Disappointing.

I had great expectations for this one since I've read and heard about the buzz it made, and since Hollywood was interested enough to make a remake (and consequently spoiling it), I assumed this had to be the cream of the crop of Asian and moreover, Korean cinema. I recently watched the masterpiece "Hongryeon Janghwa", and I expected this one to be on pair or even better. I was way wrong.

I blame the extreme silliness, the lack of realism and the absurdity that sometimes showed the plot. It made me feel I was being awkwardly manipulated to make me feel touched and moved by this supposed-to-be tear-jerker. As the movie goes on, you have to increase your suspension of disbelief, to the point that you start to loose interest and empathy for the characters. I think a good and intelligently written drama doesn't have to recall on absurdity to effectively move an audience sentimentally. The male protagonist is just way too fag and soon you will be killing him by yourself, and what better describes the female one is "an alcoholic manipulative crazy bitch" whose only interesting thing is her physical appeal (and I dare anybody to tell me I'm wrong). The jokes aren't particularly funny, and besides two or three moments of good laughs, the comedy is quite tame.

It has however, some good sides that saves it of being a total waste (or shall I say bore?): it has some good plot devices, good narration, acceptable acting, you get to know a little about Korea, good direction and camera work and yes, a happy ending. The best thing (I think), is that this is not another Hollywood crap. This can certainly be refreshing to watch. I believe this movie had some potential to truly revolutionize drama since it has some interesting ideas, but the silliness and plot-holes turned the authenticity into crude manipulation. And I don't like to be manipulated that way.

For those who are looking for interesting Korean movies I'd recommend "Hongryeon Janghwa". Now this one is a movie that wants to play seriously. And where "Yeopgijeogin geunyeo" failed, "Hongryeon" prevails.

Cheers.