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My Sassy Girl, directed by Jae-young Kwak, 2001
Normally I wouldn't have picked up this movie. Not because I don't like romantic comedies, but just because the box at Video 21 had no translation, no blurb and the cover isn't very revealing. But I finally met the guy at Video 21 responsible for their great Asian section, chatted with him for a good while about our favorites etc and then he recommended it with the precursor that it was "the best romantic comedy he has ever seen." After watching it, I have to agree 110%. This movie was wonderful in every sense of the word.
I've gathered that this is actually based off a true story, which just makes it all the better. The story follows a struggling, effeminate student, Kyun-woo, who by pure chance happens to meet a very drunk girl on the subway one day. He pulls her back from the edge as the train is pulling in, but then doesn't pursue her because "drunk girls disgust him." On the train the girl shows her sassy side, which continues to show for the rest of the movie, forcing a guy to leave his seat so an older man can have it and then proceeding to vomit all over said old man. As she's passing out she points to Kyun-woo and calls him "honey", giving everyone on the train the impression that they're together. The shy and reluctant Kyun-woo is then forced into the position where he has to take care of this drunk girl so everyone doesn't think he is a jackass and thus begins their love story.
It's the kind of love story that is obviously engineered towards the female crowd, as the love interest (whose name we never learn) never makes a single attempt to salvage love, is fiercely demanding and at often times just a bitch, while the man is left to suffer and burden the relationship on his shoulders. It isn't a sexist film, that's just the type of story it tells. We eventually sympathize for the girl and her inability to be loving towards Kyun-woo. And of course we sympathize for Kyun-woo because he is constantly being beaten by the predicaments he is put on for the girl. It's win win!
Every action in the film is heartfelt. It's motivated and brings with it vast quantities of empathy for the characters. It's chock full of failed attempts and embarassing situations. But it isn't weighed down by them as some films tend to be. As rediculous as it can turn some times, it's never absurd for the sake of being absurd. Everything has a meaning. It may be based on a real story, but there is a strong craft behind the storytelling here. It hits the highs and the lows with flawless precision and timing.
It's a gorgeous film as well. Not just because often times the scenery is gorgeous, but the camera work is fantastic. It's not nearly as intimate as something like In The Mood for Love, but somehow manages to maintain the same level of beauty and simultaneously be incredibly kinetic and energetic.
My only complaint about all 137 minutes of screen time, which goes by remarkably fast, is one minor annoyance in editing when the frame rate would be sped up for a few, small moments. It's like old episodes of Clarissa Explains it All when the family would chase each other around the couch. It isn't so much that it completely didn't belong and distracted from the film, it just seemed that there was a better alternative.
Most romantic comedies these days bank on a lot of sexual references and low-brow jabs for their humor, but My Sassy Girl is a return to form for romantic comedies of yester-year in which the humor was genuinely funny and derivative of the romantic predicaments. This alone gives it a degree of honesty absent in romantic comedies of late. This is Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sleepless in Seattle and Before Sunrise/Sunset all rolled into one. It doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, My Sassy Girl is a tremendeously wonderful film that shouldn't be missed out on.
A very strong 5 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - My Sassy Girl isn't just a lovely romantic comedy, it's the best romantic comedy these eyes have ever seen.
I can't find a region free copy online, but there is a VCD of it available for only 8 bucks.
Normally I wouldn't have picked up this movie. Not because I don't like romantic comedies, but just because the box at Video 21 had no translation, no blurb and the cover isn't very revealing. But I finally met the guy at Video 21 responsible for their great Asian section, chatted with him for a good while about our favorites etc and then he recommended it with the precursor that it was "the best romantic comedy he has ever seen." After watching it, I have to agree 110%. This movie was wonderful in every sense of the word.
I've gathered that this is actually based off a true story, which just makes it all the better. The story follows a struggling, effeminate student, Kyun-woo, who by pure chance happens to meet a very drunk girl on the subway one day. He pulls her back from the edge as the train is pulling in, but then doesn't pursue her because "drunk girls disgust him." On the train the girl shows her sassy side, which continues to show for the rest of the movie, forcing a guy to leave his seat so an older man can have it and then proceeding to vomit all over said old man. As she's passing out she points to Kyun-woo and calls him "honey", giving everyone on the train the impression that they're together. The shy and reluctant Kyun-woo is then forced into the position where he has to take care of this drunk girl so everyone doesn't think he is a jackass and thus begins their love story.
It's the kind of love story that is obviously engineered towards the female crowd, as the love interest (whose name we never learn) never makes a single attempt to salvage love, is fiercely demanding and at often times just a bitch, while the man is left to suffer and burden the relationship on his shoulders. It isn't a sexist film, that's just the type of story it tells. We eventually sympathize for the girl and her inability to be loving towards Kyun-woo. And of course we sympathize for Kyun-woo because he is constantly being beaten by the predicaments he is put on for the girl. It's win win!
Every action in the film is heartfelt. It's motivated and brings with it vast quantities of empathy for the characters. It's chock full of failed attempts and embarassing situations. But it isn't weighed down by them as some films tend to be. As rediculous as it can turn some times, it's never absurd for the sake of being absurd. Everything has a meaning. It may be based on a real story, but there is a strong craft behind the storytelling here. It hits the highs and the lows with flawless precision and timing.
It's a gorgeous film as well. Not just because often times the scenery is gorgeous, but the camera work is fantastic. It's not nearly as intimate as something like In The Mood for Love, but somehow manages to maintain the same level of beauty and simultaneously be incredibly kinetic and energetic.
My only complaint about all 137 minutes of screen time, which goes by remarkably fast, is one minor annoyance in editing when the frame rate would be sped up for a few, small moments. It's like old episodes of Clarissa Explains it All when the family would chase each other around the couch. It isn't so much that it completely didn't belong and distracted from the film, it just seemed that there was a better alternative.
Most romantic comedies these days bank on a lot of sexual references and low-brow jabs for their humor, but My Sassy Girl is a return to form for romantic comedies of yester-year in which the humor was genuinely funny and derivative of the romantic predicaments. This alone gives it a degree of honesty absent in romantic comedies of late. This is Breakfast at Tiffany's, Sleepless in Seattle and Before Sunrise/Sunset all rolled into one. It doesn't matter if you're a guy or a girl, My Sassy Girl is a tremendeously wonderful film that shouldn't be missed out on.
A very strong 5 out of 5
The One Sentence Review - My Sassy Girl isn't just a lovely romantic comedy, it's the best romantic comedy these eyes have ever seen.
I can't find a region free copy online, but there is a VCD of it available for only 8 bucks.