Reviews

Sad yet realistic

I am a newbie to KDramas, having seen only a few of them, and I haven't reviewed none yet, but I felt compelled to review this one right after watching it.

I do not like this kind of movies, because they sadden me and real life is tough enough. However I agree with the message the movie sent and the importance of listening and caring for your loved ones. Work should not ever come first. The movie portrayed realistically the ups and lows of a relationship strained by long commute, long working hours and temptations of having attractive colleagues at work. Not a single moment I thought any person was bad - there are no villains here, just flawed young people making flawed decisions. I just felt sad for them and wanted to hug dearly my loved ones afterwards. If you like to watch genuine dramas about life, you might like this movie. Be warned, the ending is not cheerful and perfect. It is just like life tends to be sometimes, sourly realistic.

Do not read further if you wish to avoid spoilers.

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The main lead Hyeok deserved what he got at the end. Even then he didn't realise what he did wrong, given how self-absorbed he was. For me, the breaking point was when he wanted her to terminate the pregnancy. A big nope, and the biggest sign their relationship was doomed. Luckily for her, she decided against it as we saw in the reel in the end. While I do not agree with her decision to seek refuge in the arms of the man she just feels sorry for, I can understand that she just wants the best for the baby that otherwise won't have a father. Still, who knows? Maybe they will reconnect in Jeju, after all, he's coming there too, although maybe not at the same time. The movie left that card open. I am not sure would I, if I were Da-Eun, accept him back. He still seemed immature at the end, only sorry for himself.

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An interesting modified adaptation of one of SK’s longest-lasting pansori performance folk tales

Crafted much in the same style as Shakespearean tragic comedies, this film (which was adapted from a popular folk story that is performed to this day in pansori, theatre musicals, and more) entertained me for its hundred or so minutes and ultimately made me want to watch Ran (samurai story in the style of King Lear), Throne of Blood (retelling of Macbeth in feudal Japan), or even The Bad Sleep Well (crime noir film built on Hamlet).

While the writing was not as dazzling or sharp in wit as I would have liked, it makes up for it in execution by the cast led by Jung Woo (playing the title character), beloved, much-missed Kim Joo Hyuk 😔🪦 whose character Jo Hyuk gives up his comfortable life of wealth to care for orphans whose parents were killed, and classic sageuk veteran Jung Jin Young who plays Jo Hyuk’s greedy brother Jo Hang Ri, the key antagonist. Jung Hae In, while not playing a particularly interesting king, is nice eye candy, and Jung Sang Hoon and Kim Won Hae are a solid backbone for the tonal shifts. Chun Woo Hee is an endearing young assistant who is like a daughter to Heung Bu, and we also get small appearances by Jin Goo playing Nol Bu, the guardian of the people (and long lost brother of Heung Bu), a nearly-unrecognizable Kwak Dong Yeon, and a little epilogue cameo of Kang Ha Neul.

The story itself is small and lacking in some of the rich story depth of others employing theatre troupes like The King and Clown, but not all stories need to be visually stunning to make their point or highlight an important folk story though this veers very far from the original in terms of storyline while keeping important details, adapting them into a story with a bigger scale of impact, a greater gap in wealth and status between brothers.

While this does not (sadly, to me) follow the original story to its end, it does showcase how a good person standing in opposition to a terrible one can, even with odds stacked against them, have their good will rewarded in time, even if not in traditional ways. Apart from this using politics as a component instead of telling the more simple story of drastically different brothers with life lessons, this uses different characters to represent Heung Bu and his brother while having this Heung Bu be a storyteller who uses his own name and his brother’s name to instead tell of Jo Hyuk and Jo Hang Ri.

