Sep

27

2007

A Love (Sarang)

Posted by EunWook


Movie : A Love / Sarang / 사랑
Release Date : September 19, 2007
Country : South Korea
Director : Kyung-Taek Kwak
Starring : Jin-mo Ju, Si-hyeon Park
Runtime : 104 min
Editor Rating : 7.5
Users Rating: 7.47 1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars5 Stars6 Stars7 Stars8 Stars9 Stars10 Stars (17 votes)

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The day after the Korean Thanksgiving holiday (Cheosuk), I decided to watch a movie, but hadn’t made up my mind even while standing in front of the theater. Among three movies I was vaguely interested in, I suddenly made the decision to watch “A Love”. I knew that movie was doing well at the box office, but somehow received less than favorable sentiments from movie goers. I guess this made me wonder whether I would give “A Love” the big thumbs up or down.

“A Love” is about pure love, so true, but some would also say an out dated kind of love. I know a lot of people who watched this movie may think it’s so commonplace, but I think that gave the movie an even more desperate feel. The Korean dialect used in this film is from Busan – a dialect which is commonly associated with men who are considered to be blunt and tough guys. It’s not surprising than that this move was directed by Kyung-Taek Kwak, whose most popular work to date is 2001’s “Friend” - featuring tough Busan guys. After the success of “Friend” Kyung-Taek Kwak made several less successful films. He has recently complained on tv about the criticisms received about the similarities between “Friend” and “A Love”. I would think what director can make this kind of old fashion love story if not him?

The story is centered around In-ho and Mee-joo. It has been 10 years since In-ho parted from Mee-Joo - a girl that hell fell in love with as a child. Now they randomly meet again as high school students. They make a promise to protect each other, as they both came from tragic backgrounds.

One day Me-joo is forced into an apartment by a gangster named Chi Kuan. Me-Joo’s mom owes money to Chi Kuan and he tries to take advantage of Me-joo because of her debt. In-ho finds out about Chi-Kuan’s plan and appears at his front door. He talks Chi-Kuan into going for a walk and he then stabs Chi-Kuan with a knife. In-ho is now imprisoned for several years.

When In-ho finally gets out of prison he lands a job with a construction company and eventually becomes the right hand man of the owner. This is when In-ho crosses paths with Me-joo again as she is now the mistress for In-ho’s boss.

Jin-mo Ju (who played In-ho), in the past, has been known as a good looking actor with not so great acting skills, but in this movie he was just brilliant. He expressed intense love so well and used a Busan dialect to make his character even more realistic. In a way the film is somewhat like a music video for Joo Jin Mo, so you can’t help to be fascinated by his performance. Kim Min Jin, a native of Pusan, played the vicious scamp - much better than his previous performance in “No Mercy For The Rude”. Female actor Si-hyeon Park, played Mi Ju, and she seems to be getting better with each performance.

If someone wants to love or be loved sorrowfully, I would suggest you watch “A Love”. For those that complain that the love depicted in this movie is so old fashioned, I would say love of this nature is what we often dream of. A big thumbs up.

A Love from YesAsia

Cast:
Jin-mo Ju - In-ho
Si-hyeon Park - Mi-ju

Hyeon Ju
Min-Jun Kim
Hyeon-Seong Im
Seong-Gyu Im
Min-Seok Gwak
Myung-Jae Kim
Ji-Eun Choi
Hwi-Hwang Lee
Gwang-Gyu Kim

If you like this movie you may enjoy : Failan


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2007 Movie Reviews, Korean Movies, Movie Reviews |

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6 Comments so far

  1. 6 varms Says: April 24, 2008

    I can’t believe I bought this piece of c***. I usually love movies with a romance theme, but not when they recycle all the old ‘I love you to death’ hoo-haa and helpless girls who can’t help being so pitiful… Joo Jin Mo as a high schooler almost brought me to tears… He looks waaay to old and manly for that… In short, I really did not enjoy this movie eventhough I looked forward to it bcoz of all the good reviews. The story unfolded itself well though, but I found the baddie really cheesy looking. Is having greasy hair, tacky shirts and crazy eyes part of being a Korean gangster? If so, they couldn’t have done a better job. Classic baddie, anguish and melodramatic romance. I liked Hellcats and Crazy Waiting a lot better than this and that’s saying a lot.

  2. 5 Taryn Says: January 7, 2008

    Hi,
    Wonderful review! I watched this movie just the other day and I thoroughly enjoyed it. However, the one thing that really stood out for me was the music and I have been searching like crazy to find soundtrack and/or composer. If someone could let me know I’d greatly appreciate it.

    Thanks so much :)

  3. 4 hikaru181262 Says: December 15, 2007

    I’m impressed very much by JJM’s acting. He has the looks but he is willing to let go of that to embrace the role character he is slated to deliver whether in a movie or drama.

    I’m definitely looking forward to watching Joo Jin Mo in SARANG. Watching the trailer gives me an even greater urge and anticipation of how good and excellent he is in the acting arena!

    BRAVO! Joo Jin Mo! Gambantte ne!

  4. 3 Kimmy Says: October 30, 2007

    Joo Jin Mo was good in 200 pound beauty and was handsome in that one. But his hairstyle in this movie doesnt look that attractive. He probably should have the same look like he did in 200 pound beauty

  5. 2 Kim Dammers Says: October 13, 2007

    I found the movie confusing, in part because for a while I didn’t know who Min-ho and Min-ju were when they were older. I also didn’t know that Jin-mo Ju is supposed to be good-looking. I thought part of the point of the movie was that it dealt with two unattractive lovers.

    Your comments help me to understand the movie a bit bitter in restrospect.

  6. 1 luna6 Says: September 27, 2007

    Eun-wook thanks for the writeup. I’m looking forwards to watching this myself whenever opportunity prevents itself. Jin-mo Ju was great in 200 Pounds Beauty and Si-hyeon Park lit up the screen in The Fox Family. cheers..