Hwaran (2023)

a well made Korean Noir film in current generation... Song Joong-ki's new side ⭐

-- Korean Neo Noir genre is one of the best genre in South Korea, it's proved again --

➠ Reminder :- Hopeless ( Hwaran) does not allow laughter or hope for a single moment. The dark and cruel scenery of the small town shown in " Hopeless" (Hwaran) and the shameful life of the human group make the audience will feel realistic story. Even the small possibility of the ending is good, so it is even more painful and refreshing.

➠ Theme :- Movies are noir in terms of genre, but the framework of the narrative is close to the story of growth.It is through irresponsible adults, young people who have become monsters themselves to escape danger, and the existence of helpers who cannot lead them to the full sun but sympathize with the pain.

➠ Intro :- " Hopeless" (Hwaran), leaves us deep afterimage in the hearts of the audience with its overwhelming immersion and stellar performance by actors, proved once again the intense ensemble of the two actors, Hong Sabin and Song Joong-ki. Hwaran", which proved to be the best movie in 2023, is a deep and intense noir drama that depicts the stories of characters living in a hopeless world in different ways with solid characterizations.

➠ the story analysis :-
" Hopeless " ( Hwaran), is a movie about shadows symbolizing darkness in art.When the light is strong, the shadow becomes longer behind it, so there is hurt in glory, sadness in joy, and pain in growth.It captures portraits of those born under shadows where light cannot be seen from birth, while at the same time implying that those living in the dark will go toward light and find their image.Rather than the grand meaning of salvation, the power of the two men who dream of rescue in a disaster-like reality is impressive...

➠ direction - cast :-
The powerful direction of the new dire"The film emphasizes that affection and loyalty between people can be the last bastion to overcome even the unbearable pain through characters living in a world without hope in different ways." the energy of the new Hong Sa-bin, who expressed it well, and Song Joong-ki's acting transformation come fresh. Attention is focusing on whether the film, which received great attention in Busan, will create a new wave in the theater district.

✰ Will SONG JOONG-KI got sucess with his transition from Protagonist to Antagonist ???
- Yes, Not all actors can effectively make the on-screen transition from hero to antagonist, so when they do,it’s truly a triumph to appreciate. Song Joong-ki who provide an intimidating, menacing, downright horrifying performance helped elevate Hwaran to the next level " Hopeless " (Hwaran)


brought by - Shinnosuk_Lee
( Personal Review )

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If you're doomed either way, is it better to have hope or be hopeless?

intro:
The movie's native title, "화란," is an old-fashioned transliteration of the word "Dutch". Yet, in the movie, the Netherlands symbolizes Yeon-gyu's hope for a better life, alongside his mother. At first, it seemed almost paradoxical that the English title of this film should be "Hopeless," when the original title came closer to "Hope". Perhaps this is because Yeon-gyu's utopic version of the Netherlands is in and of itself a form of false hope: the Netherlands is not the idyllic, free of economic inequalities, country Yeon-gyu makes it out to be.

"Hopeless" follows Yeon-gyu, who still has hope, and Chi Geon, who has hope only for Yeon-gyu. It is a story of tragic kinship between a boy and a man who never got to be children.

acting:
The acting from all cast members was stellar. This is especially true for the lead actors, Hong Xa Bin, Song Joong Ki and BIBI. They played their characters so well, their emotions were so raw and genuine, that I couldn't peel my eyes away from the screen. When they cried, I cried. Their performances, both subtle and loud, were award-worthy.

plot:
A story following the descent into darkness and moral corruption of a protagonist has been done a thousand times. Similarly, there are a library's worth of gangster flicks. What makes "Hopeless" different? In terms of plot, nothing really. Instead, what "Hopeless" brings to the table is something intrinsically human. The focus here isn't flashy action but the characters themselves. Perhaps I'm just imagining it, but I found the camera's focus to be more often than not on the characters' faces. With limited dialogue, it is these faces that tell much of the story. And tell a gut-wrenching story they certainly did. "Hopeless" offers a story you've certainly heard before, in a way you'll likely never hear it quite like again.

