Moonlit Winter (2019) User Reviews

Good Enough

[PennyReviews · 6/10 · 28 February 2020]

" Moonlit Winter " or full moon, was a nice movie.

The drama was just enough and the character interesting. Especially the daughter, she was feisty and just the perfect partner for her mother, who was dynamic, but pretty closed to herself. The movie did a nice job with keeping things interesting, however, even though the idea of the story was original and very emotional, it felt like it wasn't well presented. At times, it got a bit confusing and it would have been better, in my opinion, if they had given us some information about their past relationship, or some scenes from the past, as to built a better intensity for the couple. The performances though were very good, and the young couple extra cute.

So, overall, six out of ten, because the story deserved a better presentation.

Beatifully Paced Storytelling

[UneConasseQuiAimeLesFilms · 8/10 · 5 October 2020]

Director Im Dae-Hyung skillfully crafted this visual vignette of a woman haunted by time and regret and revisiting her pieces of the past to her journey of acceptance.

Although labeled as "romance", it is not the raison d'être of this film, but the plot does root from unresolved love that will aid them to their present self. I truly believe that this film is a sincere ode to freeing one's self of things that could have been but did not.

Characters were beautifully written and told. They were carefully separated with their own story then, collaborated in quite a climactic fashion and I would not have wanted it any other way.

Its screenplay stood out the most for me as it was neither vague nor shallow, and presented the story and its characters' sentiments with justice.

This film is a hidden gem, underrated perhaps. Slow but definitely not one to bore.

Slow but filled with emotions

[moviesknight · 8/10 · 27 February 2022]

Much to think about. Although the story is told in a restrained manner, that if you dont pay attention you will lose the beauty of it all. Story develops slowly culminating into a better hope or ending, and in those moments it is calm, silent, intimate and that just hooks you up. The buildup is different which others may not like. We all deserve happiness, at some point we have to live for oursleves and be happy, but not everyone can do that.

A beautiful family drama, a classy romance

[wickedmikehampton · 7/10 · 15 December 2020]

I thank the cold front and 3am for setting the mood for 'Moonlit Winter' a Korean family drama that became subtly romantic.

No spectacular landscapes yet I loved the snowy vibe.

It never hinted at being much at the start but became graceful in its scarcity and gradual plot unveiling.

My sole criticism is that I would've ended it at 1hr27min. The extra 10 minutes may have been useful, but I would've preferred it to be without concrete conclusion.

Overall, I was absorbed.

A romantic film that is smooth and slow.

[mailtaskservice · 7/10 · 23 June 2020]

If you watch something smooth and slow with much romance style, this is the one. This also seen as another backed by Korean government promoted films. There is not much story but it emphasized on humans slow and nonconfidence is doing something that is difficult or lost will. However, if the director can add more thrills, it will be better.

The love between women in winter

[SherWanyuan · 7/10 · 15 January 2022]

Photography, lighting is very beautiful beautiful (especially several snow heaven and earth and indoor arrangement), but the film isn't label her piece, the body is not her mood ji yao, really rare to see such not dog blood clean finished a story of Korean movie, love between women as white as snow and ice crystal and quiet in heart, saw for the first time.

After 20 years of Memento Mori (1999)

[kylie-75556 · 10/10 · 29 May 2021]

Memento Mori ( 1999)and Moonlit Winter ( 2019)

These two movie are famous Korea lesbian movies. Two movies have a 20 years gap. Therefore, two shows how Korean's idea of lesbian have been changed.

Let's start with Memento Mori, imagine 90's or -if you live in a country where is lesbian is well accepted than imagine- 80's high school lesbian movie, Korean version is this one with a little bit of horror. There is a couple, one knows she loves another but another doesn't know it is love. Because of this gap and other students' lack of understanding, the main issue in the movie. And we can easily think this will be heading in a depressing way.

In the Moonlit winter, a couple also have difficulty. This time they(Yunhi and June) both love each other and know it. But the family thinks lesbian as a disease. So they eventually separated from each other.

About 20 years later, the daughter of Yunhi read a love letter that was sent by the aunt of June. And the daughter plans to make them meet again. The couple who broke up because of a disagreement of another family member, got a chance to meet again with a new family member. Wow

My favorite scene of this movie is when two new families, Sebom- the daughter of Yunhi- and Masako- the aunt of June-, talk in English which is not their native language. -Sebom's native language is Korean and Masako's is Japanese.- They have a common goal " the reunion of two " and it is from kindness. We can see Yunhi and June didn't forget the past. Two, one from the young generation and one from the older generation tring to fix an old mistake made by other family members show how korean's ideas have changed.

Like me, most people saw Memento Mori and Moonlit winter in order. Even if two couples are not the same person I can't stop hoping that a couple from Memento Mori will end up like a couple in Moonlit winter. In the country where Iesbian is now starting to admit (or to most of elder it is starting to exist). Moonlit Winter is the best scenario for a couple from 20 years. Like the name of the daughter of Yunhi, Sebom in korean is new spring, I wish lesbians for a good new start like spring.

So if you want to know how idea of lesbean in south korea have changed this is the two movie you have to watch.

