Spoilers warning!!!
Director Kwak's slightly off-beat yet tender love story My Sassy Girl (2001) brought the Korean romance comedy to the global cinema. Hollywood has bought its rights and has announced a project for an American remake, directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham). Riding on the wave of success, Kwak brought out Classic (2003). While MSG sparkles with originality, touches with an unexpected poignancy and delight with a clever twist, Classic returns to the traditional melodrama. Both, however, carry the unmistakable mark of Kwak: utmost attention to details. Windstruck (Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida) is more of the same thing.
Watching the first half of this is a two-hour movie, one couldn't help but wonder what Kwak has stooped to, with the run-of-the-mill police sequences, banal comedy and not-too-inspiring romance. But then, getting into the last 45 minutes, the audience was reminded that this was Kwak after all. Every little bit of detail you saw earlier that didn't register much at the time was picked up later, echoes, and had a meaning, right down to the voice-over narration in the very beginning and the very end.
Again, Kwak has played a clever game with the audience, but this time it is not quite as brilliant as MSG. After the mist is cleared, this movie is really another copy of Ghost Story and as far as that goes, who can do better than the original? This movie can also be, as suggested in its very last minute, seen very loosely as the prequel to MSG. All told, while there are some interesting elements, Windstruck is more of the same of what we have seen from Director Kwak, but not quite up to par with MSG. However, the idea on using the theme of the wind, as well as it execution, in one good element. The English title may very well be 'Inherit the Wind' (which, by the way, will be performed in town in a translated version, something eagerly looked forward to by devoted theater lovers).
Director Kwak's slightly off-beat yet tender love story My Sassy Girl (2001) brought the Korean romance comedy to the global cinema. Hollywood has bought its rights and has announced a project for an American remake, directed by Gurinder Chadha (Bend it like Beckham). Riding on the wave of success, Kwak brought out Classic (2003). While MSG sparkles with originality, touches with an unexpected poignancy and delight with a clever twist, Classic returns to the traditional melodrama. Both, however, carry the unmistakable mark of Kwak: utmost attention to details. Windstruck (Nae yeojachingureul sogae habnida) is more of the same thing.
Watching the first half of this is a two-hour movie, one couldn't help but wonder what Kwak has stooped to, with the run-of-the-mill police sequences, banal comedy and not-too-inspiring romance. But then, getting into the last 45 minutes, the audience was reminded that this was Kwak after all. Every little bit of detail you saw earlier that didn't register much at the time was picked up later, echoes, and had a meaning, right down to the voice-over narration in the very beginning and the very end.
Again, Kwak has played a clever game with the audience, but this time it is not quite as brilliant as MSG. After the mist is cleared, this movie is really another copy of Ghost Story and as far as that goes, who can do better than the original? This movie can also be, as suggested in its very last minute, seen very loosely as the prequel to MSG. All told, while there are some interesting elements, Windstruck is more of the same of what we have seen from Director Kwak, but not quite up to par with MSG. However, the idea on using the theme of the wind, as well as it execution, in one good element. The English title may very well be 'Inherit the Wind' (which, by the way, will be performed in town in a translated version, something eagerly looked forward to by devoted theater lovers).