Hello Stranger

This reviewer had always dreamed of meeting his true love while touring the streets of Paris. How romantic would that be, to experience love at first sight while strolling in the City of Love. Language barriers aside, this would be a dream come true for any die hard romantic. But what if this idealistic reviewer were to meet a fellow Singaporean who spouts the ever familiar Singlish phrase "What are you doing here ah?" – would things as romantic as he hoped things to be?

There is a similar situation in this Thai movie. Just when you thought that the Thais have nothing new to offer except horror flicks, Muay Thai action movies and kitschy comedies, here comes a refreshing romantic comedy set in Korea. Yes, the very accessible movie takes place in the country that has its boybands and girlbands taking over the international pop industry by storm.

The plot is simple: A guy and a girl visit the Land of Kimchi separately, and eventually bond together after coincidental encounters, sharing of rooms and confessions of heartbreaks. Do they end up going back to Thailand together to share a "happily ever after" together?

Director Banjong Pisanthanakun (Shutter, Alone) ditches his familiar horror genre to helm this entertaining holiday romance which will be a hit for all you couples out there – there is a reason why the 127 minute movie made big bucks in its home country and became the highest grossing movie of 2010.

One hundred and twenty seven minutes? Yes, you read that correctly – running at over two hours long, this movie goes on quite a bit before you get to find out whether there will be happy ending for the two protagonists. Call this reviewer a unromantic Scrooge who has no one to share the lovey dovey moments with if you will, but there are many unnecessary plot developments which make this movie overlong.

Grudges aside, this Korea funded popcorn movie is still a joy to sit through, largely thanks to its appealing cast. Headlining the production are Chantawich Tanasewi and Nuengtida Sopon, who are extremely pleasant as leads. Tanasewi exudes a boyish charm which makes him instantly likable, while Sopon has a sophisticated personality which makes her girlishly charismatic. The two of them are the kinds of friends you want to travel with, and that makes this journey extra enjoyable.

As romantic comedies go, you shouldn't expect much in terms of characterisation or plot developments. The filmmakers have played the game by the book and managed to chart a predictable itinerary around Korea. While it serves as a great date movie, the production also serves as a visual guide around some of Korea's prettiest sights (that's probably why the Koreans have decided to fund this project as well).

What's particularly interesting though, is how the filmmakers have managed to portray a picture of how the Korean pop culture has taken over the world by storm – watch how a certain Bae Yong Joon is spoofed in a restaurant scene. You'll chuckle at the rather genius move taken by the scriptwriter, and hope that one day, it will be you experiencing an overseas romance as picture perfect as this.

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This movie was my first Thailand. I live in india and india is never gone make this type of movie. I mean movie is awesome. By the way this Movie was suggested by one of my friend who live in Thailand.

Those of us outside Thailand will regard the Thai film production company GTH with some of the best horror films to have come out of the Kingdom in recent years, and introducing a promising crop of young filmmakers under its fold to which audiences round the world have associated with Shutter, and the two 4bia films. Banjong Pisanthanakun, one half of the famed dynamic duo who brought us Shutter, now switches from horror to romantic comedy with Hello Stranger, and with Bangkok Traffic Love Story already under GTH's belt, one wonders if this is another genre that they're branching out since horror and romance are quite the crowd pleasers in Asia.

Strangely enough, this Thai romantic comedy is set in South Korea, a country which like Japan has their own fair share of genre films rolling off their assembly line. Perhaps it's a nod in their direction, and a knock on their doors that Thailand can produce an equally entertaining film that in my opinion can challenge some of their best, and that of Hollywood's as well. Needless to say the significance of setting it in South Korea, which has its romantic drama serials to thank for in boosting its tourism arrivals as its pop culture made waves throughout Asia, and the story here by Chantawit Thanasewee rides on that phenomenon, having the female lead (Nuengtida Sopon) as an equally inspired tourist that wriggles her way from her possessive manic boyfriend to make her solo fangirl trip to visit places made famous by the dramas.

I had visited Korea before the K-craze ruled supreme and having that re-look into the sights and sounds of Korea from a touristy perspective again was a treat. I'm sure there are many out there who have visited Korea thanks to being influenced by its dramas, and will probably find it easy to identify with the intentions of the female lead, going ga-ga over statues of stars, and having to eat and drink in the exact same places featured in films. A chance encounter, which is a clichéd staple for a romantic film to work, sees her bump into Chantavit Dhanasevi's lovelorn guy, who goes on a package tour after being dumped by his girlfriend, and through a series of errors, sees himself stuck with the fangirl.

