Overrated

one of my absolute favorites!

Excellent, a Must See

Best movie of this year hands down!

After a long time I've seen a romance movie that does not seem like a piece of fiction to me.. what I love the most about this movie is the development of the relationship between the two people.. the way their budding relation evolved taking time & patience was convincingly believable.. and also that how perfectly their body languages were in harmony with their intimacy level at that particular stage of their relationship..Dialogs are few and one needs to pay attention to so many subtle details in each and every scene.. the psychology of multi-layered characters torn between contradictory sentiments, their restrain and painful outbursts and a struggle for solace.. the delicate treatment of highly dramatic events and complex emotions make it feel so close to reality..Throughout the movie there is an air of melancholy that never lifts till the end.. filmed in muted colors, aided by the heartrending soundtrack accompanied with a more than perfect use of silence.. one feels like a quiet observer of their sadness.. perhaps some people may find it boring because of its slow pace and few dialogs but for me this is the most preferred and adored setting for a romantic movie for sure..

The original Korean title of the movie is "Oechul," roughly translating into "Outing." Its English title "April Snow," however, is much more closely related to the movie's core idea. In Korea, it's quite rare to see snow falling in April, so the title suggests a hopeful message that something miraculous might soothe an ill-fated couple and consummate their Forbidden Love.The movie starts with In-su heading for Samcheok, a seaside city on the east coast in Korea, upon hearing the news of his wife Su-jin's car accident. As his wife undergoes an operation in a hospital along with Kyung-ho who was also in the accident with her, there he meets Kyung- ho's wife Seo-young.April Snow is a film about people who experiences the pain and hurt brought about by infidelity in marriage as well as people who could relate to that pain and fell in love with each other.It tells us that pain can also bring people to fall for each other. Excellent film and highly recommended.

Yes, it's a bit like Random Hearts and I guess In the Mood for Love, but I liked the realism of it. I liked that they had a reason to stay near each other because their spouses needed tending (best looking coma victims, ever!). I like a bit of logic in my romances. I really enjoyed the lead actress. In the few Korean movies I've seen, the lead actresses always seem too done-up (hair, make-up, perfect clothes and shoes). This actress was just a bit messier and a bit more average in her appearance, which made her all the more attractive. I could relate to her numb anger. She's mad, but she also has an ill husband to watch over. I like too that she's the one who approaches the other man first. That she reaches out and doesn't stay all locked up in her grief. I hope I can find more movies she's been in. My favorite moment at the very beginning is when she spots the condom in the basket and just freezes and knows. She just knows in that instant. And he just grabs it to hide it away.It was romantic without going over the top. Very cool.

April Snow is the third film by Corean melodrama auteur Hur Jin Ho and features none other than Bae Young Jun, whose turn in the popular Corean drama series "Winter Sonata" made him an icon of the Corean Wave exported all over Asia and sometimes further. However, since I couldn't bear watching the series, my only context for the Bespectacled One was his rather capable performance in the Corean adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Untold Scandal.The story is related to both the stories for In the Mood for Love and Random Hearts, in which two people come to realize that their spouses are having affairs with each other and in this shared knowledge, develop a relationship with each other. While I haven't seen Random Hearts, I can say that the same tensions that run through In the Mood for Love also run through April Snow, but they are different movies. April Snow is definitely a Hur movie, as it's primarily composed of moments of silence and watching the protagonists do what they do and seeing the subtle messages implied by how they do it.One thing that struck me while watching the relationship form between the pair was just how aware they were of the irony of their situation and how their relationship was a sort of escape for them. A strong empathy pours out between the two characters as they deal with their grief and their betrayal. But all things are not even. While the Bespectacled One's character, In Ju, should be the primary protagonist, his performance was a little underplayed which allowed Son Ye Jin's Seo Young to capture more emotion and depth, and consequently steal the focus.But, the pictures were gorgeous, the acting still good (again, Son Ye Jin really pulls it off), and the way that director Hur captures it all managed to remind me just how much I like his approach to storytelling. This is a quiet melodrama that, while reserved in expression, can't help but leak out the grief, pain, and longing in the two characters. I kind of the wish that the end of the movie cut back more like In the Mood for Love does, but I imagine that audiences more adapted to mainstream Hollywood fare will appreciate the degree of closure provided. While this isn't a masterwork like Hur's previous two films, it is still, I believe, a solid entry into his filmography. Great for lovers of art films. 8/10.