Jo Hyuk in the film represents the original story’s Heung Bu, Jo Hang Ri representing Nol Bu… it is best to go in ignoring this for the 105 minutes since otherwise the names can seem odd as the story published uses the names of the greedy and selfless brother while the characters with those names are, for the film, loving brothers separated during a time of conflict that left many families dead, Heung Bu publishing racy erotic novels as a means of making his name known so he can locate his brother. This does, though, keep important elements of the original like the poor disowned brother being slapped in the face with a rice spoon at his brother’s luxurious home, commenting that it is delicious, and asking to be struck again. The original tale has Heung Bu go to his brother’s home to ask for rice as the brother-who took the entire inheritance-has a surplus of it; Heung Bu in the original gathers the grains of rice on his face carefully to feed his hungry children whereas this has Jo Hyuk go there about a last bit of property, land he and the ones he saved had successfully farmed to feed themselves and the kids in their care they were also teaching, the rice slap happening on his way out because there was excess rice spoiling and a servant “dared to” prepare the rice and feed her child with it rather than leave it to rot.

What is left out: the original tale (apparently a common bedtime story, known by me because it is one of few classic pansori tales still performed in many forms, no doubt with nearly infinite variations) dives into a story of the poor brother saving a swallow [the sign of spring coming in the film] with a broken leg on his way home with the handful of rice and his hungry children being happy to nurse and feed it until it is well enough to fly back to its home. In the original, the swallow returns to them with a pumpkin seed that produces three enormous pumpkins. The pumpkins, when cut into, are full of treasures. The greedy, already well-off brother learns of this sudden wealth, inquires about how Heung Bu came by it, then tries to replicate it with a key distinction that he breaks the bird’s leg then tends to it… in that story, the bird also returns with a seed, but that seed’s harvest is full of destruction: a dokkaebi (goblin) that beats and chides him for his greed, debt collectors swarming in demanding repayment, and his home being flooded with muddy water. In that version, Nol Bu, who has lost all his property and money, asks for forgiveness from Heung Bu who is more kind… or more of a sucker… than I could ever be. Then again, it does exist to teach lessons, and Korean folklore doesn’t have that biting “you got what you deserved and I’d just as soon use you for stew meat as call you brother again” tone of what I grew up learning (maybe you can partly blame that-or watching Alfred Hitchcock and works similar to Stephen King films growing up-for the deep love of sarcasm and dark, often scathing, humor).

I rate this an 8. As a one-time watch, a-ok! I could quickly grasp what it was aiming for both in substance and style, and I rarely rewatch titles as it is, but I can see some watching this again if they were fairly casual “just ingest and process minimally” viewers the first time. It did take me half a dozen years to watch it because I needed enough distance from Kim Joo Hyuk knowing how much it hurt to watch Argon not nearly long enough after his passing to not be thinking about it between episodes and sometimes during them (I also kept delaying watching Believer for that reason). This felt way too short, probably because I am so accustomed to dramas and lowkey want an elaborate 20-hour version of this with the energy of Rebel: Thief who Stole the People (which is the more historically “accurate”-ie based on the real Hong Gil Dong, not the pure folklore variant). I want the erotica plot line! ;) I want more of his assistant and beloved Park Sang Hoon searching for his bro! More would benefit this… cause it is a bit surface-level-feeling in storyline. Okay, I’ll just say it: the story is kinda shallow, underdeveloped feeling. I still liked it, but I can’t ignore that fact. Simple can work, but this left me wanting more depth.

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It's more than homelessness

Tackling the social issue of homelessness and drifters, this movie carries out the concept efficiently and brilliantly without pointing fingers at the welfare system or society for the issue that arises. It also deals with a broader theme of humanity, inequality, and morality, subtly touching on issues such as child safety, pregnancy care, health, and mental issues. This is one of the movies where social issues are shown and handled without bias.

The movie doesn’t solely focus on homelessness; it shows the process of two families with different wounds meeting and becoming one, somehow finding happiness in their intertwined fates. The storylines and conflict are well developed, although there are some indistinct plots. But it doesn’t affect the story as a whole. The well-paced story development gives the movie a good balance. I love how this movie does not simply use a homeless family as a dramatic setup but instead tells a story of growth and improvement around it.

