Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

The part of Innocent Steps that deals with the developing love between professional dancer Young-Sae and innocent 19 year old immigrant Chae-rin succeeds brilliantly. There is nothing that is not entirely believable and touching about their love, from Young-Sae's initial rejection of Chae-rin, to his compassion for her when she is in danger of being forced into prostitution, to the gradual development of their relationship from being a sham marriage into becoming a real couple, and ending with their lyrical declarations of mutual love during their (separate) immigration interviews.The dance-competition-thwarted-by-malevolent-gangster portions of the movie suffer greatly by comparison. It's simply not believable that Chae-rin can go in only three months from being a complete novice to what is apparently the best female dancer in all of Korea. So much so that Young-Sae's chief rival goes to extraordinary lengths to not only break up the partnership but also steal Chae-rin for himself. That's quite an achievement for a 19 year old girl, who looks more like 12. I wasn't buying it. Even if I did, the plot twists guaranteed that there would be no triumphant performance for Young-Sae and Chae-rin in the national competition. Admittedly, having the underdog succeed against all odds is a sports movie cliché. I would have been receptive to a well thought out alternative, but in this case the alternative reads something like "The world is an evil place. Get used to it." What a disappointment.Fortunately the writers came to their senses soon enough to allow Young-Sae and Chae-rin a future together. Overall, Innocent Steps rates a five for a great love story mixed with an overly melodramatic plot.

Typical underdog story about a fallen dance champ (Park Kyon-hyeong) forced pair up with a mousy Korean-Chinese immigrant (Moon Geun-young from A TALE OF TWO SISTERS) in need of citizenship in order to take back the crown. Plays all the familiar notes from just about any sport competition movie you'd care to remember, but cleverly opts out of the usual, predictable triumphant ending by having Moon enter the big dance finals with with Park's dirty rival (!). Moon's a doll in this, as she has been in everything she's been in so far (think LOVER'S CONCERTO or better yet, MY LITTLE BRIDE). WIth a face seemingly purpose-built for crying at the slightest hint of heartbreak, she can only be a natural; her character has to remain doe-eyed and lovestruck with Park, and typically selfless in spite of his harsh ways, while becoming a seasoned professional dancer in a very short period of time. Another reason I like a movie like this: the leads are actually required to DANCE. Their routines are modest, but frequent long tales reveal that they did indeed learn some killer moves. The championship dance is built from editing more than performer skill, but one can still see the effort being applied.

After nearly having dancing career destroyed when his leg is stomped upon at a dance competition, Na Young-sae is given another chance by his manager when he is paired with an ethnic Korean girl from China Jang Chae-min. In order to keep the girl in South Korea Young-sae's manager informs him that he will also have to marry her. This situation causes Young-sae little grief and he soon goes through the formalities of marrying the girl. However, things quickly turn for the worse when it is discovered that Jang Chae-min is really not Jang Chae-min but is instead Jang Chae-rin, Chae-min's little sister. It seems that Chae-min has a fiancé who is unwilling to marry her if she travels to the decadent land of South Korea. Angered by this situation, Young-sae's manager beats Chae-rin and apologizes to Young-sae. Chae-rin, played by Mun Geun-yeong, however, is determined to learn how to dance so she gets a job at a less than reputable location. After she informs Young-sae of this, he comes to pick up the young girl and bring her back to his home.In Young-sae's flat Chae-rin begins a rigorous study of dance. At first very stiff, Chae-rin soon loosens up and becomes a bit more comfortable with Young-sae. Also Young-sae, whose heart was broken when his former dance partner left him for his rival and South Korea's best dancer Jung Hyun-soo, begins to feel affection for the young girl. However, right when the fruits of their labor near the ripening point, the duo's little world falls apart when Hyun-soo enters into Young-sae's life once more.In the tradition of other dance films such as Murakami Ryu's Because of You, Suo Masayuki's Shall We Dance?, and the like, Park's film Innocent Steps displays how the passionate art form of dancing, especially the samba and the cha cha which are the primary dances in this film, can bring people closer together, however, in this film I think the subject matter is handed rather heavy handedly. A bit of the problem might be with the actress Mun Geun-yeong whose young age and inexperience, she is only eighteen, might act as a bit of a hindrance to being able to portray true romantic love. However, her teary, sniffly performance when she is looking for Park Kyun-hyeong's character is well done and will probably turn on the waterworks for more sensitive viewers. She is also a great crier a skill that is readily displayed in this film.While definitely not a great movie Innocent Steps will make a good edition to the collections of those who enjoy Korean romantic film.

Innocent Steps (international title) is a romantic Korean tale about a cute 19 year old girl (Mun Geun-yeong) from China on a dance contract. She is paid to practice and dance with her partner (Park Geon Hyeong) for the upcoming 'KDFA Cup Korea Dancesport Championship'. For the next three months, she trained hard for the competition. Love blossomed, of course. Being professional during the practices, they did not reveal their feelings to each other.A couple of twists happened and the last 30 minutes proved once again that Korean movies do not bow to mainstream stereotyped story lines or endings. It was a 30% bitter 70% sweet conclusion, not a Hollywood perfect fairy tale. Good flick to watch with your loved one.Mao points: 7/10