The Harmonium in My Memory

THE HARMONIUM IN MY MEMORY (1998): Sweet, simple, efficiently directed tale of a naive country girl, circa the late 1950's, who gets a crush on her newly-arrived teacher, an engaged, educated city boy who at first dismisses her silly efforts to impress him as so much childish infatuation, but soon comes to realize, thanks to a convenient development in one of the secondary characters, how much she really cares.

Excellent use of rural Korean backdrop and music, with a wonderfully believable performance by Jeon Do-yeon as a rural beauty coping with the bittersweet pangs of a seemingly hopeless crush.

"The Harmonium in my Memory" is nothing short of spectacular. It is the type of movie that will bring a big, heartfelt smile to your lips and rekindle your belief in love and true romance.

The movie is from 1999, but the way that it is shot and the entire feel to it really captured the feeling of being an older movie. And that worked so well, because it was really like you were right there in the Korean village, having taken a step back into the past. Hats off for the director, Young-jae Lee, for this achievement.

The story in "The Harmonium in my Memory" is about two teachers coming to a remote village in Korea to teach in school. It is a school unlike the ones in the bigger cities, and the new teachers have to adjust to the way of the rural school. The student girl, Yun Hong-yeon (played by Do-yeon Jeon) falls in love with her new male teacher, Kang Soo-ha (played by Byung-hun Lee), though he has fallen in love with the other newly arrived teacher.

The performances in the movie, by both the leading cast and the supporting cast was really amazing. People did such great jobs with their roles, and it all seemed so natural, like it was actual life and not a movie. It was Do-yeon Jeon who pulled the most weight in the movie, though. Her performance was simply phenomenal.

I was really taken by surprise when I watched this movie, because it was so much more than I had expected it to be. And it is really a movie that will stay with me for a long, long time. And be sure to watch the photographs that will show during the scrolling end credits, because they really round up the movie in the most wonderful way.

Having sat through "The Harmonium in my Memory", my spirits are really lifted and I feel much happier. This movie was really one amazing piece of cinema history. And it is no surprise why it won the 'Best Film' award at the 2000 Verona Film Festival.

If you like Korean (or Asian) movies and enjoy movies that you can relate to, movies that will sink into your heart and spirit and stay with you for a long, long time, then you owe it to yourself to sit down and watch "The Harmonium in my Memory". This movie is a testament to Korean movie-makers being able to put other great movies out there aside from action and comedies.

Harmonium in My Memory is a film from the early Corean film-making renaissance in the late 90's, featuring a couple actors who would go on to star in more acclaimed films. Harmonium itself is a quaint film, but an enjoyable one, featuring the story of a country girl who becomes infatuated by her newly arrived teacher, who himself develops an infatuation for his simultaneously arrived colleague.

The film doesn't play out within the conventions of expected Hollywood style story-telling; many scenes do not exist to further the plot, but rather, the piece is often more of a mood/memory piece, displaying often warm observations of a time now past in the mind of the character. While the actual story components don't amount to any sort of filmic catharsis, there is a bit of joy in how the story is told and it captures well the feelings of youth, as well as a natural sense of the environment where the characters grow up.

One thing that I did wish was that the film would weave tighter to either the girl or the teacher, as it becomes hard to tell the perspective of the film or whose memories we're wading in. Although we're bookended by the woman who was the girl, so much of the film is in the teacher's perspective that it becomes confusing at times and also probably providing more details than necessary--further editing could have made this film tighter.

The film does suffer a little from seeming slight. It doesn't come across as something compelling--a must watch, but rather a nice warm film to watch. As such, I can't strongly recommend it, but if you're looking to see a charming example of a schoolgirl crush or wander in the memories of growing up in the Corean countryside, this is as good a place as any to go. 7/10.

I am not generally a fan of romantic movies, but there are exceptions to every rule. For me, this movie is it. The romance between the two leads is not contrived or forced in any way. It develops naturally between two people who meet together daily. Anyone who has ever experienced a crush can identify with Hong-yeon. She searches for hidden meaning in her teacher's every action which she happily interprets to suit her fantasy. This movie is filled with warmth towards all of its characters. There is no enemy per se, just every day people. The scenery is memorable and matches the emotions of the film well. Watch the ending carefully as the credits begin to roll. It is there you can find the true conclusion to the film.

This is a nice romance movie about two teachers and a student in a sort of but not really love triangle.

This film does a great job of showcasing the hardships of rural South Korea in the early 1960s which is a nice change from the usual glamour we see in Seoul.

This movie is about a student who is much older than her classmates due to frequent interruptions to her education, brought on by poverty and hardships at home. There is also a young first time teacher who is learning how to live in a new environment, as well as the slightly older teacher he has a crush on.

It manages to portray the student crush on her teacher in an innocent and not creepy way, and it has a conclusive ending which can be rare in Korean cinema.

Overall I would recommend this movie if you are a fun of teenage crushes and coming of age movies.