Sunflower (2006) User Reviews

A Second Chance....

[sushant_v1 · 8/10 · 3 August 2012]

This one should work for all who are accustomed to Korean crime dramas. They are often considered to be heavy handed , but to be honest that has almost always worked for me somehow , specially because of the genuine performances by the main characters involved.

The story is simple. Its about an ex gangster who is free from prison after serving ten years. All he wants is a second chance in life. A chance for a little bit of happiness and peace for the ones he loves.

But a constant threat always looms over his family and threatens to awaken the demon inside him.

(Decided to write this short review seeing there was just one other seriously misleading review for this genuinely decent movie)

Decent Flick of Mixed Emotions

[aji4u4ever · 8/10 · 30 August 2015]

I was totally confused after watching this extra ordinary movie of its genre. I was hoping a gangster movie with cold blooded action choreography but turned out to be sentimental & a powerful drama.

Sunflower is a story of Tae-shik, a former gangster who is released on parole visits a sunflower lady and her daughter and trying to lead a normal life. But things were not good as he expected. How he evades all the obstacles forms the whole story.

The Script and Screenplay were too good and was well executed. Even though the movie was slow paced but was registered with our mind and doesn't allow us to take our eyes away. Sunflower is a bag of mixture of emotions. And in the end, the mass action scene was also well choreographed.

Rae-won Kim delivered an awesome show as Tae-shik. And the role played by the mother and daughter was also brilliant with their performances. The villain was not up to the mark but did okay. An Emotional Drama with a pinch of action

My rating: 7.9 on 10

Mediocre Korean drama

[oktjabr · 6/10 · 23 January 2018]

Sunflower, a story about a 30-something gangster getting released from prison and trying to avoid sliding back to the thuggish underworld is a bit surprisingly not so much about being a gangster as it is about importance of family and forgiveness.

As Korean cinema generally is, Sunflower is pretty heavy handed and syrupy when it comes to melodrama, though I'm personally one of those who forgive and even enjoy the slightly campy tear jerking occasions. Actors deliver a solid, though not particularly memorable, performances. Cinematography is also fine.

The most obvious weakness in Sunflower is the predictability - you can see the conclusion of the movie coming from miles away and it plays out just as I expected it to play. Either way, a decent, watchable Korean flick to spend two hours with, no disappointments or broken expectations there.

Worth watching once.

[vismay235 · 6/10 · 4 August 2022]

Movie developed in 2005-2006.

Personally watched in 2022.

It's damned hard to find it online in good quality but atlast got in 720p.

And watching was worth.

Story - Nice.

Acting - Good.

Action - Ok(should be some more).

the classic ex offender trying to make goog

[justinsjackson · 10/10 · 21 August 2012]

I think this film is under rated.

As somebody who has done time in Asia and come out, i get the level of acting the lead role diplays. His body language is classic ex con.

Even the early fight scenes show blocking skills but no retalliation in a way hat took intelligent study. Or an actor that got into his role. Admitedly the daughter role iscast a bit shallow but that not acting error thats direction or script re writes I guess.

Its not subtle but neither was Will Shakespeare.

This film is up with Breath and Chingoo. One of the best films I have seen in quite a while. coming from somebody who watches way way to many films

Watch and judge for yourself.

Somebody has made the effort to adjust the genre.

Excellent drama with exciting action towards end

[Musicianmagic · 9/10 · 22 January 2020]

The DVD cover & description are kind of misleading. Still, I was quickly drawn into the story & characters. Excellent script. The acting was first-rate! The direction too! I'm torn between giving it 8 or 9 stars. The ending was good but not exactly what I personally wanted. The main characters (you'll love) were very thought out with each one's individual story played alongside the main story & plot. You think you know them when something new is exposed. Few Hollywood films lately put this much thought into a script. The actors in the main characters give performances that deserved recognition. Some of the supporting actors were very good, a few not so much therefore no 10th star :( Its more a drama than an action film. But one of the best dramas.

Has it all!

[omarakavinnie · 10/10 · 27 August 2022]

The movie has great writing and acting. It is one of my favorite movies. However, I rarely watch it because it gives me intense feels like Gran Torino, another favorite movie of mine. Like Gran Torino, one of the main themes is redemption and forgiveness. I know it may seem a bit strange, but I feel more human/kind soon after watching it.

Another reason I love this movie is because it has it all: action, drama, character arc, character development, etc.

If you are hesitant to watch because of the subtitles don't let that stop you. The movie is so good you will hardly notice because you will be so into the movie.

I love it :)

Unfortunately lackluster and underachieving

[jjblenheim · 3/10 · 14 July 2017]

This movie is very lackluster compared to the rest of Korean cinema, it is very typical and fits a little too much with a Hollywood title. I'd recommend better movies about gangster's such as New World and Inside Men. I was hoping for more from this movie but it delivered an extremely underwhelming and predictable experience.

Rent it first

[Annie_Mah · 3/10 · 8 August 2010]

Tae-sik, who cleansed up the neighborhood back alley with his bare knuckle after dropping out of high school, is released on parole.

The once sacrificial sheep of Tae-sik's friend Min-seok has become a detective and Tae-sik's henchmen friends have turned on each other's back.

As if have forgotten the old days he shared with them, Tae-sik only does what he wishes to do, which was written down on his crumpling small scrapbook.

Tae-sik finds a warm shelter in the small neighborhood food joint 'Sunflower'.

Tae-sik tries to live a quiet new life with the lady who runs the restaurant and her daughter, Hee-ju.

from the second half onwards the movie becomes more and more melodramatic and bursts of violence is thrown in every now and then.

A little bit more common sense would have been desirable.

"Haebaragi, Sunflower" can't evoke the tears that it was actually expected to deliver.

Just whyyyyyyyy

[maher-mh-707-739039 · 1/10 · 6 April 2022]

It fills you up with a lot of bad emotions and the ending makes it worse The whole movie talks about him getting beatin up and killing his family so he can kill them back and go back to jail and leave his sister alone are you kidding me The writer needs a psychologist for real.