Architecture 101

I have loved Korean films since like forever. Im not a Korean so I rely on English subtitles to watch Korean movies, usually this is frustrating since it takes a long time for the subtitles to be available, but for this film it took only 3 days! compared to for example Nameless gangster which was released around April but still no subs! This proves how popular architecture 101 must be... and it deserves that attention.

Today way too many films are too cliché and over-exaggerated, there are few films which you can see the reflection of yourself in it, not even a tiny bit. I am not saying that this film is portraying my life but I think few people can deny that you cant relate with any of the characters. How many people haven't once during the course of their life been Seung-min? Having liked someone that greatly but lacking the courage to say it? How may are just like Seo-yeon? Regretting, wanting to go back in time and change everything..

The actors all did a great job, Han Ga In is out of this world pretty and Lee Je-Hoon seems to be a really promising actor together with Suzy. The reason I did not give the film a 10 is because the ending, which, to say the least, could have been much better, and I'm not talking about the outcome but rather the way to end it. However this is still a very very good movie and if you have never seen a Korean film before I advice you to give it a try as it Im sure after watching this movie, Korean films will stick by you forever, just like me who after that rainy day i decided to give the film Brotherhood of war a go never looked back.

This isn't the most amazing love story that really really tugs at the heartstrings. But what I liked about it was how it doesn't try to go in a over sappy direction to win the audiences attention. Which a lot of Asian dramas and movies tends to do when it comes to this type of genre. What really stood out to me about this movie is how every dialogue and how the characters communicate amongst each other is very believable. And even can relate with and that is the key word in this movie "relate". It's believable for the most pare because you can relate with it, well at least for those that had there first crush. Anyways I found this movie to be realistic when it comes to the direction all the way to the end. It doesn't try to go in a fantasy love story but it sometimes gets a bit emotional in a good way. Because at least for me I could see parts of me in this movie when it came to my first crush. The plot is told between two different time periods when the guy starts falling for a classmate at a university and when they are adults later on and the guy is now a architect. And it constantly goes back and forth when it comes to the time period. But it's done in a coherent manner and further develops the plot while keeping certain things untold until it goes into the past or sometimes into the present. Overall I enjoyed this movie, the actors and actresses did a good job. Especially Lee Je-Hoon, I don't know about the actress and singer Suzy though because she just doesn't seem all that versatile when it comes to acting. But her character really fit this movie so don't have much complaint on that. This is a movie that some viewers can relate with and if so than your gonna like this movie even more.

7.9/10

There is a lot of freshness to the shots, the performances, the sets, but behind it it's the same old love story between the pretty girl and the quiet innocent boy driven by miscommunication and hesitations, full of clichés, including the so-called bright personality of the female lead, which in this case ends up annoying me, especially in the adult version. She pesters and probes him, but she hates it when he does it to her. She chose the easy route and now she comes back out of curiosity. I really disliked her and in general this kind of dynamic does not work for me. Still, much better than My Sassy Girl or A Moment to Remember, where I disliked the female lead with a passion.

Also that poster does not appear anywhere in the movie, I would've noticed that outfit. Not the first time I have seen this with Korean movies though.

And another thing - how are these two supposed to be the same age? She is so pretty and he looks at least ten years older in the adult version. And young and adult Seo Yeon have different features.

That friend of his and their talks on the street corner were very entertaining.

Trigger warning - date rape as advice to inexperienced men. What's going on Korea?

I really wanted to like it more and it wouldn't have taken much, but it's hard when you don't empathize with the leading lady. I appreciated the realistic ending though.

Architecture 101 is a restrained romance film that just delivers on an emotional level. Subtle & pure, as the movie progresses the storyline becomes more interesting, characters become imitateley more personal and you become completely vested in their story. Certain picturesque moments in the film will undoubtably find a permanent home in your memories.

After so many years, I feel it is necessary to point out for most audience, especially from the West, that the object of pursuit in contemporary Asian tales about "first love", is NOT "love", at least not in the way you understand that term. In fact, it is usually an aspiration, or idealism. Something one has when one is young, and which has since been suppressed, or lost.

Viewed in that light, I hope it is easier to understand the protagonists' motives and actions. The drama comes abundantly in showcasing all the insecurities about social-economic status, peer pressure, sex and more, that one is willing to endure so long as one believes the objective is just around the corner. They end up haunting us for far longer than we want to admit.

Architecture 101 picks an axe to grind. It does so at a sure and steady pace. All along we have just been groping in the dark. We still are. In the end, the only consolation is that we know we miss each other, and the aspirations. We know we missed. We need to let more light into the house.