Review: All About My Wife

All about my wife attracted 460 mil viewers. It is one of the big hits in Korean box office this year. It is a romantic comedy about marriage, new love to a married woman, divorce etc. Romantic comedy is usually consumed by 20s, but 30s-40s visited the theater. The  key of success is the power of characters.   

Doo-hyun and Jung-in met in Japan. He falls in love with her because she is beautiful and calm. They gets married back to Korea but he finds that she is a non-stop chatter. Why she was calm in Japan? She decided to speak only in Japanese, and she was just learning Japanese.

He tries to be assigned to a remote village because he really wants be apart from her for a peace. He thinks he finally succeed it! However, very disappointedly, Jung-in follows him.     

Doo-hyun notices that many women run after his neighbor who is a famous Casanova. His nickname is Casanova Seong-ki.  Seong-ki means penis in Korean.   

Doo-hyun asks him to seduce his wife. He thinks he can make her leave. Seong-ki tells 

Casanova Seong-ki starts his plan. He tries to look cool, but Jung-in ignores. It is disgraceful for him. She hurts his self-esteem. Seong-ki tell Doo-hyun that she needs to have a job and he will make a coincident with her. Jung-in starts working as a radio guest. 

He successfully approaches her. They are milking together. Look at his hand on her shoulder.  

And Jung-In's radio show is getting successful. 

Casanova Seong-ki's emotion becomes serious, he falls in love with her, simply he can not stop it.
  

Doo-hyun wants to take her back, but Jung-in hurts already. They go to the court but they remind the first feelings when they met in Tokyo. Happy end.  

Review: The Concubine, 2012

After I mentioned before, some critics say it is a remake of Eunuch, 1968 by SHIN Sang-ok. I agree with it because structures, plots, characters are adopted from Eunuch. 

The Concubine has many plots but they are well weaved, which means, it is directed wonderfully. Mise-en-scene is also really good, which makes it even classy.    

Prince Seong-won falls in love with Hwa-yeon. Queen, who wants Seong-won to be a next king, notices it ordering Hwa-yeon to be a concubine, his brother, king's wife.  

On the other hand, Kwon-yoo and Hwa-yeon love each other. They decide to run away but the elopement fails. She pleads with her father not to kill Kwon-yoo in condition with she goes to the palace. Her father castrates him instead. Later Kwon-woo becomes an eunuch to revenge on her father. 

Queen plans to put his son on the throne with a minister. She poisons king and eliminates her opponents including Hwa-yeon's father. The regency by the queen mother begins. Hwa-yeon is isolated with a young child. 

Queen wants King Seong-won to have a son to consolidate the power. The sex should be followed by instructors next to the doors. 

However, In the king's mind, there is only one love, Hye-yeon. He takes her maid imagining her.  

Hwa-yeon uses king saying she can be his wife when he becomes a true King. She is wearing a hairpin which was presented before. 

Hwa-yeon makes up that queen tries to poison the king. King is furious. Eunuch Kwon-yoo helps her because the young child are theirs.  

While making love she kills king with the hairpin.  

Please watch director KIM Dae-sung's great movie, Bungee Jumping of their Own, 2000.

Review: Dangerously Excited, 2012

The Korean title means "I am the civil servant". The English title is not translated well.   


Dangerously Excited is wide-released but it is an actually indie film. Only 175,000 US dollars are spent for the production. Last week it achieved the break even point, over 200,000 viewers watched it. 

It is very meaningful because it is surrounded by the summer blockbusters, for instance, The Dark Knight Rises.

One ordinary late 30s civil servant meets an amateur music band, and joins it as a bass guitarist. The little conflicts between the old/conservative official and young band members bring laughs.  

I think viewers feel a sort of sympathy, the characters are just like the people around us. They have similar thirsty to escape from the repeated, sometimes sick, daily routines. And don't we want to express ourselves and receive attention/compliment from others? Dangerously Excited gives a vicarious satisfaction. 


YOON Jae-moon, he is a good actor. It is his one-man-show.

Review: Miss Conspirator, 2012

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Review: As One / Korea, 2012

As One / Korea begins with the subtitle, only one divided country in the world. It is based on the true story: the united table tennis team of South and North Korea won the world championship in 1991 against China.

The relationship of the Koreas is under the cold war after the series of events such as the seizure of power by conservative party in South, the attack of Chun-An battleship and the bombard of Yeon-pyung island by North.    

However, Korean people have a strong emotional tie in their minds as one nation. This  film is about it. It royally follows the conventions of sports films very well, which means at  least it is not tedious nor boring. 

Although it doesn't include any serious message, the current political situation of South and North makes viewers think about the unification related issues again.    


Anyway, what to appreciation about this film is the differences of mindsets, free and strict spirits, naive and arrogant attitudes, etc. And the acting of BAE Doo-na and HA Ji-won is impressive.   


They say, BAE Doo-na and PARK Ji-sung, football player, are dating. It turns out to be true?  

The coach notices to the national team that they will go to the championship as one team with the North Korea. The athletes are embarrassed because it is unpredictable and they don't have any preparation.  

The awkward encounters happens to them. They are one people, but culture, thought and the way of speaking are totally different.

 

Love, conflict, competition are there. Eventually, they open mind and get together for the match.

Meet the strongest China Team.

Some kind of a deal between China and judge.

The joy of victory.