"...Beautiful Sound Like In The Tautness Of A Bow. I Want To Live Like This Until The Day I Die"
Any movie which you watch directed by Kim Di Kuk has to understand his (I don't know whether to call it 'idiosyncratic' or 'eccentric') outlook on making movies. You have to use your vision; watching the faces and actions of his characters, and you also have to watch how the character acts, or doesn't act, as a normal person would in the situation in which the director places that character..Kim Di Kuk uses the full abilities of his actors and actresses when they appear in one of his films. Being a screenwriter for many of his films [or not, he only directed My Mother, (2013)] he gives them very little dialogue to use to portray their characters or their emotions here, or his other films.
It was the third time I watched this movie that I realized that absolutely NO ONE had a name in this movie!
Every time you watch a Kim Di Kuk film, you will notice something 'different' that you missed before!
Also, until you see the film yourself, don't believe what others say about it; one reviewer said that the 'young man' became interested in the young girl first, which is not true. It was the other way around.
An old man, who many called 'Grandfather' (Jeon Sung Hwan) brought a young, 6-year-old girl (played by Han Yeo Reum, 10 years later) to his boat off Korea's coast. 'Grandfather' charges fisherman to come fish off of his sanctuary from society; after a visit or two the fishermen start gossiping about the relationship between 'Grandfather' and his supposedly 'grand-daughter.'
Both the grandfather and young girl have grown fond of each other; this is shown in various scenes in the beginning. The grandfather has told others that they will marry on her 17th birthday, just a few months from when our look at their lives again. The grandfather uses his bow and arrows to protect the young girl from other men trying to take advantage of her, and she herself is capable of using them as well to protect herself.
Grandfather also tells the fishermen their fortunes, in a very eccentric way!
Unfortunately, grandfather brings to his fishing business a father and his young son, a student (Seo Ji Suk); the girl's eyes light up and she takes an immediate liking to him; also his headset which she has never seen before.
The young student also takes interest in the young girl, and senses that she has been isolated for years in her predicament.
"Grandfather' sees this and does not approve, but the two younger people develop a friendship; and things start to unravel between grandfather and the young lady, who no one believes is his grand-daughter. Plot twists from here one lead to an un-imagined ending to the story!
The main cast are great in this movie; the two main characters effectively portray their affection to each other in their somewhat bizarre relationship; and also effectively show the strain on the relationship as the third character is added.
The third main character, Seo Ji Suk, although his role is limited, shows believable concern and passion for the young girl and disdain toward Grandfather.
The support actors play their limited roles convincingly, which allowed the development of the story between the main characters.
Most of the 'story' is nonverbal, in that it is small details of interaction between the main characters, primarily the grandfather and young girl, that have to be watched and interpreted by the viewer; making the emotions of the film come from visual rather than auditory emotions.
The cinematography was excellent, IMO, but the sound from the bow instrument irritated me. Nothing personal, but it made my skin crawl some. I wonder if this was the 'effect' that Kim Di Kuk wanted, or not?
I like how you have to use all of your senses, except olfactory, to watch and understand this film.
I also like the portrayal of a bathroom onboard a small boat; many people do not realize that this is the 'traditional' was of relieving yourself on small craft!
The young girl grew to hate the grandfather after the many truths came out about her life, but she could not abandon him in the end! She found out what she was missing from life with him, but still had the love of his being her one and only mother, father, brother, sister, medic, confidante and 'grandfather' for ten years of her life!
Try abandoning someone who you love for a decade, even if and when you find how much they lied to you.
I also, the first time I was this movie, realized that the grandfather's last 'act' was the only one he could take; he had been found out as being a kidnapper and also marrying a female under the age of 17...and he couldn't get his (main) boat engine started or fixed.
One of the most 'eerie' things about this movie is the boat itself, in the end; although I am not going to tell you what happened!
This film is 'eerie' but 'tantalizing' at the same time! I keep telling myself that I am never going to watch it again; and also tell myself the same thing halfway through the next time I watch it. Oh, well...
