Reviews

Steady

I saw a few comments that this movie was slow but I don't think so. It didn't jump in but it didn't drag it out either. I thought it was an even pace. I enjoyed it more than I thought cause it wasn't some random story that was too cliché or cheesy, it was realistic. No matter where you go people will talk and the only thing you can do is remove yourself from that toxicity. I had a few different emotions which tapped into the realism of the story. It's not something I'd recommend cause this theme isn't for everybody but it's not something I'd turn away either. If you're looking for lust you won't find it here! The little girl was an amazing actor and so cute. Just like in any household, I'm sure it's tricky for all parties growing up with homosexual parent(s). I hope more people can learn that even if YOU don't understand what it's like, hurting others won't make it anymore understandable.
Enjoy...

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Dream like quality

After watching this beautiful film I was blown away by the fact that this was Kim Go Eun's first ever acting role. Playing a younger (she is 21) role as a schoolgirl, Han Eun Gyo, she is incredibly natural and at ease in the part. Park Ha ll creates the elderly 'grandpa' figure Lee Juk Yo but is actually a revered poet laureate who has mentored a bitter, jealous Seo Ji Woo played convincingly by Jim Mu Yeol.
The chance meeting of the ML and FL is a catalyst as they create a relationship based on unspoken needs. For Han Eun Gyo, lacking affection at home, the 'grandfather' allows her to express her kindness and makes her happy and a little bit competitive with Seo Ji Woo to gain Le Juk Yo's affection. For Le Juk Yo he is transported back to a more youthful time and creates a romantic fantasy that he then channels into a beautiful story.

The plot is about art and literary posturing. It is about how, even when we age, the mind remembers our youthful selves. It is for each character about yearning.
Yes there is a sex scene. The depiction is summed up by the rhetoric question, mid coitus, by Han Eun Gyo "do you know why teenage girls have sex? It is because we are lonely". Reflecting back to Seo Ji Woo his own words and summarising it is just sex.

Loneliness is an underlying theme but the creative fantasy of the poet for the young girl is set in a dreamlike idyll and captures feelings of lost love.

Note to the wowsers; The female is a character, written by a writer, produced by a producer, directed by a director, acted by an actor.
If the part played by her offends you check your own moral compass. The role of Seo Ji Woo is quite despicable but his actions are not questioned. Sexism is alive and kicking - mostly females.

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Perfect for a night of laughter

As my name implies, this is not my typical genre, but it didn't disappoint. To keep it short, b/c there isn't much to add to the other reviews, it was so ridiculous I was laughing often and sometimes very hard. In some scenes, it was easy to be concerned and a range of other emotions for some of the characters, even a zombie or two. So, I'd say the acting was well done.

Let's just say it's silly, Karma bites, and it still had a good ending. I think it's best to watch it in a watch party or with friends for the most enjoyment. I may watch it again, I'm not sure. I'll make sure it's with others who have a good sense of humor and are in the mood to laugh.

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Promising Failure

Be warned, if you are expecting a movie similar to Hush (2016), turn around before you are disappointed.

I went into this movie with somewhat high expectations, only to end disappointed. Having seen the trailer and that Wi Ha Joon starred as main role I won't lie, it caught my attention straight away. It had so much potential but ended up being flat, not the thriller I was expecting

The beginning is decent, but it only goes down hill from there. Pointless running through the city, usless police officers that are smitten by the serial killer lies. Apparently no one at the city can think for themselves and actually do something when they see a girl running away in fear while being chased by a guy. Don't worry, he will just tell everybody that it is her sister and everyone will believe him straight away without batting an eye. Oh and also, did I mention how unrealistic it is that even if there are so many cameras on the street and South Korea having one of the best security systems, it all ends up being usless?

I did enjoy the acting, specially from Jin Ki Joo and Kil Hae Yeon. Wi Ha Joon had so much potential but was done dirty by the poor writing.

Kudos to the sound editing, I liked the contrast at the beginning between the silenced world that Kim Kyung Mi experienced opposed to the rest of the world.

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that life can be meaningful if we’re brave enough to let ourselves be vulnerable.

