Multiverse of emotions

Another Korean movie with two titles, one in English (Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors) which makes no sense to me and the other Korean (Oh! Soo Jung) which describes much better what kind of movie this is. Despite everything, I think it's hard to have the right expectations for this movie. It is an art film with a serious mature theme, made in black and white, centered around conversations between the main protagonists and long, awkward kisses. I found the film interesting to watch due to it being arranged like a mosaic so that every 5 minutes we have a temporal or dimensional jump in the story, so in the end we get the same story told in two versions and with different conflicting emotions so that in the end we don't know what is true and what is subjective, what is true and what a lie. Are men really in love with "poor" Soo Jung, is she even honest with them a bout her virginity? What actually happened? Which version of the film, if any, reveals the truth, or is it just different subjective perceptions.

Although the film has some entertainment value, I found it uncomfortable and difficult to watch, especially because of the static and overly long kissing scenes. It was as if I had become a voyeur. It is still positive that the characters seem like real people and we can empathize with their emotions and concerns.

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Way of Life

This is one of my favorite Korean movies, and the English name "Nostalgia" fits it perfectly. The movie touched me on many levels. From a cinematic point of view, it is filled with many shots that show the beauty of ordinary life. The characters are real people, not great looking stars, and it feels like I'm watching my neighbors. The acting is deliberately a bit comical to bring us closer to the different personalities of the characters. At the center of the plot is music, which gives meaning and magic to life's experiences. Several songs can be heard in the film, each with its own message and beauty, from traditional songs to folk ballads. Because of the music and the personalities of the characters, I can watch this movie again and again and enjoy it.

More than anything, the film shows an authentic life that many people run away from today, and therefore evokes nostalgia for the lost simplicity of life and community. We all want to be modern, successful, independent, everything should be perfect. But it doesn't have to be perfect, three chords on the guitar are enough for life to have meaning again.

And finally, my favorite verse from the movie: 인생은 함께 가는 사랑길, 혼자서 가기엔 외로워...

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Money isn't Everything

Real Movies show real Life, they give us a new perspective on our own experience or show us "what if" reality. This movie is called "Black Republic" to signalize the bad reality and perspective of the society, but i like the Korean title more "그들도 우리처럼" - They Are Also Like Us. This original title gives us more connections with the theme and the characters in the movie. I was wondering about many characters whose story wasn't developed in the movie but in all of them we see the dark shadow of their existence and struggle for dignity, justice, love, peace, but ultimately hope and better future. It happens so often, as we see in the movie, how people struggle to get money, but money is never the real purpose. People want something else, something meaningful.

This is a movie from the past period of history and cinema, and therefore braver and more honest then new movies, pure in its depiction of the story, without unnecessary twists and turns, not trying to put comedy relief to make it more enjoyable or fun, not trying to put "the message" or worrying about offending the viewer with modern correctness, - just a simple but very impactful story. We mostly follow one man and try to understand him just by observing him and his interactions, so for me this movie was very intriguing and even meditative.

Don't despair in the darkness of today but look for a better tomorrow with hope.

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Victory in Life

I miss movies like this. The martial arts genre is the genre of my youth that I enjoyed the most. Movies of this type have moved into the genre of thrillers, bloody gore or superheroes, but they have never been as good, and that's why I was both surprised and delighted by how much I liked this movie. It reminds me of the golden age of Korean cinema, which for me was from 2005 to 2010 when I was watching Korean movies every day, and in a way this film also belongs to that time.

Actually, I started watching the now movie because it wasn't on my "already seen list", but as soon as the movie switches to the youth of the main characters, I remembered that I had already seen it. I would even say that now, 10 years later, this movie is even better for me than when I watched it for the first time.

The film shows three friends who meet again in the ring after 25 years. The film briefly shows the days of their youth, but the main part of the film is the present time and these actors did the best job. I'm especially glad to see Hwang Jung-min, who is one of my favorite actors, and here he shows how skilled he is in fighting, and also in singing, since we hear his voice in the closing song of the film. The fight choreographies are very good, the story has enough plot and drama to justify the long duration. I have no complaints. A 10 for me.

