kang haneul, showstopper.
i was looking for more of kang haneul's projects after how disappointing squid game season 3 was to me, which is how i found out about this movie as well as a few others.it sounded so good and it definitely had the potential to BE good, but i think a limited runtime negatively affected it. haneul is amazing in this as well as the rest of the cast of course! i just think the story would have benefited had this been a series rather than a film to give the plot more time to marinate and set things up.
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phenomenal cast, so-so storytelling.
i'm not necessarily new to the horror genre, but i definitely have far less experience than most when it comes to it. i do have to say that found footage is one of my favorite tropes because it adds a new layer to the scare. seriously, how freaky is it to think "hey, i'm watching someone's last moments through this camera." it's just such an interesting concept.personally, my biggest draw beyond the found footage aspect was the cast. i adore wi hajoon and absolutely LOVE park sunghoon, who is hands down one of my favorite korean actors of all time. these two are amazing in their roles, as well as the rest of the cast. i could really feel the terror their characters were all experiencing. honestly, it's just so well acted in ways i haven't seen in a lot of found footage projects.
i also really liked the editing and concept of this film! vlog style footage at the beginning before the actual exploration is livestreamed feels very timely and realistic, especially with some of the paranormal experiences being staged because of the draw of money and views. it makes for such a good b plot point that i didn't see coming.
i think the overall storytelling was just alright and most of the vfx was a little janky, but i don't think it really matters all that much in the grand scheme of things. the actors really sold what was going on and the twist at the end was great. such an effective movie!
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the little heroes.
in my quest to find other (see: better) projects from actors i really enjoyed watching in SQUID GAME after how disappointed i was by season 3, i stumbled upon WHEN THE CAMELLIA BLOOMS. without knowing it, i'd watched kang haneul a few years ago in his film MIDNIGHT RUNNERS, which i enjoyed a lot back then, so i was glad to see him again in SQUID GAME, even by accident.i decided to watch WTCB because i really wanted to see him in a happier role with a nice ending and i'm glad that i picked it. i fell in love with yongsik almost immediately, endeared by his crybaby, lover boy, overly optimistic ways. he was my favorite character throughout the entire story and would have been even if it was another actor instead of haneul.
i think the story was decent. i like when genres are blended, and i think romance and mystery really did a good job here. i also have a lot of commendation for the actors as well. there were a few i recognized from other projects and i was happy to see them here too so that i can praise their acting! yeom hyeran is fantastic in this after only seeing her in more dramatic roles (THE GLORY and WALL TO WALL).
i loved the romance between dongbaek and yongsik. it was really sweet to see a man fall so hard and so fast, and be so earnest about it. i feel like so many romance dramas i watch go with the love triangle cliche, which is fine in most cases, but here, it was clear that dongbaek was only ever going to end up with yongsik and i was glad for that because he saw her for who she was the whole time and never made it seem like her son was a burden to him. he was ready to take it all on from the very beginning and i adored that. men need to take NOTES.
i will say that some character beats did annoy me at times. i didn't like the group of women at the start who bullied dongbaek, though i was glad to see them come together to protect her near the end. and as much as i liked yongsik's mother, i hated how she treated dongbaek after she and yongsik started dating. it confused me a lot because if my son started dating the young woman i was friends with, i'd be excited to potentially welcome her into the family eventually as my daughter in law! maybe that's just me though.
all in all, i thought this was super cute and would totally rewatch again someday! hwang yongsik, you are so everything to me.
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