If you are smart, don't ever watch ANY film directed by Kim Di Kuk to being with; you won't be hooked then!
No tissue are needed for watching this movie, but clip your fingernails first, so that you won't make fingernail scratches on your chair or couch as you are glued to your seat, as this movie slowly messes with your mind watching it.
RE-WATCH VALUE: no comment!
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Slow, boring, and awkward
This sequel was slow and confusing from the start. The development of the characters' relationships was awkward and unnatural in every aspect and the storytelling was clunky and made little sense. I struggled to pay attention to this movie. I was only 30 mins into the film and I thought it was almost over (30 mins felt like 2 hours). I pushed through in hopes that it would redeem itself with the ending as season 1 did, but alas, it was just another disappointment. Seems like they're leaving room for a season 3 with the ending but I will not be wasting time on that since this one was such a letdown.Was this review helpful to you?
Not As Good As The Series
This is a well acted move starring two of the hottest and best actors in BL today. But the story for me, just did not work. It became formulaic. The original series was fresh, creative, and beautifully done. This stuck to a formula and became predictable. It added scenes to I guess move the movie along but all that did was distract. I really wanted to see, feel, and understand better the intensity of their own relationship. I also realized the end from the beginning. That took the magic away. It is not a bad movie in fact it is good. It just is not great. I know, I know. I probably am the only one who does not see a connection between these two. I just do not feel the spark between them even though they act like they do.Was this review helpful to you?
Sweet and Dark
This is a good movie, both quality. story and entertainment wise... Slightly painful to watch this movie takes us on a journey of hardship and romance with a fluffy dog to ease the pain...What Liked more...
Great acting, good story, cute dog+ lovable mains, no annoying characters, people with disabilities portrayed as human beings worthy of love and not just a walking inspirational story... Complex mains with lots of character development, chemistry between the leads... Good balance of sweet and dark scenes.The way it incorporated issues facing woman and people with disabilities without it taking over the main focus but rather added and acted as an accelerator for it. The very human non super human the mains are.
What I liked less...
Somewhat predictable twists, though I did not know what was going to go happen at one point it was very clear that X was going to happen at a certain point in time, just not exactly how it would happen.
I did not cry but I can see where many people would cry while watching this movie and is certainly a movie worth watching!
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Cheap copy of Chinese Wuxia dramas
Wuxia (武俠), which literally means "martial heroes", is a genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists in ancient China. This is just a cheap copy of Chinese Wuxia dramas, specially the clothing. If you look up Wuxia online, you'll notice that the clothing is almost identical. Recently, South Korea has been filming a large number of Wuxia dramas and label them as "Korean", the plot, clothing etc are so similar to Chinese Wuxia dramas. They really need to stop copying and plagiarizing the hard works of other people without giving them any credit. Shame on you!Was this review helpful to you?
Great Godzilla-like movie
A great Korean kaiju movie from 1967. The camera work was average, but the special effect was great of course not up to par of today's effects but for the time it was good. I didn't like the design of the monster much but the way the actor acted in it made it look natural and not cringy like some kaiju movies look. The story was bland though, generic kaiju story. But when they got to destroy the building it felt epic and awesome. It ain't no Godzilla movie, but it's a great one for when you want some kaiju/Godzilla action that isn't Godzilla. The music is good too nothing to write home about though.Was this review helpful to you?
Ripoff of Godzilla 1998 (from my Letterboxd review)
If this is meant as a sequel to the 1967 Yongary movie then it has to be one of the worst sequels ever. The acting is so bad and even the story rips of Godzilla 98 which is also one of the worst movies ever made.The only good thing about this is the alien spaceships look kinda cool, in a Starship Troopers way. The monster design would be so badass if it wasn't really really bad CGI, if they had used suitmation or had the CGI of today's movies it would be very cool looking, but they didn't use a suit at all just poor graphics that make me wanna hurl.