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Who are you mister?

Fist of all, this movie was right for my taste. It doesn't have the suspenseful plots and twists or the multi-layered story like other great Korean thrillers, but that's not necessary. Sometimes it's best to be simple and straightforward, and this movie is like that. Clear, short, atmospheric, with great characters and an enigmatic protagonist who doesn't communicate much with words but with his attitude and actions. In another film, we would have learned more about the context of the story and about the motivations of the characters, but here it is not necessary. That is exactly what heightens the interest of the viewer, who can conclude for himself who and what kind of people the characters he is watching are.

Probably not all viewers will be able to immerse themselves in the film, but it kept me riveted and interested from beginning to end. The production and cinematography was great. From the characters, I liked the girl Inbi the most (young actress 류지안), she played her role very well, without much words.

And I'm very pleased with how it all ended, a bit absurd, but satisfying.

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Smuggling is not for everybody

Another one of those Korean films that is impossible to place in a specific genre. The atmosphere is a comedy, and the plot is a thriller, with elements of action, drama, and adventure. The film is at times casual and relaxed, and at times bloody brutal, as if I am watching two movies at the same time. In my opinion, the comedic elements are misused and prevent the viewer from enjoying the seriousness, tension and twists in the plot. The plot has a lot of twists and turns and thus constantly makes the movie more and more interesting.

The actors are very good and special praise and respect should be given to the female actors and stuntmen who spent a large part of the film diving underwater.

I also really like the choice of music. At times, the musical numbers seem forced as if they were selected on a jukebox, but I'll forgive that because I like the style of the music and even wish there was more of it. Actually, now after the movie I'm going to listen to some Korean trot and evergreens from the golden seventies.
And yes, one spoiler, at the end I even noticed some dolphins ?

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Be yourself

This historical cooking drama is very good to watch but loses its balance from scene to scene trying to add so many things. While it is a enjoyable to watch, it has many details that bothered me so it is hard for me to recommend it. I really liked the meals (i always love seeing Korean cousin on screen), and then the dramatic tension in the family and also the question about balancing between expectations and requirements from a society that put a person into a box. So the message (Be yourself) is quite good - one should find his own path and fight for his freedom. I didn't like that the two male leads behave as children or maybe even like they are in love, also i was bothered by themes that weren't properly resolved and by the many scenes presented in a pathetic way trying to artificially stir emotion.

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Oh boy!

From the first scene you can guess correctly where this will go. I started watching it not knowing anything about it and after realizing that at the center is the relationship between two male friends I wanted this to be a show about just friendship, but it turned out to be LGTBQ+ story/propaganda with nice visuals but bad script and acting wasn't convincing. Everyone looked suspicious about the person questioning his identity but no one dared to say anything and the drama never became explicit about it's theme. The Epilogue was a surprise. It worked well from the story perspective but for me it further promoted the - I will say it again - propaganda.

For example there is a performer who they present as a man with female face but he obviously is a woman. So gay story was okay for the most part but wanting to present a man as a beautiful woman, oh boy, that turned me off. It took me four days to finish this drama and i finished it because it is a part of a Drama Special Series that i enjoy a lot and want to complete, and after watching all 225 episodes of the all 14 seasons this is the first one that I felt uncomfortable with.

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When nothing works

If you want to enjoy this drama don't read anything about the story because the excitement comes from the unexpected events and twists. The actors are not bad but, somehow, I didn’t have enough time to care for them and the flow of the movie is static and not that suspenseful as the story suggests. The main interest of the viewer is what happens next and how will the story connect the protagonists.

The atmosphere is melancholic, depressing and heavy so it is not for everybody, but if you want a good mystery give it a try. But maybe it would be better to just read the book.

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What is the GOAT life

There is a saying: Whoever digs a pit will fall into it; if someone rolls a stone, it will roll back on them. Well here in this short one hour comedy-romance-drama we have a student who wants to trick another student into love only to experience how love works in mysterious ways.