How do you cope with the loss of a family member? How do you tear down the walls you’ve put up to protect yourself from the outside world without crumbling under the weight of all the pain? And how do you ultimately learn to open up to the world again, and to form new connections and be vulnerable, with the awareness that, one day, they might leave too? Screened in competition at the 2021 Torino Film Festival, Aloners (Hon-ja-sa-neun Sa-ram-deul) deals with these and many more themes, from the struggles to process grief to the ghosts of the past that still weigh on our shoulders; from all the repressed anger that comes from a lifetime of buried emotions to the need to set boundaries with toxic family members; from how difficult it is to reach out and ask for help to the universal truths we keep hidden, such as the fact that life is often devoid of meaning and that we don’t really enjoy being alone all that much. Aloners is filmmaker Hong Sung-eun‘s (also the film’s writer and editor) feature directorial debut, but you absolutely wouldn’t think it was, judging by the complexity of its themes and by the sensitivity of a screenplay that effortlessly draws you in, crafting an atmosphere that is drenched in intrigue, mystery, emotion, and subtle irony.

The film centres on Jina (Gong Seung-yeon, also in her feature debut), a woman in her late twenties who leads a repetitive (and highly relatable) existence: Jina works at a call centre, where she spends her time apologising to entitled clients who are often in the wrong, ignoring their insults, and accommodating their absurd requests. On her way back to her apartment, she walks on her own, her eyes glued to her mobile phone. At home, she lives by herself, and avoids interactions with her neighbours. She eats her dinner on her bed while watching TV and falls asleep not long after that, only to wake up the following day and have the exact same experience over and over again. In fact, not only has Jina managed to survive such a monotonous lifestyle for so long, but she’s also become exceptionally good at it: she’s currently the top employee at her workplace, due to how many phone calls she manages to answer (and endure) each day. But there’s a reason why Jina is so successful at being alone: quite simply, she has lost all interest in having interactions with others, be it her neighbours, her coworkers, or even her own family. Instead, she has chosen a life of seclusion and embraced the fact that her existence has no meaning.

But Jina isn’t the only “aloner” in the film. Her father (Park Jung-hak, of The Land of the Waves) also lives on his own, due to Jina’s mother’s recent passing, which left him a widower. His way of coping with his wife’s death is the opposite of Jina’s: he spends his days attending religious functions and turning his daughter into a scapegoat, guilttripping her into keeping him company and unloading all his guilt onto her to avoid facing the fact that he wasn’t present enough in his wife’s life. Also alone are Jina’s neighbours, a mysterious young man (Kim Mo-Beom) who attempts in vain to have a conversation with her every morning until he dies in mysterious circumstances, and a new neighbour, Seonghun (Seo Hyun-Woo, of A Taxi Driver), who rents the former resident’s apartment after his passing, and who’s temporarily on his own because his girlfriend believes his new flat to be haunted.

And then there’s Sujin (played by newcomerJung Da-Eun), a new employee at the call center that Jina has been given the task to train, and who keeps trying to befriend our protagonist, having just moved to Seoul from Chuncheon, where all her friends are. Through all these figures, not only does director Hong Sung-eun alert us of just how many people are living alone nowadays – so much so that the Korean term holojok has been coined to describe the people in the country who “prefer to be left on their own,” but also presents us with a story with more than one protagonist, each with their own distinct lives and points of view, and each with their own truths to keep hidden.
And there are quite a lot of unexpected things happening in Aloners, some more puzzling than others. There are tensions at Jina’s workplace, even more so after the balance is altered by the arrival of Sujin, as the newcomer’s enthusiasm and curiosity clash with the disillusionment of seasoned call centre workers who stopped trying to find any meaning or enjoyment in their job a very long time ago. There’s a demanding boss (Kim Hannah, of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings) who can still relate to her employees, underneath it all, and there’s a neverchanging routine that is turned upside down the moment Sujin arrives, bearing gifts that will come to assume different connotations later in the film. But there’s a lot more than that. There are wills that don’t make sense, people who secretly spy on others but aren’t able to communicate without placing or receiving blame, and people who are trying their hardest to open up to others but don’t know how. And then there are things that might or might not be happening in places that may or may not be haunted, mentally ill time machine-builders who might actually be geniuses, and people who are gone but still very much present in the memory of others.

