Wow! Such a good movie.

A Brilliant Conflict

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

I will not go into the details of the plot, but will make an attempt to explain the relationships between the two main characters.A divorced woman, who lives alone in her messy city apartment and occasionally drinks herself to sleep meets a guy by starting a new sound recording project. They were assigned to be a team, and slowly but surely their mutual attraction develops. The woman feels lonely and she takes it to a new level when she invites him to spend a night at her apartment. The guy has never had any serious relationships before. This is his first love. Before meeting her he leads a simple yet happy life with his dad and his grandma. His aunt occasionally visits the family to take care of the grandma who is slowly losing her memory. The guy is loved by his family and he loves them back. Later we learn that he lost his mom at an early age.Their relationships blossoms. The woman enjoys his company because he makes her life more orderly by bringing kimchi and making ramen noodles. Without him her sleeping patterns are completely messed up and she feels lonely. The guy enjoys making her happy, he practically glows with happiness (his co-workers and family started to notice) and would like to get serious about their future as a family. The woman insists on secrecy. She mentions that the guy may lose his job if somebody finds out about their affair. The guy is ready to give up his job in order to keep her - this is how serious he is. In reality, his sudden request to see his father scares her. She did not expect that he would get so serious about it so soon. She does not feel right about the relationship. She understands what a great guy he is but feels inadequate since she has already been divorced. Being torn from her desire to be with him and her guilt of being in a wrong relationship, she suggests to spend a month apart. When this does not work, she tells hims she wants to break up with him. She even starts a new (continues her old?) relationship to forget him.As with any person whose true love was rejected, he suffers a great deal and becomes almost a stalker. We do not see the tormented feeling the woman goes through, but we see the agony of the guy. He spends a night in a parking lot next to her apartment building, follows her to her friend's house and even goes as far as keying her lime green car. He is ready to give up his job for her, yet he does not get it: why did she leave him? His family and friends are very supportive of him. Then his grandmother dies.The woman calls him back. She wants to see him again.He comes to meet her, but when she mentions that she would like to continue their relationships, he rejects her. You can see that he still loves her, because this decision does not come easy to him. He has to make an enormous effort not to follow her when she walks away.You can also see that the woman loves him too. When she turns around and sees him standing, she could have come back and make him start over. But she finds the inner strength and empathy to let him go because she was not sure that she was the right person who could make him happy.

From the very beginning, this film reminds me of a Japanese filmmaker Ozu. Well, there are few lines for characters and little music, they exchange their feeling by their facial expression. The film has a stereoscope effect owing to describe the vast nature image. It is all the more interesting that the subtle movement of love is contrasted with that immense spring nature.I guess the impression of this film is dependent on each person because the film leaves room for thinking more deeply about their relationship and their character. Superficially, Eun-su looks a little wicked since she leaves him suddenly, but I think there is something about her. She was divorced once and she may need someone to rely on. Also, Sang-woo lost his mother and is seeking for maternity in Eun-su. Both want someone to depend on but what they want in their partner is different. So they keep passing each other.Like August in Christmas(the previous film of Jin-ho Hur), their love is one way. Namely, an young pure innocent person loves an elder person. And the elder one leaves him or her at the end. The film makes me wonder how and what the young learn through love. Do you think he can recover from the loss?

I watched this movie with no expectations and was brought on a roller coaster ride of emotions. All the highs and lows of love are here and presented through visually emotional camera work as well low-key yet powerful acting. When I'd finished watching, there was a gut-wrenching feeling in me that lingered for days. There is little dialogue in this film. Yet it speaks volumes because of the performances of Lee Young-Ae and Yu Ji-Tae. Each look, each gesture, each simple touch said more than a thousand words. If you want a genuine portrayal of a love affair from its beginning to its end, then watch this.

This is another very quiet film by Hur about the relationship between two people. Like "Christmas in August" the direction is such that excessive dialogue is unnecessary. We know what the two people involved are thinking at all times through their eyes, the way the look (or don't look) at each other.It's a story that anyone who has had any experience in love will immediately recognize and get that "I have been there" feeling. The film doesn't sympathize with one person or the other but you probably will empathize with one of them based on your own experiences in love and loss. Two people fall in love, one of them falls out of love (or does she?), is anyone to blame?