I suppose one will never turn away a countryman in a foreign land who seems lost and doesn't speak the language nor English to get by, so the pair hook up for travels, but make a pact not to tell each other their names, which would suppose to get them to be brutally honest with each other. But you can bet your last dollar that with one just being dumped, and the other having to escape from the clutches of a possessive boyfriend, this new found freedom and opportunity, will lead to hearts set to flutter, but not before the story gets to put them through the paces necessary for chemistry to build, and for the characters to click. There's the obligatory outing where they discover more about themselves, a wedding to go to, counseling sessions to open up their hearts, and that proverbial spanner in the works to toss everything up and to test the strength of their new found friend/relation-ship.

Banjong Pisanthanakun seems comfortable in handling the genre, tackling mushy romance with comedy with aplomb, and you'll soon find yourself laughing along and at their antics. Given its run time of just over two hours, there are numerous sequences designed to cheer the duo on as we the audience find that they make quite the couple, but for them to constantly deny that absolute truth. The director also found plenty of opportunity to lampoon the Korean phenomenon on tourism and romantic films, and therein lies plenty of comedic irony in the story. The production stuck to safe parameters to deliver a romantic comedy within expectations, though of course given Pisanthanakun's first foray into the genre, he might have wanted to play it a little safe.

Unless you're Han Yew Kwang wanting to experiment with an unromantic film like in his When Hainan Meets Teochew, chances are the leads in any romantic flick tend to be extremely good looking. Newcomer Nuengtida Sopon plays her extremely likable character of optimistic nature with great comic timing and it'll be interesting to note how her film career will branch off from this. Chantavit Dhanasevi's character though calls for a lot more range as he begins as quite the sulker, before love transforms his demeanour from negative to positive, then followed by a pretty lovelorn turn into the wishy-washy, which is a big no-no. Both leads share a comfortable chemistry that made this believable without turning you off with too much clichéd and kitsch moments that will make your hair stand on ends. Instead you'll find this episode rather believable, though detractors will moan at the finale, which I agree tend to be a tad too dragged out, and interpretation will depend on the kind of mood you're in when you watch the film.

Thailand has shown that it has no lack of talent to tackle romantic leading roles, and I wonder how long it will take for Singapore to come out with something uniquely identifiable as our own, as past efforts don't really seem to be burning up the local box office like how the foreign films do. I'd recommend this film for the K-culture and romantic buffs most definitely.

Somehow i had totally forgot that i had already watched this movie a long time back and last night when i started watching it again, the old memories were back and yet, i was keen to finish it. To explain in two cents, i liked this movie due to its plain, simple, easy to follow script and there are no hiccups to worry about.

Story is old and there are already many movies based on same theme directly or indirectly. However, what difference i found in this melodrama against others is the unknown identity of two leads the whole way and there was not much pressure to repent in past or think through future. After all, why always a movie should contain elements as to what will happen and if it happens and all such load.

At-least one time watch.

I guess I got to be the first one to review this movie then. Hello Stanger is probably the highest grossing movie of this year (2010) in the Thai Box Office and probably among of the top five of all time, so something must be right to make this movie to famous among its viewer and for me something was really right.

Synopsis: A cliché love story about two lonely people befriended in the foreign land. The name of the movie came as they refuse to tell each other name so that they don't have to care about one another but just part-time friend whom happens to travel and exploring Korea together.

Made by the GTH production house, for Thai people – this is like saying the movie came from Pixar – a quality production house that assure its viewer the quality of the flick. Despite being new to the industry with less than 10 years experience four movies from GTH made it to the highest grossing movie of all time.

The movie doesn't try to be anything else rather than the romantic comedy and from my point of view that what the movie deliver best. The movie consist some consistence witted humors, and some of the scene that will make your eye watery from the beginning to the end.

With Korean Fever on the rise (Korean Fever is a phase describing the popularity of Korean cultures, series, movie, K-pop singers etc on young people on other countries) this movie came exactly at the right time. It will truly help if you watch a lot of Korean Series, then you will know what they are talking about.

Another thing that I truly love about this movie is the casting. It is a perfect fit and it felt so natural. I guess since he is the one who wrote this movie he know exactly what to give to get the character and how to portray it. Yes, that right the main protagonist is the one who wrote this movie. I also love the casting of the female protagonist Noona, she was awesome in everyway even thought this way her debut in film industry. Surprisingly she also did an OST for this flick, which is truly touching.

Anyway overall I highly recommend this movie to anyone who have a good sense of humor and wanted to relax, and then this movie is definitely for you. Try it, truly worth it.

Recommendation: I definitely add this to my DVD collection.

Reason To Watch: Its Humor, Korea, and Actors.

Reason Not to: Personal dislike of this genre of movie, otherwise I don't see a reason not to at least try to watch it once.

Rating: 8.0/10 (Grade: A-)