Even that description doesn’t do Aloners justice, as there is just so much condensed into the film’s 91 minutes screentime, and Hong Sung-eun’s assured direction and delicate writing ensures we are always shown, not told not just what happens in the film, but also what remains unsaid. Different viewers will get a different message out of the film, depending on their own experiences and mindsets as they go into the screening. There’s social commentary on modern life, as you might expect, but there are also moments of irony and mystery to keep you entertained, as well as fantastic performances by Gong Seung-yeon and Jung Da-Eun that will haunt you long after the credits roll. There’s the occasional twist you won’t see coming, and there’s a very well-crafted, complex father-daughter relationship that perfectly encompasses the kind of baggage that affects our every interaction with our family members. Aloners is a film about processing grief, learning to let someone go, and letting yourself feel, with the awareness that, once all the walls you’ve put up are broken and your defences are gone, there’s no going back.

Yet, to me, the film is first and foremost about the burden we all silently share as human beings, and the kinds of truths that often remain unsaid just because it would tarnish the facade we’ve spent all these years perfecting. We have become so accustomed to not having a reaction when someone hurts us, apologising when we should be insisting on being treated with respect, and defending ourselves when we should be apologising that we’ve forgotten how to be vulnerable, and how to accept ourselves for who we are. Most of all, we’ve forgotten that we’re all alone, underneath it all, and that every single one of us shares the same fears and uncertainties. By taking on a journey with Jina and the other “aloners,” the film ultimately shows us that honesty and acceptance are the answers, and that, if we are brave enough to share our baggage with the right people, we might be able to find this existence of ours a little more meaningful, after all.

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Nostalgic

I know many people couldn't get access to watch this since GMMTV only put to stream for Disney+ in Thailand, but viewers internationally have a hard time being able to watch this and others think that this is a copy of the original 2gether the series with many of the similar scenes. However, the scenes are the same if you have watched the series, but they have cut it shorter for the sake of it being a movie and adding in new scenes as well. Also, in the beginning most of it is narrated by Tine since he is one of the main characters following Sarawat. This time we actually get to hear both Tine and Sarawat's thoughts when they both fell in love with each other unlike in the series where we only got their dialogue. Moreover, some of the passionate scenes that Tine and Sarawat had are more emotional if you are a longtime fan of the series and both Win and Bright. Overall, the movie is really good as it brings more of an emotional effect to it and nostalgia as well.

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Very satisfying: but could have been more satisfying.

Few days ago, I was talking with my friend, how now-a-days, movies which could make you feel relaxed and satisfied were not being made. I really like those movies, where not much is happening but still something is happening, which shows you people just going on with life.
This was that kind of a movie. There was no over romanticisation of village life. Didn't try to show how good village life is, or how good the people living simple life are. 'It is what it is' - was the mood of the movie. Just eat, work, roam in nature, watch seasons change, eat again... wow. Just looking at it was so comforting.
Ryu Joon Yeol is fastly becoming my favorite actor. He never missed a beat. Kim Tae Ri is good. She is the main focus of movie, so she gets a good screen time. But Ryu Joon Yeol steals the show. And the way he does is so simple. Jin Ki Joo is okay. She doesn't get much space.

The only complaint was, 'the after' thing. The movie stops at the door. I was really left wanting for the closure. It could have been really really more satisfying. But we don't often get what we wish for.

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Not for philistines

Don't watch this film if you are a philistine (like me). Really, this film is only suitable for true arthouse cinephiles who can appreciate such a high form of art.../s. Jokes aside, this movie will probably only appeal to the 1% of people who can appreciate really "artsy fartsy" films. While my movie tastes lie in more "mainstream" film genres, I have watched (and enjoyed) plenty of arthouse films as well, but this film is just... not interesting, to put it plainly. It's set in present day China but shot in black and white, and the story isn't told in chronological order. None of these are bad things per se, it was just how it was all put together that resulted in a rather boring piece of work. And I'm sure that there are other black and white movies with non-linear narratives that manage to be entertaining. Nothing noteworthy seems to happen at all; if anything, it is more of a character study of a modern day Chinese woman drifting aimlessly through life. A documentary would have been more compelling (and educational).

A good film to me is one that tells a story, one that entertains people and makes them feel something. And the only thing I felt while watching this film was total boredom, so in the eyes of a philistine, it has failed.

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Tried to be risqué, but failed

The idea of a guy whose secretly into S&M finding a Master at his job could have been an interesting setup for a hot and steamy story about pleasure and pain, but this was just bad.

How it was discovered that the ML was into S&M was so contrived. Why would he have a submissive collar delivered to his job when he lives alone? The FL suddenly becoming curious about S&M and thus willing to be a Master seemed random, considering she’d never participated in or been curious about such behavior before. And though she was interested in the ML had only just met him.