We indeed live in a society that promotes success more than love and it is hard to just take your time with life. Underneath the silly premise of this drama there is an important message about life. Maybe we don’t need to submit ourselves to the system, maybe we should change the system with a better life.

I enjoyed this drama a lot, the actors were cute, the scenes were funny and emotional, the production on a high level and the message is great. Maybe a little cheesy at the moments but still so adorable, even for me as a 40 year old guy.

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Basketball VS Football

I might be biased because basketball is my sport, but this drama was just right on every level. The desire of the main protagonist to play basketball when everyone is interested in football is a good allegory of the unique talents that every child brings and the difficulty to adjust to the group. Young actors were great. The story is simple yet very authentic and therefore emotional. It helps us grownups to understand children and their emotions which can be very complicated.

This drama manages to touch on many themes in only one hour of duration (sport, school, children, friendship, romance, family, …) and that makes it a great choice to watch. I still didn’t watch the entire “KBS Drama Special 2023” but for now this is my favorite of the season.

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Sport for Love

There is love for sport and there is sport for love. While watching this drama I remembered a meme with a picture of boys playing basketball. One boy is looking the girls at the stands and says: As I get older, I am less interested in Sport. At the same time a girl from the stands, while looking attracted to boys, says: As I get older, I am more interested in Sport.

So this drama is presenting itself as a sport romance comedy, about a female football (or soccer) player who can even compete against men, but we don’t get to see to much of football because there is a love story here also. As much as I appreciate the story in both dimensions, the connection between women gets the most screen time so that the drama actually doesn’t have a clear focus. Finally, the best part of this drama is Lee Yeon as Ko Do Hyun. She was very believable as a football player unlike other actresses.

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All Actions have Consequences

This show started perfectly and it managed to stay fresh and interesting until the end. I couldn't stop thinking about it for two days until i finished it. I did took a break after every episode.

The style is a little bit quirky and even though this is an action thriller with a hint of supernatural, it also had some comical moments. I was bothered with some unnecessary scenes like for example two short nude scenes, but the biggest issue is that in the second half of the series the main character, Lee Tang paradoxically only has 5 minutes of screen time per episode since the story expanded to other characters. So the drama loses/changes it's original identity. All in all this was an exciting watch with great characters and actors who gave them life.

A great small detail in the drama is a book "Crime and Punishment" which must have inspired the creators and, after finishing this drama, i feel a desire to read the book also.

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Everyone has a chance

I saw this movie by a chance so I would say that the director succeeded even though the main character in the movie tries to succeed with, what seems like a bad idea. He dreams of a blockbuster but insists of doing an erotic B-movie and is disappointed with constant failures. It is true that no achievement can be accomplished without failures. It is said that Thomas Edison produced 2000 bad lightbulbs before achieving success. So all those failures were necessary to discover a right way to do it. In this movie, a movie-director Seung Hoon fails at many steps but somehow he goes on and that is a good message.

The movie also reminds us of the limitations a problems caused by to Covid. The acting could have been better. I was surprised to see some American people here. The jokes weren't very funny to me but I will remember the movie in positive light because i enjoyed the selection of songs played in the background a couple of times.

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I wanted to do good

Oh my, this was a long movie that makes me want to light up a candle and pray for the protagonists - man and woman living together. One of them actually does light a candle while working, maybe even praying, and the other said something that describes the movie for me. He said: I wanted to do good.

The society has an institution of marriage for a reason, for protection and support (the common good) of both husband and wife, and their children. The couple in this movie are just living together, they are friends, partners and lovers, they live in a consensual union where everything is good until it isn't. Paradoxically, the problems seem to start when the woman Jay gets pregnant . Would marriage make it easier for them? I argue that it would. I would say that this movie is an honest depictions of psychological and practical challenges of unexpected pregnancy not only for woman but also for man. The story takes an unexpected turn and the end is both negative and positive. Even if i would want to spoil the movie, i wouldn't be able to decide if the ending is good or bad. It is, just like in real life, the reality of so many relationships. Don't watch this movie for entertainment, watch it if you want to study relationships.

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