This is no Fred 3 but this is one of the worst things ever made. It's like an Asylum Studios movie but if they mockbusted Godzilla 98. They even ripped off the "monster stomps on the guy" shot but somehow worse. Even the city looks like it's from Zilla 98. What hot Garbage!
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This review may contain spoilers
Based on a short story by Kim Dong In, Potato tells the tragic story of Bok Nyeo, a young woman who is married off to an older aristocratic man. Kim Dong In who was living in Pyongyang was inspired to write this story when he witnessed the hard life of the people living in poverty around him.Bok Nyeo found out in rude fashion that her new "aristocratic" husband was penniless and landless. He also refused to work and expected her to provide for him. The story follows her as she works odd jobs, begs, and even picks caterpillars off trees, all while rebuffing the advances of the men around her. Eventually, she is forced to go against her conscience and do things she would not have done before in order to stay alive and later to pay off her worthless husband's debts.
Potato is a grim look at what poverty can drive a person to do in order to survive. Unable to return to her poor farming family, unable to be rid of her husband, unable to pay off his crushing debt, with no support system and only a will to live Bok Nyeo's story was devastating to watch.
******Spoiler Below******
*****Spoiler******
I graded this movie down somewhat because I felt it was needlessly exploitive of her body, devotion, and sacrifice. In the end it implies she falls in love with the Chinese farmer demanding use of her body in repayment for her husband's debt and that's why she tries to murder him. The official synopsis would lead one to believe this is not how the book told this aspect of the story. Even though it sympathetically shows the detrimental effects of poverty and the vulnerability of women in a male dominated society, I had trouble accepting the oft used literary trope of a woman being sacrificed for the mistakes of others and the failings of society. Just my $.02
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Just watch and enjoy
A movie that I can only review with: "just watch and enjoy". The plot offers a simple theme in plain sight, but wait until you notice your video player telling you this movie hasn't over yet! With fairly low budget, mostly unknown cast, but aggresively smart script, One Cut of the Dead is the one that you MUST watch for once (and perhaps just once) but it's a MUST WATCH!It's really hard to review this one, because telling everything even more about this movie, constitutes a spoiler. Even telling you the genre of this movie, constitutes a spoiler.
So, I will zip my mouth and stop typing. Without further ado, "just watch and enjoy"!
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Watch it!!
STORY: It's a 5 minutes short, short-film. Though that it barely time for anything to happen (and barely anything happens) overall I'd say IT'S CUTE! Just watch till the end, if you're up for cutesy romantic scene, with a good context, I'd suggest you watch this :)I rated it an 8 since,
- I am easily pleased by a basic good show
- I've seen longer series with plots confusing and story conveyed in a worse manner. This gives you a good context to scene, and if you have a good imagination you can make up prequel and sequel in your head hehe.
- It had what I'd call a HAPPY AND SATISFYING ENDING - again ... it was a 5mins video.
PACE: I did go at 1.25x because I was "in a mood" to watch in that pace.
RECOMMENDED for a super-cute dose of fluffy web-series (more like a clip though).
[You don't even have to leave this site to watch it lol, the original uploader has embedded it on their profile, https://mydramalist.com/26246-he-says-to-me#comment-2476519 ]
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Meh
Meh. Too much angst, too much lag, and too many unexplainable events and dialogues. I finished watching it with difficulty and would NEVER re-watch it. There are some plot holes the characters reveal themselves in the dialogues. I also didn't find any emotion/infatuation that was carried by the lead roles which were later turned into love. The intimate scenes were not cringy or awkward, I give that to the actors. They were comfortable playing the roles. There was a lot of unnecessary hurt in the movie. Too many lives were disturbed because of one woman's stupid request. IDK is such things happen IRL. Overall this movie by no means empowers/helps the queer community which was expected after reading the plot. Sad. You could give this a watch but I am not sure how far you'd appreciate this.Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
happy sad ending
From the synopsis you already know this one will gonna be 'sad ending' for both our main lead. But the journey toward the ending is so real & kinda sad but still beautiful. But in the end this is still a happy ending for our couple.Yeah their love story is so real & deep. Especially their break up story it's really so deep & real. What you consider light word is sometimes cut deeply into someone heart & more hurtful than a mouthful full of sharp words, especially if that said by someone important for us. Sometimes other drama the word like that doesn't consider as something as important as in here & not become the reason to break up or maybe gonna make them fight but still get back together at the end because love & everything else more important than the 'light' word.