In terms of acting, each actor carried their respective characters successfully. Jung Il-woo nailed the character. Ra Miran gives another awesome performance. But foremost, hats off to Kim Seulgi for her wonderfully unconventional performance. Although the character doesn't seem so heavy physically, Jisook is a character with a lot of inner struggle and emotional responsibility.

All in all, Highway Family is not only a well-executed movie; it’s also a movie weighted with reality struggles and driven by outstanding performances from all the cast.

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It's Only 7 Minutes Long! Just Watch It if you Love Perth and Talay. Don't read my review first!!

Although a must watch for Perth and Talay fans, it's honestly nothing too special.

The actors did well for what they got, but the plot wasn't anything worth talking about.

•❅✧❅✦ Story •❅✧❅✦

Rokko and Ratanapol were once a couple, but had to break up due to Ratanapol wanting to pursue his dream of becoming an actor. Now, six years later, Ratanapol has achieved his dream and his a best selling actor. Rokko becomes a Thai-Japanese interpreter. He ends up interpreting for Ratanapol during his Japanese press conference. Their reunion is bitter at first, but Ratanapol goes off script and surprises Rokko with a sudden confession.

Honestly, seeing Perth and Talay on screen together brought tears to my eyes, but the plot instantly dried them. It feels like a poorly written one-shot fanfiction due to how boring the script was.

While Perth and Talay are great actors and have amazing chemistry, the plot really gave them nothing to work with. There was really no reason to cheer on Rokko and Ratanapol's love because there was no backstory showing how amazing their love was beforehand. We start off the film with a breakup scene, then go straight to the time skip. We also don't get any scene with them actually showing any sort of love for each other, so... yeah... Are they really a couple?

I understand that they only had 7 minutes to work with, but I've seen shorter music videos that give me more compelling stories, and that's with the artist's random singing cut-scenes. I really don't want to bash on this too much since it's so short, but I kinda wish we got some cute scenes of them together instead of the half-hearted angst they attempted to pull off. Maybe a cute drama would have been better? I don't know.

•❅✧❅✦ Overall •❅✧❅✦

Please don't get me wrong, this is a really nice comeback for Perth and Talay fans, who have been waiting for years after My Engineer to see them finally get together. However, we've seen Perth and Talay in better dramas that this short 7 minute drama isn't really doesn't do much for us. It also doesn't help that we don't get any scenes with them visually expressing their love for each other.

Lastly, I know I bashed on it a lot in this review, but watch it first. It's honestly not that bad unless you decide to knit-pick at it like I did for the sake of this review.

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A little too odd for me

Personally, I couldn't bond with this movie. She seemed too silly, messy, and immature. He seemed a little too "Oily" - I kept thinking that he'd be a good bad guy, with the glasses and that moustache.

There was too much silliness for me to be able to buy them as a couple. And because of her immaturity, the age difference felt too great.

As a diehard Dating in the Kitchen fan, I'm glad I took the time to watch this. It cemented my thoughts on the series. While there were things that dragged or didn't make sense, the series gave more opportunity for character development. Plus, you can never go wrong with Zhao Lu Si.

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Secret SK military unit, drilled solely for assassinating Kim Il-sung, becoming victims of politics

“Silmido” is a KMovie that generated enormous public impact in South Korea. A 2003 production that used dramaturgical means to bring a previously unknown, small but rather blatant chapter of South Korean history to public awareness, that had long been kept secret and filed away. The KMovie “Silmido” had its mission fulfilled – at the box office, among the people and among those, who ultimately make decisions.

“Silmido” was apparently more popular in South Korea than the Lord of the Rings trilogy or Titanic. To this day, the KMovie in South Korea is considered one of the most successful productions ever. The cast is first class. The focus is on the training camp for the secret military special unit 684 - its soldiers, its commanders, the training and living conditions. In the end we see where this all is leading to – this at that time particularly fatal involvement of the military with domestic and foreign policy, plus and foremost always at the forefront, yet hidden behind the curtain: the secret service.

