Within two years I have watched three times this beautiful and intense Korean film. Wow is spectacular, really good this film. After a third run I feel also obliged to speak my mind: Then the film in question personally I can consider one of the best Korean film 70 years and above for the best film by the director. Here we have the right guys and well chosen ingredients. The really wonderful and beautiful rural settings that are first frame the story and at the same time make us empathize spectators, is in fact echoing sweet and unforgettable memories of adolescence (I am one of the lucky ones who lived carefree summer vacation in the countryside with relatives ), then we have the sweetness and innocence of these two children, who have been able to interpret their characters and then not unimportant thing the film has a light texture but at the same time and well represented sobering although some breakers them I consider highly unlikely (and I refer to the end of the film). "Sonagi" also presents the symbolism that the viewer look definitely will not escape and there is even a hint of sexuality, nothing too extravagant means (a part of the scene in the mouth by mouth ball that frankly a little upset me) . A large film thickness! Recommended!
3 Reviews
Sonagi: A Rare Romance Gem Filled with Nostalgia
acinemalens22 July 2020
A young, pure, innocent love in elementary school. It's one of the romance stories that I always try to find, yet it is always in vain and if I had found one, it always ends up in disappointment because of its unrealistic elements. However, Sonagi, or more popularly called 'The Shower', is one of those rare gems that truly depict the love story that most, if not all, had experienced as a kid.
Adapted from a short story written by Hwang Sun-won (also titled Sonagi), it highlights the event of a boy named Suk-ie (Lee Young-soo), who lives in a countryside, and Yeon-ie (Jon Yun-suk), a girl who just moved from Seoul in a middle of a road. Through what seems like fate, they both developed a rivalry that slowly blossoms into an innocent love story.
This is not a story where misunderstanding took place, competition with others to win the girl or a final realization that set the main character to chase their romantic interest to disappear forever. NO! There is no made-up scenario to raise the stakes and tension. Instead, it just presents a plain, yet amazingly realistic love story. The characters here just performing their daily routines every day; going to school, playing at the lake, doing chores, etc. And coincidentally the main character just found someone that made the character's heart pound and how it changes the character's daily routine.
The characters are also what made the film flow perfectly. They are not fabricated to stand out in the crowd, but instead, to be relatable to the audience and their daily lives. Suk-ie, for example, is short-tempered; however, spending time with Yeon-ie pacified him because he does not want to look bad in front of her. This is something we've done before when we're in love, becoming someone that's not our true-self (or the opposite sometimes) and how Young-soo and Yun-suk innocently perform these scenes are very subtle that will make us chuckle, reminiscing our own experiences.
Technical wise, Sonagi had achieved near perfection on its era This is notably thanks to cinematographer Lee Seong-chun, who perfectly captures the countryside beautifully with its perfectly composed framing and color. Furthermore, the movie did not forget to capture that warm and fuzzy love feeling between Suk-ie and Yeon-ie through its simple yet sincere moments. Director Go Yeong-nam also managed to make the coming-of-age film filed with metaphoric imagery. There are many visuals Yeong-nam included related to the story foreshadowing scenes but also offer in-depth meanings to the movie. Notably the shower scene, which symbolizes the short but memorable moments of love; it became one of the best scenes in romance film thanks to all of these aspects.
Sadly, the movie is not without its flaws. I felt the characters are too hard to be relatable at first. Yes, they are kids and it is hard to understand their thoughts (which perhaps was the intention). However, the characters could grow annoying sometimes with their repetitive childish act that are quite rarely being found in reality. Then, without spoiling anything, I believe there's one moment that really ruins the film. For me, it just ruins the tone and momentum the film holds as a whole.
So, is it the best romance film of all time for me? Yes, if only that moment being modified. But do I enjoy it? Obviously. It's been so long since I've felt a heartfelt romance film that could shake my heart. Even with its flaws, I highly recommend you, readers, to watch this film. You could search it on Youtube with the channel name of Korean Classic Film. Seriously, It's those rare gems that modern romance film lose their essence in these days.
Adapted from a short story written by Hwang Sun-won (also titled Sonagi), it highlights the event of a boy named Suk-ie (Lee Young-soo), who lives in a countryside, and Yeon-ie (Jon Yun-suk), a girl who just moved from Seoul in a middle of a road. Through what seems like fate, they both developed a rivalry that slowly blossoms into an innocent love story.
This is not a story where misunderstanding took place, competition with others to win the girl or a final realization that set the main character to chase their romantic interest to disappear forever. NO! There is no made-up scenario to raise the stakes and tension. Instead, it just presents a plain, yet amazingly realistic love story. The characters here just performing their daily routines every day; going to school, playing at the lake, doing chores, etc. And coincidentally the main character just found someone that made the character's heart pound and how it changes the character's daily routine.
