Now and Forever is a Korean movie I'd like to classify as a "weepie," or tear-jerker. It's a romance movie, featuring Jo Han-Seon and Choi Ji-Woo as destined lovers who meet in a chance encounter in a rain storm, then in a hospital, the reasons for which unfold throughout the movie. Jo Han-Seon plays a playboy, schmoozing one woman while fielding phone calls from another, and eyeing a third. He runs an online gaming company with his best friend, played by Choi Seong-Gook. Jo Han-Seon romances Choi Ji-Woo in the hospital, and the first half of the movie follows their constant escapes from the hospital to go to restaurants, fishing, whatever. Then Jo Han-Seon finds out about Choi Ji-Woo's heart condition, and that she is soon to die, and the rest of the movie becomes a somber, handkerchief inducing series of moments as they split up, then come back together again, as he renounces his former loves, gets proof of this in writing (!), to demonstrate his feelings for her. Little does she know he too has a condition which will end his life soon.... a brain tumor! Like 90% of these movies, it runs about 15-20 minutes too long, because a lot of time is spent overindulging in the moments and not in the story. Using the hospital as the background was a good idea, but overall, there are inconsistencies. The supporting cast is not used effectively, from their best friends who also fall in love, who fall in and out of the movie, to the doctor and head nurse, whose romance is not played up enough -- they are just there as backdrop, and to remind everyone they are in a hospital. Apparently this kind of movie is big stuff in Japan, where housewives fantasize about the male romantic leads, and men drool over the gorgeous women. Choi Ji-Woo is considered a big actress in Asia, and in Japan they nickname her "Princess Ji-Woo," but I don't see anything here that addresses her talents. Neither Jo Han-Seon, and I have seen him in other films, and he has done better. If you like this kind of movie, by all means see it, and bring a bucket.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Now and Forever, or Weepies, part 1
Now and Forever is a Korean movie I'd like to classify as a "weepie," or tear-jerker. It's a romance movie, featuring Jo Han-Seon and Choi Ji-Woo as destined lovers who meet in a chance encounter in a rain storm, then in a hospital, the reasons for which unfold throughout the movie. Jo Han-Seon plays a playboy, schmoozing one woman while fielding phone calls from another, and eyeing a third. He runs an online gaming company with his best friend, played by Choi Seong-Gook. Jo Han-Seon romances Choi Ji-Woo in the hospital, and the first half of the movie follows their constant escapes from the hospital to go to restaurants, fishing, whatever. Then Jo Han-Seon finds out about Choi Ji-Woo's heart condition, and that she is soon to die, and the rest of the movie becomes a somber, handkerchief inducing series of moments as they split up, then come back together again, as he renounces his former loves, gets proof of this in writing (!), to demonstrate his feelings for her. Little does she know he too has a condition which will end his life soon.... a brain tumor! Like 90% of these movies, it runs about 15-20 minutes too long, because a lot of time is spent overindulging in the moments and not in the story. Using the hospital as the background was a good idea, but overall, there are inconsistencies. The supporting cast is not used effectively, from their best friends who also fall in love, who fall in and out of the movie, to the doctor and head nurse, whose romance is not played up enough -- they are just there as backdrop, and to remind everyone they are in a hospital. Apparently this kind of movie is big stuff in Japan, where housewives fantasize about the male romantic leads, and men drool over the gorgeous women. Choi Ji-Woo is considered a big actress in Asia, and in Japan they nickname her "Princess Ji-Woo," but I don't see anything here that addresses her talents. Neither Jo Han-Seon, and I have seen him in other films, and he has done better. If you like this kind of movie, by all means see it, and bring a bucket.
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