Our Fragrance (2003) User Reviews

Unique and Sometimes Unintentionally Funny

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 26 June 2016]

Although not exactly on the cutting edge of humor, I found this movie to be quite funny all the same. Essentially, a young man by the name of "Pyong Ho" (Ri Yun Su) is a chemist who has found a formula which will keep the Korean dish called kimchi from turning sour after a few days. Since he is not married his wise grandfather is looking for a suitable wife for him. As it so happens, the grandmother of a beautiful Korean woman named "Saebyol" (Kim Un Yong) is also looking for a suitable companion for her. Naturally, having mutual interests the patriarch and the matriarch exchange photographs of the two grandchildren to present to the prospective groom and bride. Pyong Ho eagerly accepts the opportunity to meet Saebyol. Unfortunately, Saebyol isn't so keen to the idea of marrying a "Kimchi man" and refuses to even look at the photo of Pyong Ho. As a result, any chance of a marriage is stopped in its tracks. However, cupid is not so easily deterred and as luck would have it, a fashion designer in desperate need for a male and female model asks Pyong Ho to wear a wedding suit he has made for an important fashion show. Sympathetic to the fashion designer's plight Pyong Ho agrees. What Pyong Ho doesn't realize is that the female model just happens to be Saebyol-and this causes all sorts of problems for everyone involved. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that some of the humor in this film is quite unintentional and is due in large part to the reverence expressed for Kim Jung Il and the extreme manner in which the Juche philosophy is idealized. As most nations are striving to evolve into the 21st Century, it's obvious that the leadership of North Korea wants to reject anything they consider to be "western". So rather than talking about practical matters concerned about starting and sustaining a family the viewer is treated to a heavy dose of anti-capitalism and the importance of Kim Jung Il at some of the most inopportune times. Again, I thought it was rather comical as only in North Korea would this be taken so seriously-and that's its' irresistible charm! Be that as it may, this is not a great movie by any means. Having said that, I still gave it an adequate rating because I thought it was so amusing.