts the day seems to never end. Kim Joon Yeong finally realizes his part in the bloody drama and what needs to be done to stop the deaths and who actually needs to be saved.
As well made as the film was, the thriller dragged during some of the unremitting days and the bloody streets began to feel repetitious losing some of their emotional intensity. The overwrought score had a tendency to overwhelm the scenes instead of enhancing them. As well as all the actors portrayed their parts, there are only so many tears that remain effective scene after scene. There were one too many scenes played for overly dramatic effect for my tastes. Finally, Kim needs to spend more time with his daughter and tell her about stranger danger and to pay attention to traffic and not ignore her father's desperate requests.
Yet for the drawbacks, I did find much of the story and acting compelling. Redemption tales are catnip to me. There's a reason the film is also named Haru. For though something was taken, something was also given. Where life was lost, life was also created. A Day managed to weave together a story of revenge, grief, rage, and forgiveness culminating into a beautiful ending.
2/9/23
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