Actually even Zhou Xiao Qi (XQ) doesn't said it. I'll gonna wonder is the fact that XQ never ever regret about the accident. Even though we still can see how happy they are together. But the fact still hanging in the air just wait to drop like a bomb...
I also really like when You Yong Ci (YC) dare to admit that she is a women that never feel safe. & it's really cut deep when XQ the one she put the trust wholeheartedly hurt her just like that. If that me, yeah I also can't possibly jump over that word & just forget & forgive everything. I also will gonna make the same decision with her.
In the end just like XQ word: "In the end don't know which one is worse, never have it or ever have but lose it."
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Most exciting one yet
8.4 from me. This fourth installment is the most exciting one yet. There wasn't a moment of boringness a.k.a. yapping. The acting in here was chef's kiss. Plot was good without too much fillers.I liked the cast. I liked the acting. I liked the character's development. I mean there were a teeny weeny bit of plot armour but which show doesn't have it, rights.
There's a bit of gory bits as well and the ending was adorbs. I've been watching from Z Storm and they do get better. Except for Louis' hair. His hair was the best in the first movie.
Watch watch watch!
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My heart was not prepared
If you’re looking for a feel good movie that will give you a rollercoaster ride, this is the it!This movie has been on my To Watch List since it came out and I’ve been putting it off for whatever reason(s) and finally watched it and I have to say, wow. Just wow. The acting is amazing, the OST equally amazing (the choice for the last song was *chef’s kiss*).
It’s also really visually pleasing and kind of has a bit of an indie feel to it a bit with the filming style which I wasn’t sure I would like but it really worked and almost made it more realistic? If that makes sense?
I need to go watch something light and fluffy now. I’m a blubbering mess, but in a good way.
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Insert later today!
Insert later today!
(Finsins at home!)
If you ever saw and enjoyed the movies, Drama Special Season 6: What is the Ghost Doing? (2015), Lover's Concerto (2002), A Millionaire's First Love (2006), Daisy (2006), Memories of the Sword (2015), The Classic (2003) or Babo: Miracle of a Giving Fool (2008), then you should enjoy this movie as well!
Others would possibly be My Love (2021), On Your Wedding Day (2018), Samaritan Girl (2004), The Library (2013), Train to Busan (2016), Virgin Snow (2007), Cry Me a Sad River (2018)
One day, Ji Hwan begins to receive letters from an unidentified person. The letters, containing black-and-white photos of happy children playing, remind Ji Hwan of his old two friends.
Five years earlier, while Ji Hwan is taking pictures with his camera, two girls, Soo In and Gyung Hee, walk into the frame. Ji Hwan falls in love with Soo In at first sight. He then musters up enough courage to confess his love to her, but she refuses him very politely. Even so, Ji Hwan doesn't give up and tells them that he wants to be friends the next time they meet.
Ever since then, the three of them start a wonderful friendship. They spend time each other always and consider it the most precious moments of their lives. But they become confused between love and friendship and, finally, Gyung Hee and Soo In leave him without a trace.
The random letters inspire Ji Hwan to depart anxiously on a long journey to find his old friends, but while looking for Soo In and Gyung Hee, he confronts a beautiful yet sad secret. Edit Translation
Native Title: 연애소설
Also Known As: Yeonae soseol
Screenwriter & Director: Lee Han
Genres: Romance, Drama, Melodrama
Tags: Best Friends, Lovers Separated, Terminal Illness, Love Triangle (Vote or add tags)
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