- Alternative Title: Siwolae, Siwora, The Sea
- Genre: Drama, Fantasy , Romance
- Korea Casts:
Gianna Jun, Jung-Jae Lee
- Description:
From director Lee Hyun Seung comes Il Mare, the 2000 time-travel romance featuring My Sassy Girl's Jeon Ji Hyun in a starring role! This touching sci-fi love story centers on Han Seong Hyun (Lee Jung Jae, from Typhoon and Last Present), an accomplished architect who moves into his father's beach house, only to find himself put in the most extraordinary of circumstances. After dubbing the place "Il Mare" ("The Sea" in Italian), Seong Hyun receives a mysterious letter from a woman named Kim Eun Joo (Jeon Ji Hyun). Strangely, the letter is addressed to the person who will live in Il Mare after Eun Joo leaves, a puzzling statement considering the fact that Seong Hyun is the very first person to ever live in the house!
Believing it to be some sort of a prank or perhaps just a misunderstanding, Seong Hyun initially disregards the anomaly, only to find himself drawn into correspondence with Eun Joo. But as the two begin conversing through exchanged letters, they eventually discover that their situation is as remarkable as it is downright unbelievable. It seems that Eun Joo is actually living in 1999, a full two years ahead of the time in which Seong Hyun resides! Disbelief gives way to amusement and intrigue as the two continue their correspondence, eventually falling for one another. But when these two strangers decide to meet up, they soon discover something that neither quite expected. Will there be a happy ending for these two? Can love cross the boundary of time? Find out in Il Mare, the award-winning Korean film that inspired the 2006 U.S. remake starring Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock!
- Source mysoju.com
Review: Beautifully written and painstakingly charming, Il Mare is a romance movie that breathes life into a genre that has too many similar plots. I don't want to come off as a cold-hearted moron who thinks romantic movies are too cliched, please don't think of me as that? Simply put it this way, Il Mare is the kind of movie that leaves you utterly breathless. When you're done watching it, you just sit there and ponder on things you never knew you would think about. After the "fade to black," I lied there on my bed just watching the ending credits because I didn't want it to end. I'm sure all of you have felt this way either after watching My Sassy Girl or Fly Me To Polaris. I know these two movies are considered to be far and away instant classics in Asian Cinema, but Il Mare also has that sense of prestige that made the other two movies so lovable. And after watching this movie, I guarantee with all my heart and soul, you'll love this movie as much as I did.
The most noteworthy reason why this film is so magnificent is the subtleness in the plot. The whole story revolves around a very surreal seafront house that seems hidden and aloof from the crowded world. In all ways is this splendid little house a magical dream come true. There's a long, winding boardwalk to the front door and an exit that leads to the ocean. I can't say enough about how unbelievably pure and perfect this house becomes throughout the movie. When the time comes to actually "meet" our couple, you're already caught in the folds of bliss that has engulfed your imagination. And to think, the house itself is just a mere backdrop, or backbone if you will, to the couples' substantial relationship. When I say "relationship," I get a feeling of irony. The couple never really meet up in the movie, instead, they are entangled in a love letter type scheme that dips its wet feet into the world of sci-fi. The couple are writing letters to each other while living in the same world in two different times. Sung-hyun (Lee Jung Jae) is an aspiring architect who moves into his new home only to find a "welcome" letter from the previous owner. Eun-joo, played by the beautiful Jun Ji-hyun of My Sassy Girl, is the previous owner of Il Mare. She receives a letter from Sung-hyun that simply turns both their worlds upside down. It appears Eun-joo lives in the year 1999 and Sung-hyun in the year 1997.
As farfetched as the plot may seem, director Lee Hyun-seung never seems to disappoint. At first I felt this was going to be too difficult to understand because of the whole "wrinkle in time" idea. However, the story does not dwell upon that too long. The film doesn't want you to go to great depths to understand the time barrier between the couple. What it does want you to come to terms with, however, is the idea that these two people are destined lovers that may or may not ever meet each other because of fate's weird obstacle course. And when you understand that, then you'll see how melancholic this cinematic exposure is. We see two people, two years apart from meeting one another, trying desperately to connect in other ways than writing. There are scenes where they seem to go on a date, but in reality, they are there alone only keeping the other in mind and spirit. I commend the beautiful arrangement, almost bouquet-like, of the director during these sequences. Viewers will begin to understand the true test of love and how it will conquer all. It was one of the most tantalizing experiences my eyes will ever know. It was almost as beautiful as Jingle Ma's superior work in Fly Me To Polaris. It was pure visual splendor and it will undoubtedly touch your heart in more ways than one.
I don't have to say anything about the performances of the two actors. But here's something that will sum it all up-Simply Amazing. The imaginative nature, the subtleness of the story, and the surreal love story between the characters is more than enough to make most of you buy this movie. Take into consideration the magical aura the film is manifested on and you got yourself a movie worth watching. In the past few months, thanks to Mr. Kwang and Korean writers, I've become a true-blue Korean movie lover. With entertaining movies like Il Mare, My Sassy Girl, and Guns and Talks under their belt, I hope we viewers are treated more to these soul-touching eye-candies. Believe me, Il Mare is another instant classic you'll want to experience at least once in your lifetime. And you'll probably say the same thing about the universal language of "love."
I saw "The Lakehouse" first before this movie. I must say, I had to rewatch LH before I could fully understand. I didn't know then, but i guess, i was lost somewhere in the movie. I like the movie, though. I cried..well, I'm a cry baby..i cry just about everything...
But when I saw this version, which is the original, by the way, i told myself, "i should have seen this first". It would have been better...The review above is correct, it was beautifully done...
The endings in both films were different, though. But i think, the Korean version's is better than the American version's....i just find it more logical for the lead actor to go back to the time when the lead actress would have left the house rather than the leading actor showing up in the driveway minutes after the lead actress, having heard of his death, placed her letter in the mailbox warning him of his death...do i make sense??? because i think i lost myself there....
Anyway, you should see both films to fully understand what I'm trying to convey here.
No comments:
Post a Comment