The story is contrasting ambivalent attitudes towards feelings of national solidarity. On the one hand, an emotional patriotism based on the connection to one's personal origins and South Korean homeland, and on the other hand, a politically instilled national identity of “democratic South” against “communist enemy in the North”. On top of that: Unconditional obedience within the chain of command struggling with common sense...

Overall, it's about a brutal man´s military world. It is about hardline drilling methods. Yet , it is not about heroes and villains, nor about the good guys against the bad guys. Over time, the protagonists are increasingly gaining a profile, that shows some softer heartbeat, too. Camaraderie, bromance and respect for each other are in it as well. The showdown is rather disturbing.


PS:
Eventually the KMovie had its impact: in 2010, the central district court in Seoul ordered that the equivalent of around 188,000 euros in compensation should be paid out to the families of the former members of Unit 684 - the forgotten, denied unit that “Silmido” is about. The court comes to the conclusion after following public pressure and thus officially investigating the case: The Silmido soldiers had not been sufficiently informed about the hardship and dangers of the training camp, the training conditions had violated their basic human rights and the government at the time (1971) would have brought great suffering to the families of the bereaved by covering up the events.









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SIDE NOTE: --- Secret special Unit 684 ---

The film title "Silmido" refers to a very small, actually uninhabited island in the Yellow Sea, southwest of Incheon. Here (in response to the failed North Korean assassination attempt on South Korean President Park Chung-hee in 1968), between 1968 and 1971 a special military unit was trained at the instigation of the secret service, with just one goal: to eventually efficiently assassinate North Korean President Kim Il-sung. The circumstances surrounding Unit 684 are still not all clear. One thing is certain, though: the unit was created in April 68 (68-4) and trained in the utmost secrecy on the island of Silmido under almost inhumane conditions.

For the script quite some extensive research was done in advance. The story is based on rather thin officially existing information, added up with a few eyewitness reports, whereas gaps were filled with poetic freedom. For example, it is not clear how Unit 684 was actually recruited. However, among the specially trained elite soldiers there were obviously some with previous convictions, although not serious criminals. The KMovie ultimately decided to freely use a narrative that all the men were doomed criminals who, in their desperation without hope for an alternative future, had seized the last straw of becoming members of this particular secret unit.

The three years of elite training on Silmido had been extremely tough. Those who were not suitable simply did not survive the highly demanding torment. However, when the 31 soldiers were ready for deployment, the government decided to refrain from carrying out an assassination attempt and instead rely on a political solution for peaceful coexistence with the North. What had happened? US President Jimmy Carter hoped for a peaceful agreement. The South Korean policy followed that agenda, too. Accordingly, the head of the secret service was replaced by someone who also supported this peaceful approach. The link that was supposed to open a new dialogue between North and South was the Red Cross, not the military...

What may sound respectable, however, consequently led to the immediate disbandment of Unit 684. As of now, it officially should have never existed. Thus, 31 elite soldiers lost their right to exist. Their meaning and only goal for which they had lived (or rather survived) for the last 3 years, was trampled on... They were no longer useful, on the contrary: a disruptive factor. But politicians had made the calculation without the fighting machines they had specially drilled... this all led to a showdown in the outskirts of Seoul. As its result, however, Unit 684 went incorrectly down in history as a group of heavily armed communists... until 2003.

From 2010 onwards, it became finally official that actually those men were a South Korean secret elite military unit that had been drilled solely for the planned assassination of Kim Il-sung – until plans had changed at short notice for political reasons and some man in suits had decided to wipe out the life of 31 (in this context innocent) men in uniforms without any trace...

