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Hail to Life
If life becomes hell, what should one do? This is essentially a minimalist film that portrays two, let’s say, friends who want to give up on life, but before doing so, they still want to accomplish one more thing. The film looks beautiful, yet it carries a depressive tone throughout, and we as viewers keep hoping and praying for some kind of turnaround. At the beginning it may seem as if the film promotes negativity, but in reality it seriously and honestly confronts difficult life themes and trials that affect people already from youth, and even from childhood. It speaks about faith among people, but also about faith in God, then about religion, revenge, forgiveness, punishment, justice, violence, abuse, and many other things, so it seems to me that this film is ideal for a film club that would later have a discussion about what is shown in the film and how it reflects on our own life experience.The main protagonists did a great job with their roles, that is, they portrayed the psychological wounds they carry in a subtle and effective way. There are also other characters from a kind of church who are likewise quite convincing and authentic. So this is a psychological drama with youthful and religious elements that is very interesting, but also provocative.
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Sharing an Apple
The film opens with a kissing scene between two teenagers. The beginning suggests that the film will deal with youthful romance and the exploration of intimacy, which is indeed one of its themes. However, another much stronger and more serious theme is abuse, particularly of minors, which is why the kissing scenes don’t feel entirely appropriate to me.The film centers on one girl, but all the other characters around her are also portrayed with care and sensitivity, allowing us to empathize with each of them. What I liked most about the film is how it depicts every character as a real human being, with experiences and feelings hidden beneath the surface. The film shows one thing on the surface, yet you sense something deeper underneath—that everyone carries a hidden pain they refuse to acknowledge. Literally everyone. That pain can destroy a person from the inside, but it can also be eased. That’s why it’s important to have people beside you with whom you can still be honest and share your burdens—and sometimes, simply sharing an apple is enough (in Korean, “apple” also means “apology”). This is a beautiful and moving drama about one girl longing for true love, but also about all of us.
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Scary Religion
This film stands on the shoulders of instant classics like The Wailing and Exhuma as a religion-based horror mystery, but it fails to retain even half of the atmosphere or authenticity those films possess. Their strength lies in how convincing they are—the viewer genuinely believes in the spiritual forces and religious elements—whereas here everything feels superficial. We have a Christian pastor, some kind of private shaman, a Japanese shrine and a Hindu deity/demon named Rakshasa. It’s an intriguing setup, but the film fails in its execution to capitalize on the spiritual heritage it draws from.The plot progression also feels somewhat fragmented, with scenes jumping from one to another without clear development of events, so for part of the film I was confused: where are we now, how did the characters get here, what does this have to do with the story? Horror fans will at least get a few “gross-out” gore scenes that look creepy and scary, but all in all, in my opinion, this is a below-average horror film.
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Layers of Truth
A very good crime mystery thriller with all the right ingredients. It features a heavy, burdensome atmosphere, mounting tension, and compelling characters, each carrying a hidden past that gradually shapes the central story. With several twists and multiple layers, the film takes the audience on an engaging journey to uncover the truth behind what happened with the white car —and why.This is not a blockbuster or a film that aspires to be a masterpiece. Instead, it is a simple yet effective psychological thriller in which the characters and their emotional depth drive the narrative. The cast delivers excellent performances, convincingly portraying their emotions and fully inhabiting their roles. If, like me, you like character-driven thrillers of this kind, you will almost certainly appreciate and enjoy this film.
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Korean Gangsters cause trouble
It's hard to be a gangster in Korea these days because CCTV cameras are everywhere. That's why Korean gangsters are expanding their operations to the Philippines, where people tend to admire Korean culture, making them easier to manipulate. In this film, for example, Korean gangsters promise young Filipino women K-pop careers, only to enslave them. Of course, they're involved in plenty of other criminal activities as well.The story follows Mi-jin, a Korean woman who falls into the hands of the mafia and has no one to rescue her except her son, who fortunately happens to be highly skilled in martial arts. From the very beginning, it's obvious that this isn't a film aiming for outstanding acting performances. The acting is rather mediocre, although much of the blame lies with the director, since the narrative often feels disjointed and lacks logical progression.
What ultimately saves the film are its fight scenes, so I don't regret the time I spent watching it. The hand-to-hand combat is well choreographed, and I only wish there had been more of it. I especially enjoyed the underground street-fighting scenes, where crowds gather around the ring, cheering for their favorite fighter. They reminded me of something straight out of a video game. I think this film had the potential to be much better if the story had been structured more carefully. As it stands, it's a fairly forgettable action movie with a handful of entertaining fight sequences.