The characters are also what made the film flow perfectly. They are not fabricated to stand out in the crowd, but instead, to be relatable to the audience and their daily lives. Suk-ie, for example, is short-tempered; however, spending time with Yeon-ie pacified him because he does not want to look bad in front of her. This is something we've done before when we're in love, becoming someone that's not our true-self (or the opposite sometimes) and how Young-soo and Yun-suk innocently perform these scenes are very subtle that will make us chuckle, reminiscing our own experiences.
Technical wise, Sonagi had achieved near perfection on its era This is notably thanks to cinematographer Lee Seong-chun, who perfectly captures the countryside beautifully with its perfectly composed framing and color. Furthermore, the movie did not forget to capture that warm and fuzzy love feeling between Suk-ie and Yeon-ie through its simple yet sincere moments. Director Go Yeong-nam also managed to make the coming-of-age film filed with metaphoric imagery. There are many visuals Yeong-nam included related to the story foreshadowing scenes but also offer in-depth meanings to the movie. Notably the shower scene, which symbolizes the short but memorable moments of love; it became one of the best scenes in romance film thanks to all of these aspects.
Sadly, the movie is not without its flaws. I felt the characters are too hard to be relatable at first. Yes, they are kids and it is hard to understand their thoughts (which perhaps was the intention). However, the characters could grow annoying sometimes with their repetitive childish act that are quite rarely being found in reality. Then, without spoiling anything, I believe there's one moment that really ruins the film. For me, it just ruins the tone and momentum the film holds as a whole.
So, is it the best romance film of all time for me? Yes, if only that moment being modified. But do I enjoy it? Obviously. It's been so long since I've felt a heartfelt romance film that could shake my heart. Even with its flaws, I highly recommend you, readers, to watch this film. You could search it on Youtube with the channel name of Korean Classic Film. Seriously, It's those rare gems that modern romance film lose their essence in these days.
The Garden Of Eden on film
overseer-39 July 2010
Warning: Spoilers
Last evening I watched the most beautifully photographed film I have ever seen in my life. It leaves even David Lean's cinematic masterpieces in the dust.
It's the earliest South Korean film I have been privileged to watch, called The Shower (1978, in Korean: Sonagi) and was restored by the Korean Film Archive a number of years ago. It's available in a beautiful box set with accompanying book in both Korean and English.
Directed by the prolific Young Nam Ko, who had over one hundred films under his belt when he made this one for which he is most remembered, every individual frame glows with beauty and is breathtaking in its layout and construction. I was getting teary-eyed from the sheer artistry of what I was seeing! The colors were so vibrant and gorgeous that it seemed that every few minutes I was exclaiming: "Wow!"
The story, written by Sun-yeon Hwang in 1953, is famous in South Korea, and is read by all Korean schoolchildren as part of their literary curriculum in elementary school. It's a coming of age story of two children, a boy (Seokee, played by Lee Young Soo) and a girl (Yeonee, played by Cho Yoon Sook), who are going through puberty and discovering the opposite sex for the first time. The girl comes from the big city to the country with her father after he loses all his money in a bad business transaction. They leave the girl's mother behind with her parents and they move in with the father's parents on a sprawling country estate. The parents are very angry with their son for losing the family fortune, since they will be forced to sell their own home, but they love their granddaughter and care for the pretty but frail girl like their own child.
The young boy that the girl befriends has his own troubles at home and is always being yelled at by his mother. He prefers to commune with nature rather than doing his chores. He becomes attracted to the new girl, although at first he avoids her and hides from her because she laughs at his country-bumpkin ways. Then a group of ruffians attack the girl in the forest and the boy defends her. They become fast friends and explore nature together in all its glory.
A sudden heavy rain shower throws them into close proximity and they only have themselves to rely on until it's over. Then the sun comes out and the countryside reverberates with life again. The boy and girl enjoy a country fair together. They seem to only exist for one another by this point in their relationship. The boy refuses to take the clothes off that he wore on that special day that it rained, much to his mother's chagrin.
The girl becomes sick from being chilled during the rain storm, and the boy has to play by himself for a few days. Then tragedy strikes, as it often does in Korean films. There is much symbolism in the haunting dream sequences that result, and the images are unforgettably exquisite. What a work of art this film is! There were many shots that reminded me of Japanese director Ozu's "pillow shots" in his films: moments where the camera lingers on something beautiful for a few minutes, as a pause until the narrative picks up again, but if anything the images here in The Shower transcend Ozu's work.