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Simple and Edible

A simple story portraying life of 2 friends starting their college life together. No heavy drama to be seen but lots of simple recipes that viewers will be able to try. I am a foodie so I love this aspect of the movie.
There is underdeveloped relationship between the 2 friends. They are very close but no clear statement of anything beyond special friendship. Viewers can decipher the emotions of the characters for each other based on their actions, words, and gazes for each other. However, the movie will end with no clear statement other than strong and special friendship.
Production did well with scene set up and props. I am big on recycled/reused wardrobes so I am a bit disappointed with scenes having used wardrobes for characters. (I am aware diff scenes were shot on same day explaining the wardrobes but good director and production will know that this impact the storytelling).
There is a season 2 slotted for July per MDL which may show evolvement of their relationship. There is also a cute short segment after the credit so don't be quick to end watching when end credits comes on.
Saw someone sharing a link for Season 2 trailer which I will definitely watch after submitting this review.

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A cute and simple high school love story.

Although I have been watching NE Asian dramas for a long time, and therefore have seen this exact theme many times before, I will forever eat it up in jmovies. Idc if it's overused or whatnot- it's fun to watch and a great time pass. I could see this movie being a good comfort movie because it's nothing too complex, yet not boring or badly written either.

I must mention Takahashi Fumiya's acting was better than I expected. He's very capable of expressing Setoyama's subtle emotions like the little smirks or the hints of worry which was very impressive, especially after finding out he's only 23 years old. I'd love to see him in more romance movies or dramas.

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Good movie that could have been much better.

Overall I liked the movie but I often found the transitions in character arcs and major plot points clumsy and difficult to follow. For example, the how of someone crossing over and the role of the 'warden' were left under explained. Still despite the flaws the good aspects including the characters and acting held my attention until the end. The Korean series 'Missing: The Other Side' seems to have inspired much of the world building in this movie but the Korean version did a much job of explaining important aspects. For example, when someone passes over the Missing series shows it happening, whereas here the viewer must pick it up from context and the presence of the warden, but his role here isn't really clarified until well into the film.

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"You've gone too far!" "We'll go further!"

The Shaolin Kids had neither kids nor anything Shaolin in it. For a 1970’s Taiwanese martial arts flick it had a larger budget and cast than usual. While the sets may have been more primo, the unwieldy cast and convoluted plot made it difficult to slog through at times.

Prime Minister Hu Wei Yung is plotting to overthrow the emperor and has a message for his allies detailing his treacherous plan. He’s been eliminating opponents by various methods, most recently by poisoning Liu Hsin Erh’s father. She’s looking for payback but General Lu stops her. Lu is part of a group aware of Hu’s duplicity and is working to bring him down. Liu manages to get her hands on the secret message, but from there the list has a rocky passage on the way to the Imperial Court.

Shaolin Kids had a strong cast. Polly Shang Kuan Ling Feng played the avenging daughter. Tien “Roc” Peng and Chang Yi played son and father, although both were born in the same year! Carter Wong, in a really bad wig, had a supporting role as one of those loyal to the emperor. He appeared and disappeared throughout the movie. One look at the cast list and it was apparent who was going to be the Big Bad, Yi Yuan had no problem playing the rebellious prime minister.

Generally, the fights were routine, utilizing swords as well as fists and kicks. Polly is always entertaining but the fights weren’t exceptional. The most interesting pairing was the Cliff Lok and Huang Fei Long “Light and Dark” evil duo. The two had their secret move of “Heaven and Earth” where one went high and the other attacked low. The heroes who fell prey to it had never learned to duck or side step to their detriment. Chang Yi and Carter Wong didn’t have much to do but managed to make their fights with the evil duo more entertaining than some of the other combatants. Tien Peng seemed to be an afterthought both in fights and plot.

The Shaolin Kids suffered from poor editing and transitions in narrative as well as a ridiculous title. There was a lack of focus and clarity in the storytelling and the fights weren’t much better. This film wasn’t bad, it was just underwhelming.

29 March 2024

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