Although this is a Filipino film, the lead actors are Korean, and most of the dialogue is in Korean, with somewhat less English and only a few lines in Tagalog. Even so, I think the combination of Korean and Filipino talent works very well, and I hope to see more productions like this in the future.
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Finding Jane
This movie got me! The story, the actors, the music, the production — everything was great. There are a few details that keep me from giving it a clear 10, but the magic of Korean drama worked really well. I fell in love with the characters, and it was very emotional to follow their story with such a rich and layered connection. Thinking about it, the director really connected the dots perfectly. At the one-hour mark I thought to myself, “What a nice story — it would be super if this was the end.” But the movie had so much more to show us, taking us on a rollercoaster of emotions. Compliments to everyone who worked on this feature.The actors were very believable as their younger selves. Usually it bothers me when older actors play student roles, but here they really seemed the proper age. Their story is both magical and realistic, and I found a bittersweet beauty in that portrayal.
The guy, Eun-ho, develops a story-driven video game about Eric and Jane. When they are separated, the screen turns black and white, so the purpose of the game is to find the lost girl Jane and bring the colours back into the world. This correlates not only with the real characters in the movie, but also with the real world. The world indeed shines with new colours once you find your Jane.
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Confessing Love
A romantic film told from a male perspective that probably wouldn't be received well if it were released in 2026. There are female characters, of course, but the film reduces them to supporting roles, while the emotions and actions of the men—especially the two brothers—take centre stage.The film also starts by focusing on one character but ends with another, making it feel as though it shifts its focus halfway through and jumps from one story to another.
Many of the jokes could be described as sexist, and they are not particularly funny. Instead, they seem to exist only to lighten the gloomy atmosphere that hangs over the film, despite it being marketed as a romantic comedy.
Both of the two main male characters have a flawed approach to women: one is overly shy and withdrawn, while the other is far too aggressive. Yet neither of them knows how to express or admit his love. So, while the central theme is solid, I found the film's tone somewhat controversial, and the ending doesn't provide a truly satisfying payoff.
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Unbelievable
Unbelievable. The story of the film is like something out of a picture book — it looks cool on paper, but unrealistic and unconvincing in reality, and in this case, in the movie adaptation. The movie actually mixes a fictional story about a shadow with a family drama about the loss of a child/sister, but the connection between reality and fiction isn’t successful. The beginning was even promising, but as it went on, it became harder and harder to keep the interest. The plot moves slowly, and I wouldn’t say the characters earned that pace by their performances, nor did the film manage to convey real emotion like some better-quality slow-burn movies do. There are elements that contribute to the mystery, but the finale wraps everything up suddenly and strangely without any sense that something meaningful was achieved. Also the CGI elements weren't implemented very good. Maybe the whole fantasy is actually a metaphor for human emotions or something, but I couldn’t figure it out. I’d say: an interesting attempt, but it didn’t work.I watched the film in the cinema with one Korean soldier. We were the only two people in the theater, and at the end of the movie we just looked at each other and commented: “What is this movie?”
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Rock is dangerous
What a strange movie. It has a unique style and atmosphere that hits the viewer almost like a horror film. The dark and distorted visuals serve as both a background and a contrast to the glamorous life of a rock star. On one side, there is darkness and pain; on the other, light and fame.It feels like an experimental film, with many fragmented scenes and close-up shots that add to the already confusing mystery surrounding the instrument that needs repairing and alters one’s perception of reality. I would say this movie symbolically portrays how rock music can take over a person’s soul. Still, I think someone needs to explain to me what I just watched.
For now, I’ll check out some of WOODZ’s music, since he’s the lead actor and the inspiration behind this film.
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Flowers blooming in the night
Another day, another Hong Sang-soo film. This time, the story revolves around a young man meeting his girlfriend's parents, along with many of the familiar themes that naturally come with such an occasion. The style remains true to the director's signature approach: minimalist scenes without cuts, relying on a static or gently panning camera that quietly follows the characters through their conversations and everyday activities. Those activities mostly consist of eating, drinking, smoking, and occasionally spending time in nature.That is also where the title, What Does That Nature Say to You, comes from. The main protagonist is deeply moved by two trees that catch his attention, as well as by a flower that continues to bloom even at night (look at the poster for the film). These moments involving nature give the film a sense of spirituality, philosophy, and poetry.
