Nae sarang (2007)

Director:

Han Lee

Writers:

Han Lee (screenplay)
Dong-ik Shin (screenplay)

Release Date:

18 December 2007 (South Korea)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Cast

  (Credited cast)

Woo-seong Kam	...	Se-jin
Kang-hee Choi	...	Ju-won
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tae-woong Eom	...	Jin-man
Il-wu Jeong	...	Ji-wu
Eun-ah Lee
Yeon-hee Lee	...	So-hyeon
Jeong-eun Lim	...	Soo-jeong
Chang-ik Park	...	Ba-da
Seung-yong Ryoo	...	Jeong-seok
Shin-ae Seo	...	Hye-yeong

Also Known As:

My Love (International: English title)

Runtime:

South Korea:111 min

Country:

South Korea

Language:

Korean

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

South Korea:12

Filming Locations:

Seoul, South Korea

Company:

Ozon Films

Mediocre story/characters with moments of melodrama and cuteness

My Love is a film that I caught while on the flight back from Corea. The conditions made the film a little more enjoyable as relief from the pain of flying across the Pacific. That said, I find that My Love has a few small joys that are commendable, but the overall package doesn't really satisfy.

My Love is a multi-story film, with three couples focused on as well as secondary character. The secondary character opens up the film; he is an eccentric that has traveled the world on a quest to give out free hugs to whoever wanted them. Yeah. Strange, eh? Anyway, he returns to Corea in search of the woman that he left behind for his crazy quest. The other couples that are introduced include a carefree capricious soul and her patient, but more normal boyfriend; a college student carrying a crush on her classmate and a hardcore marketing executive who harbors a one-sided affection for a single father who's still carrying a torch for his late wife.

You can't go into the film without expecting a rather happy ending. There's a little bit of drama (but not much) and then a punch-you-in-the-face slice of melodrama as well as a too-neat ending. So ultimately, the story itself isn't all that interesting and there isn't much development in relationship or character dynamic. I think the film tries to sell itself with a chunk of melodrama and cuteness, which didn't really work on me entirely, but a little. It helps that the soundtrack was mostly provided by Pastel Music artists that I really like.

Outside of lackluster story/character development and mediocre storytelling, the film earns high marks, like most Corean films these days, in production aspects and in design. While the overall film itself just settles for passable, and that only to those audiences who go for this sort of sub-Love Actually sort of film, it still provides a nugget or two of entertainment to keep you distracted. Nothing new to see here though. 6/10.