The leads had no chemistry whatsoever, and the S&M scenes were tamed at best. The office storyline was boring and many of the scenes between the ML and FL were silly. The best thing about this was looking at Lee Jun-young’s pretty face. He’s an attractive guy who has talent. He can do drama and comedy well, but he could not elevate the material here. Neither could Seohyun, who is also a very good actress.

Going into this I knew that the chances of it being good was going to be a long shot because Korean dramas just don’t do well with risqué material or anything involving a couple being sexual with each other. However, I watched because I like the actors and thought the synopsis sounded interesting. Unfortunately this was a fail.

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My first inclination if you've found this movie page and are wondering whether to watch this movie is to say, "Run for your life!" or "Do not stop, do not pass go, put this directly into your NI list". But I will try to be slightly more objective than that because someone other than me may want to sit through this because they are a Shu Qi fan. Or perhaps a Vincent Zhao fan. Or you don't care how bad the acting and story are if you can watch some martial arts.

Let's start with the story. Vincent Zhao's character is banished to the fictional country of Lavernia (right next to Shirleenia) for saving a plane full of passengers from a high jacker. Ostensibly it's because he didn't follow orders, but I think it's because he emptied an entire magazine into the bad guy and still didn't kill him. Lavernia is a former part of the Soviet Union and there are people sent in chanting they want to return to the USSR. A Japanese cult leader is in town blowing things up and killing people left and right in his desire for a new world order. There's a boat load of Chinese refugees offshore that are starving to death. Oh, and the Minister of Defense is on the take and a gun runner and also in cahoots with the deadly cult leader. Throw into this mix, Shu Qi's character who fled China after being a witness to the violence and carnage in and around Tiananmen Square and is also Zhao's ex-girlfriend and you have one convoluted piece of work.

The propaganda is heavy handed in this film. Shu Qi's character is berated by Zhou's character and just about everybody else throughout the movie for leaving the homeland after witnessing people wounded and dying when the protesters were crushed.

Zhou is a good kicker, but his acting felt bland to me. Even at that it was much better than the rest of the male cast. Shu Qi didn't have much to do but play the pretty damsel in distress. Andrew Lin made the most of his crazed messianic villain. His character seemed especially impervious to bullets, especially after his initial capture when his rescuers sprayed the area with bullets attempting to take out his guards.

There were places in the movie so bad I was laughing but it was hard to keep it up as the ridiculousness of the scenes dragged on. Some of the fights were good, others relied heavily on wire-fu and defying the laws of gravity. I don't mind a little wire-fu outside of fantasy movies, but in a more reality-based story it seemed badly out of place.

The movie ended with an over-wrought climax that had me begging for the final credits. The most positive thing I can say is that the movie is mercifully only 90 minutes long.

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It's not all about horniness, it's mostly about the stigma

I was.... stunned. I've heard a lot of people talk about this movie, and the fact that it's a bit more intense than what you expect of a Korean movie. Even then, I didn't expect anything of this sort. Ofc it's still toned down a little, but it remains true to it's purpose and message.
Even if you aren't into BDSM, or anything of the sort, you still manage to keep some form of understanding for this movie. You even learn about the different dynamics, and what it's all about.
My favorite thing about the movie is the fact that it's not all about being horny, but mostly the social stigma around BDSM, especially when it's a woman dominating a man, and also the issues of some people with "fake" BDSM.
The directors and producers really managed to shed a good light on the community, even if I myself can't really say much about the representation, as I'm not personally a part of that community. It created understanding without dehumanizing those who are into BDSM.

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"Only The People Who Yearn Over The Death Of Their Loved Ones Can See Me"

Being a Religious Studies major, I am attracted to movies with the theme of "religion" or "heaven" or such in their titles, and I am rarely disappointed with them!

This movie is built around the topic of people who loses loved ones and have unsettled questions, problems or such with their loved one passing without closure...and writing letters trying to find closure.

First, the cinematography was excellent, and I loved the music as well; it seemed to perfectly match the scenes and mood . I also loved the way bright lights were used by the director for a fantastic effect in some scenes of this movie (if you watch the movie, notice how his play with bright light made the scenes look 'other wordly!). The locations made the ambiance of the movie so peaceful and conducive to the story.

The subject of 'lying to make others feel better' was also a major theme in this movie; if you have ever had a girlfriend (or boyfriend, for that matter, you know where I ma coming from!)...and what mother has not lied to their children to soothe over minor problems, injuries or bullying by others?