Warm & calm

[Griffisz · 7/10 · 4 March 2023]

A tea cozy movie about a mother's unhappiness and her feisty teenage daughter's quest to learn more about her mother and help her come to terms with repressed desires and memories, during a trip to Japan. This is a slow-paced and subtle movie about forbidden love and societal pressures but it never gets boring. I really liked the chemistry between the mother and daughter, how she tries to gently challenge her mother's social isolation. The cinematography is also quite nice, I like the contrast between the warmth of the characters (the young couple in particular) and the cold winter landscapes of Hokkaido. I hope Kim Sohye (who plays the daughter) gets more movie roles in the future, she is a natural in many ways.

Beautiful

[mir21 · 10/10 · 7 June 2020]

Moonlit winter is a stunning movie. The actresses are natural and the scenery is pretty. I wish I could've seen it at the theater.

Such a beautiful film

[cc0077 · 10/10 · 4 April 2021]

This movie really reminded me of the film Carol, and I literally loved it so much. It's overall pretty chill and slow paced, but it just portrayed winter very well in the film (it's one of those movies i'll be looking for on a winter morning). I also loved this film because it didn't over sexualize queer women relationships, but covered the topic pretty well. 100% recommended!!

Snooze fest

[inesrocks · 1/10 · 20 October 2021]

I started to watch this story because it had a very promising story line. It tells about lesbian couple that was separated in youth and now meeting again after 20 years. I am still amazed how such an interesting plot with so many possibilities for philosophical reflections could be delivered in such a monotonuous, boring, unengaging manner! There is literally 0 interesting moments in the movie, even when the two women finally reunite after almost whole movie has passed. Terrible.

Understated tale of forbidden love

[vilovian · 8/10 · 29 August 2020]

I watched this movie because I am a fan of the Korean band Se So Neon who did the song Winter on the movie's OST. The video for the song gives you a good sense of the movie itself. Although the plot isn't overly dramatic and there wasn't a lot of tension, I felt that the actors made me care about them and there is just enough plot to get to know what motivates them. A lot of emotions is shown through expression rather than through talking which is something that I appreciate in Asian films.

I recently watched two other Korean movies with female protagonists House of Hummingbird and Kim Ji-young: Born 1982. There is one thread that seems to run through them all and that is Korea's cultural view of women. In all 3 of these movies there was mention or implication that the boy's in the family were the most revered among the siblings. It's maybe more examined in the two other movies I mentioned but it is something that had affected the mother in this story when she was a teenager. I have been living in Korea for a number of years and often wonder if that male centered ideology is changing with the new generations having kids of their own. I hope so.

How a soothing story !!!

[FairyManh_2007 · 8/10 · 25 May 2020]

Kim Hee Ae who is my admired idol pulls me to this movie. After watching this movie, it brings me some emotions that I need to share it. First, obviously I love the way of Kim Hee Ae acting. She always knows how to play the role truly and honestly. From my perspective, she might be an actress who plays many Korean dramas but keeps the character's soul distinctly and uniquely. People can't have a sense of similarity if she plays a certain role. Second, I'm quite impressed with the way of telling a story from the director. This movie is about lesbian romantic and it's really hard or unnatural expression if you don't know how to tell it subtly. No need sexual, erotic or hot scene, but the movie still keep me finish till an end because of its smooth, soothing and emotional story. Such a good movie to watch if you need to slowly calm down in a hurry world.

my review

[stroobooni · 10/10 · 1 December 2022]

Review written thru texts w/ friend:

a slow burner for sure-- BUT i thought it was a peaceful slow and the pacing was really nice

the walk after the meeting on the bridge between them... you can tell there's so much history and so much left unsaid and so much wanting to be said but just being in each other's presence is enough

i loved the mother/daughter relationship in this, it was realistic I was so shocked to see how realistically it was portrayed And the daughter... being in highschool... aware of the mom's feelings and loneliness and the way her mom just passed thru life.... TRULY HIGH EQ

Friend: as stunted as it is in the beginning it thaws, ironically in the winter of japan and becomes what it is.

Me: what does this mean??

Friend: in the beginning there's this palpable distance between the two, hinting at a wasted lifetime for yoonhee and a growing independence from her daughter. And to fix that they both need to be honest and open and that's what gives them both catharsis in the end

me: oh yeah . Its like when the daughter realizes how much her mother knows about her life and when her daughter asks, "why didn't you tell me you knew?" and the mom goes "i've been waiting for you to open up" that portrayed perfectly what a strained mother-daughter relationship looked like with a mother that had a history she couldnt quite let go of and an identity that she had to hide from her own child

so much repsect for the director; Lim Daehyung;;; i read the interview and he wanted to understand and challenge his view of a woman's world through the lens of a man And constantly put himself in an uncomfortable position and asked many questions

AND ALSO KIM HEE-AE'S ACTING???? THE EMOTIONS??? Im flabbergasted.

Bildungsroman

[kimkegaard · 10/10 · 28 December 2022]

In Asia where you can't readily be who you are, two women finally become themselves in their middle age. So late but beautiful. I am not a huge fan of LBGT movies, but I liked this one a lot because it illustrated a person's journey to her true self more than simply her following her sexuality.

So many Asian women couldn't explore who they were and what they wanted to do l, but YH testified to all their struggles, regrets, and hope.

And the winter scenes were mesmerizing. Without winter in the movie, it would have been incomplete. Take a break with this film.

It is sad that this movie probably won't be watched by many who would sympathize deeply with it.