I can imagine that heaven would look like this film! Or at least the Garden of Eden. South Korea looks so beautiful in this film that it's almost painful to watch. I was reminded of a scene in I'm Sorry, I Love You (2004) when Su-jeong Im's character Eunchae tells Moohyuck (So Jisub) that if she were to come to life again after death that she would only want to live in her home country of Korea because she thought it was the most beautiful place on earth.
The sensuality of the film is very subtle and told in images: the children watch some grasshoppers mating, during the rainstorm the girl scratches the boy's back, the girl cuts her knee and the boy "sucks the germs out", the color red predominates in some scenes such as the boy eating red fruit while watching the rain sprinkle on the girl's arm. No kisses are ever exchanged but they don't have to be. They "kiss" with their eyes. This is a much more effective and gentle way to teach budding teenagers about the birds and the bees, rather than some embarrassing technical film about sex in 6th grade health class.
I cannot recommend this lovely film highly enough. Now that I have seen it I can easily recognize what an influence it has had on other Korean filmmakers. South Korean filmmakers have excelled over America's for decades.
My words are poor substitutes to describe its beauty. 10 out of 10 stars for The Shower. A true masterpiece!
Buy it at yesasia.com for 15 dollars. It's the best money you will ever spend on a movie.
It's the earliest South Korean film I have been privileged to watch, called The Shower (1978, in Korean: Sonagi) and was restored by the Korean Film Archive a number of years ago. It's available in a beautiful box set with accompanying book in both Korean and English.
Directed by the prolific Young Nam Ko, who had over one hundred films under his belt when he made this one for which he is most remembered, every individual frame glows with beauty and is breathtaking in its layout and construction. I was getting teary-eyed from the sheer artistry of what I was seeing! The colors were so vibrant and gorgeous that it seemed that every few minutes I was exclaiming: "Wow!"
The story, written by Sun-yeon Hwang in 1953, is famous in South Korea, and is read by all Korean schoolchildren as part of their literary curriculum in elementary school. It's a coming of age story of two children, a boy (Seokee, played by Lee Young Soo) and a girl (Yeonee, played by Cho Yoon Sook), who are going through puberty and discovering the opposite sex for the first time. The girl comes from the big city to the country with her father after he loses all his money in a bad business transaction. They leave the girl's mother behind with her parents and they move in with the father's parents on a sprawling country estate. The parents are very angry with their son for losing the family fortune, since they will be forced to sell their own home, but they love their granddaughter and care for the pretty but frail girl like their own child.
The young boy that the girl befriends has his own troubles at home and is always being yelled at by his mother. He prefers to commune with nature rather than doing his chores. He becomes attracted to the new girl, although at first he avoids her and hides from her because she laughs at his country-bumpkin ways. Then a group of ruffians attack the girl in the forest and the boy defends her. They become fast friends and explore nature together in all its glory.
A sudden heavy rain shower throws them into close proximity and they only have themselves to rely on until it's over. Then the sun comes out and the countryside reverberates with life again. The boy and girl enjoy a country fair together. They seem to only exist for one another by this point in their relationship. The boy refuses to take the clothes off that he wore on that special day that it rained, much to his mother's chagrin.
The girl becomes sick from being chilled during the rain storm, and the boy has to play by himself for a few days. Then tragedy strikes, as it often does in Korean films. There is much symbolism in the haunting dream sequences that result, and the images are unforgettably exquisite. What a work of art this film is! There were many shots that reminded me of Japanese director Ozu's "pillow shots" in his films: moments where the camera lingers on something beautiful for a few minutes, as a pause until the narrative picks up again, but if anything the images here in The Shower transcend Ozu's work.
I can imagine that heaven would look like this film! Or at least the Garden of Eden. South Korea looks so beautiful in this film that it's almost painful to watch. I was reminded of a scene in I'm Sorry, I Love You (2004) when Su-jeong Im's character Eunchae tells Moohyuck (So Jisub) that if she were to come to life again after death that she would only want to live in her home country of Korea because she thought it was the most beautiful place on earth.
The sensuality of the film is very subtle and told in images: the children watch some grasshoppers mating, during the rainstorm the girl scratches the boy's back, the girl cuts her knee and the boy "sucks the germs out", the color red predominates in some scenes such as the boy eating red fruit while watching the rain sprinkle on the girl's arm. No kisses are ever exchanged but they don't have to be. They "kiss" with their eyes. This is a much more effective and gentle way to teach budding teenagers about the birds and the bees, rather than some embarrassing technical film about sex in 6th grade health class.
I cannot recommend this lovely film highly enough. Now that I have seen it I can easily recognize what an influence it has had on other Korean filmmakers. South Korean filmmakers have excelled over America's for decades.
My words are poor substitutes to describe its beauty. 10 out of 10 stars for The Shower. A true masterpiece!
Buy it at yesasia.com for 15 dollars. It's the best money you will ever spend on a movie.
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