Also, add the theme of losing a loved one (which everyone has, or will!), with or without issues still left unsettled and with a good, simple but moving script, it is a winner in my book...

The movie also touched on making others feel better as being a medicine for those who have been done wrong; relieving them of their pain by helping others...something that millions of volunteers do every day around the world!

What also was nice is that the movie was simple yet still covered the main themes/topics of the movie fairly well; however, it needed more development in two places. Everything together made this movie captivating through and through!

In the film's beginning , Jo Ha Na (Han Hyo Joo) writes a letter and posts it to a special mailbox, whose mail is collected by the special postman, Shin Jae Joon (Kim Jae Joong). Some narration attempts to give you an idea of what is happening, but one of small problems of this movie is that it fails; more on this at the bottom of this review.

After meeting the special postman she starts working for him, and finds out that her 'problem' with her former, dead,, boyfriend are minor compared to the ones other people have with 'their' parted loved ones!.

After being offered a job to assist Jae Joon, she starts trying to help those with unsettled problems or such with their past loved ones...the little white "lies" that made the letter writers feel better was so touching; something which I have not seen in many movies before! This and encouragement from Jae Joon helps her forget her grudge with the now-dead former boyfriend, the subject of the letter she sent to Heaven early in the movie.

While doing this, she develops a 'crush' on Jae Joon, which (unfortunately) leads to other problems not easily as fixed as those of other people's.

Not many movies address the concept tackled here, and except for the American movie Jacob's Ladder (1990,) its remake which I have not seen and the under-rated Asian movie Roadkill (2019), very few movies even tackle the subject of 'Pergatory' or those left behind with still-pending issues with deceased loved ones, either..

However, Shin Jae Joon seems to have some brownie points coming his way through his interaction with Jo Ha Na ; briefly hinting at Pergatory-like kudos from this movie's 'god'.

Ha Na was the most expressive of the main cast, and whose crying and such went far in the authenticity of this movie.

This is the same actress that gave such an outstanding performance in Always (2011, her next movie). Her ability to express emotional; extremes are shown both in this and the next movie she made.

I have never seen Kim Jae Joong act before (in the All About Dong Bang series) so all I can say is that he did a pretty good job here.

Both main cast showed a range of emotions and they seemed to pull off being individuals genuinely interested in each other as bf/gf, through their . The support cast also did a great job, both performing their roles and supporting the main cast members in making the movie seem real; I especially liked Moon Gyo's wife (Yook Mi Ra) and her interaction with Ha na, and their trying to get her father-in-law to be less depressed..

Denying it a full "10"...

I felt that both the introduction and ending were rushed; I would liked to have seen more explanation about the "letters" and also the ending seemed a little rushed as well. All of a sudden, NO ONE could see the postman, and he even acted surprised when this happened in the coffee shop once it happened!

I would liked to have seen more development between the two main casts before falling in love A few more minutes would have accomplished both these points, IMHO.

I would like to see more movies tackle this subject and to have cast such as this movie to bring it to life, keep you captivated and leave you begging for more!

RE-WATCH VALUE: Definitely!

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They wanted an easy check, and so they gave you bi*ches crumbs

It's genuinely insulting that a 112 min clip show was called a "movie" and released in theaters: the BL equivalent of "let them eat cake".

I wasn't expecting much from this so-called "movie" but damn, even the new sequences were awfully uninspired. Forgetful, at best. Probably shot in one whole day. There was no intimacy or developing story whatsoever. BrightWin didn't even try. They showed up to murmur a few lines and collect a paycheck. It was a criminal disrespect to the show that built their flourishing careers.

The worst part about this "movie" isn't how it's not much of a movie at all. The real tragedy is that this glorified flashback episode wasn't universally criticized to the extent that the staff and crew issued a public apology. GMMTV should be bullied into never doing something like this ever again.

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SCAM !!

Ok, So I was so hyped up to watched the movie because of some scammed reviews...... But there's not a single piece of shit to be apppreciate as a dark theme !! They didn't went as dark as I expected..... The scenes weren't that so horrific or disturbing..... This is far of a psycho theme based story.....

There's not even enough amount of the psycho scenes..... They should have added some more scenes of Kim Gwang Il(Lee Jong Suk) and his background or psychology too... so that the audience could get a better connect of the character.

I appreciate the acting of casts but at the same time I detest the story and narration.

That's it.

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