Otherwise, there is nothing particularly new comparing this to other films of the same director. The performances are very good, although there are moments when the actors seem slightly detached from the scene, despite the conversations and encounters feeling spontaneous and natural. Anyone who has introduced a partner to their parents will find plenty to relate to. At the same time, the film encourages all viewers to pay closer attention to nature and to appreciate how it can enrich and beautify our lives, while also inviting us to reflect on what we truly need in life.
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Fairytale for grownups
I must admit, the director was smart to compare erotic stories with fairytales. However, in my opinion, the way they mixed the two felt completely wrong — especially the use of cartoon characters. Maybe the film even agrees with me, but I think the two should remain separate, and one person cannot (or should not) write both. I consider fairytales pure and inspiring, while erotic writing — though also fantasy — feels dirty and corrupting. Because of this, I felt quite conflicted while watching this movie. I also found it somewhat hypocritical that the movie tries to impose rules on writing, since the nature of adult stories is precisely to break the boundaries of acceptable behavior.The actors and their characters felt mismatched. At least the main actors’ roles didn’t seem to suit them — they looked too innocent for the parts they were playing. As a comedy or romance, this movie is also weak. Its real strength lies in breaking moral taboos and making it in a slightly arousing way. Personally, I didn’t like the theme or the message, but I can see that many people enjoy it.
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Running Away
A movie for mature audiences. From the very beginning it’s clear that something is wrong, and as the story develops things become more and more complicated. A married couple finds themselves stuck on a vacation that simply won’t end, and there will be everything — including +18 scenes. In fact, the film follows the classic formula of American horror movies and successfully builds tension and suspense right up to the very end. I think the ending itself could have been a bit more complete, but overall I’m satisfied with the way everything was concluded.The lead role is played by the well-known Ma Dong-seok, and although he is known as a good-natured strongman, here he takes on a rare villain role. His acting isn’t perfect, but I can say the villain part suits him extremely well and he was quite convincing as the enigmatic, violent host.
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Consequences of a Photo
Hm, a high school girl falls in love with another girl, but did she really fall in love or did she just find a new best friend? Is it real or just a phase of growing up? This film tackles the sensitive and provocative topic of same-sex love in a careful but still quite stereotypical way.Careful because it tries to create space for different interpretations and gives hints of many challenges that come with such feelings. It also uses the camera as a prop to represent the voice of the heart. The stereotypes, however, are visible in the plot development — I could spontaneously predict what would happen next. Also, the role of the older person as support, and the other side characters who only appear when it serves the protagonist, make the film feel less convincing and more like a collection of tropes typical of this kind of coming-of-age indie film.
I can understand that the film will find its fans, and I do believe these topics should be discussed, but it lacks a bit of critical commentary. The film isn’t explicit in anything and doesn’t dare to clearly promote it, even though the intention is obvious. The allegorical use of the camera is actually the best part of the film. To photograph something or someone means to answer an inner voice — that’s why we take photos when the heart speaks. This is especially touching in the relationship between the main protagonist and her father.
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Universe of Love
A very well-made animated film that beautifully combines a romantic story with a sci-fi journey to Mars. In fact, it seems to me that love itself belongs to the category of science fiction, because it’s impossible to fully explain or understand it. The best part of this film are the characters who, although animated, look very realistic and are easy to relate to. The original animation helps make the scenes rich and beautiful, and in some moments truly breathtakingly magical. As far as the animation goes, I have no complaints whatsoever — only praise.An important theme of the film is also the music, but I would have preferred the songs to be in Korean instead of English. That might give the film more universality, but in a Korean film I prefer to hear the Korean language. As for the story itself, it is well-developed and well-paced, but the finale didn’t give me any strong emotional satisfaction — the main emotional moments were somewhere in the middle. In any case, it’s a very beautiful film that inspires us equally toward love and toward exploring the vastness of space.
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Love for One Day
Watching a movie wasn't on my To-do list for today but seeing that this was only 30 minutes long, i saw it during my morning coffee. I like having a note with stuff i am planning to do during the day, and that is precisely the topic of this movie: a list of things one girl set on to do. It was very interesting seeing how her plan is developing together with a stranger she meet awkwardly on a beach.Since this is a short film it is more dynamic than usual full feature Hong Sang-soo movies. It still has the same ingredients: people sitting and talking developing human connection, but here, the scenes are shorter, the dialogue is more concise, and there is also some action like playing badminton and some bonus short shoots, like for an example a dog eating ice-cream. I had a nice time watching this, but now, I should continue with things on my personal List in real life.
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