I'd been looking forward to this movie ever since I learned of its existence, and for the past couple months had been eagerly checking this page in the hopes of news of its release. With the trailer's release, I knew this movie would be amazing. Safe to say, my intuition was correct. In fact, I was so immersed in this movie that I can't even comment on its cinematography. I guess a re-watch is likely in store for me. I highly recommend this movie to any viewer able to withstand graphic violence. Please have a box of tissues at your disposal.

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Gut-wrenching story

This movie is not entertainment but a depressing story about a town without hope. The title of the movie is truly fitting. There seems to be no hope for our main character and neither for other people. So this was all emotionally very hard to watch. Few scenes were hard to watch because of brutality but the entire movie is hard to watch emotionally because it is just sad to see peoples lives going downhill. In fact it is more than sad. There is sadness that purifies but when you don’t have hope it is even worse. In a sense this is what hell looks like.

Actually the real title of the movie is Hwaran – 화란. That is transliterated from the Chinese word for Netherlands. Our main character Yeon Gyu has a dream of going to the beautiful Netherlands. However, Hwaran can also be transliterated from another Chinese character with the meaning of disaster and chaos. Very interesting detail that says a lot about the story of this movie too. In short, don’t watch this movie if you want to have a good time, watch it at your own risk.

Btw. the version of the movie I saw was 1hr 58min and not 2 hr 13 min as stated on the info.

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perfect as it is

I don't write reviews, but I have to here. I don't really understand the bad reviews, the film is dark, serious, but absolutely fabulous. It held me the whole time and didn't let go... I sat glued to my seat and didn't move until the credits rolled and I think if it wasn't already halfway through the night I would have kept sitting and enjoying the emotion the film left in me.
I put the movie on expecting my partner to get up and go to sleep like he always does, but the movie had him as attached as it did me.
Absolutely perfect visually, slow paced and yet there is always something happening that moves the plot towards the inevitable. The cast is magnificent both Hong Xa Bin who totally got me and BIBI both unknown to me but their acting was awesome and finally the darling Song Joong Ki who I hope can't play anything wrong, the desperation in his eyes was so real....
I was completely absorbed by this movie...

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That town should just be named Hopeless.

This was great movie that everyone did live up to the title, each and every single person in that town was hopeless...even the guys in power.I fell in love again with Song Joong Ki, despite him being a leader in the gang,he had a soft spot for the young kid and really wanted to help him.I liked his character.The young actor indeed deserved the award for Best New actor he portrayed his character very well, strong yet fragile.He was not a bad kid but the circumstances around him were just not letting him win even an inch.Also why wasn't him mum ever on his side? That was just sad.The chain of events that led him in killing the one adult who had his back was indeed sad.The one who was suspected of tampering with his bike was not culprit yet got punished...the one who did tamper with the bike was in his own hell. Despite their bickering the step-sister cared for him deeply glad they left that town together.I would definitely rewatch it.

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Promising premise but less impact

Extremely mundane style of storytelling, most of the scenes were done using silent suspense but sometimes it's really a little too much for such a simple story to be stretched this long. Visuals is the stronger aspect of this movie, that seemingly permanent grease and greyish hue smudges the small suburb which doesn't look like having much of a future, it really sparks the underlying pressure for the poor to abandon their morale just to survive the unjust in this corrupted society. It's a promising premise in gritty and stylish low tone, but can't really say the same for its lukewarm impact towards the ending.

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A little too hopeless for me

I really like this movie, but not the ending, I honestly don't really understand why he had to kill in the end, I guess it's the only way to successfully run away, but I would've liked it if Yeon-gyu and the older brother had survived together, or that there was a twist where the killing was a set up so that they could all run away together. I mean I know the title is called "hopeless" but I thought there would be a more fulfilling ending, or at least some sort of twist. By joining the gang he really gained nothing, it would've been easier to just run away with Hyeon in the beginning if everyone was going to die at the end.

Also really loved the cast, the acting was top tier and I am a huge fan of Bibi's acting, she does so well in every role, and she did this one perfectly too.

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