Keulraesik

The story involves a girl, whose best friend is dating a guy that she secretly likes. She one day finds a diary and letters from the past that belonged to her mother. The story then shifts to the past where the mother is a young woman who falls in love with a guy, but she herself is arranged to be married with the guy's friend. There's a parallel between the past and present and the story shifts back and forth between two romances. I found this movie to be a well-executed Korean melodrama. The cinematography is quite beautiful. However, it is rather cliche in some parts (as some aspects of the director's previous work feels a bit repeated here), yet as a movie itself, it is a well-filmed, nicely delivered piece of work. It is kind of unfortunate, however, given the popularity and the expectations given to the movie due to the director's more accomplished, previous work, "My Sassy Girl," this reviewer couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. If I hadn't seen the previous work and saw this movie for the first time, I might've given higher praise. As it is, however, the movie almost accomplishes in being a truly great movie (as opposed to good, which it is). Occasional inventiveness in composition and atmosphere and timing is excellent. The movie does tend to be a bit predictable (particularly if you know what kind of themes the director has presented in his previous work) and admittedly I saw the ending coming sooner than I probably should have (althogh it didn't really distract me from enjoying it either). One can't help whenever one sees a rainy scene or when a certain Pachebel music comes out, one is reminded of a scene directly from "My Sassy Girl" (As "My Sassy Girl" actually pokes fun at melodramas) Without some of those distractions, it may have resonated a lot more strongly as an original piece of work. In terms of characters, they are certainly memorable, and the romantic elements (while, not as multidimensional or as deep as the director's previously mentioned work) are convincing. There are some historical backdrops to go along the romance that gives the film a somewhat a denser, almost epic, if not nostalgic, feel, yet doesn't really go in the way of an epic (which itself might not have been a bad direction to go). Some of the attention to detail are also pretty well done. Overall, though, I enjoyed the film as a romantic melodrama, while being a bit hampered by tough expectations and some cliches, the characters and the romance certainly leaves a nice impression.

I know that "Classic" is cheesy and at times, very cliche. But the film acknowledges this fact when the character of Ji Hae reads the letter that her mother's first love, Jun Ho, had written to her and she states how cheesy it is. And yet, she decides that she'll not call it cheesy, but instead, call it classic.

The intent of this film is not to enlighten or to be original. Love is not original. It is the most common of emotions. The point, rather, I think, is to show how it is possible for love to be like the way it is between the characters in the movie. Through the good and the bad, love is worth it. Yes, saying that love is worth it is very cliche and cheesy. But what the hell. Life is a goddamn cliche in itself and if you're not ready to accept that, then well, what can I say?

I can say, "Go watch 'Classic' and cry or vomit. Either way, you'll feel better."

Oh, by the way, nice acting by Son Ye Jin and Jo Seung Woo. They set up a truly believable dynamic.

8/10 is my score for this pretty love story. Reminded me of the story of how my parents met in Korea. I am glad to see Korean cinema improve.

A multi-layered romantic drama that's a winner on all levels. Blessed with good actors and an equally good story (plus cinemaphotography), you're taken on an emotional roller coaster ride. Granted, there may be an element or two seem unlikely, but nothing is outside the realm of possibility. In that respect, there's a similarily to an earlier film by the same director called "My Sassy Girl." Being a guy who's fond of action films and thrillers, I found myself surprised to find myself enjoy a romance story enough to put it on my list of top 10 films of all time. When I think of Titanic and The Piano, I think of chick flicks. Classic is for everyone. I sure hope that the cast and crew are involved with equally memorable projects in the future.

I just love this story. This is a beautiful picturesque movie about first love, a touching tale about love, sacrifice, and friendship crossing two generations. The movie begins with the story of the daughter. From the beginning, the movie showcases the stunning Korean scenery and beautiful camera angles. The movie unfolds with the telling of the daughter Chi-hye and her crush Sang-min a boyfriend of her friend Su-kyeong. The movie quickly dives into the heart of the movie when the daughter discovers her mother's diary about her first love. This, my fellow movie aficionado, is the start of the Classic. For sake of brevity and not giving away the plot, I will not go into detail about this wonderfully written and wonderfully acted movie. There are some flaw in the movie but even with that I am blown away by how emotionally gripping and satisfying the story and acting of the main actress Son Yeh-jin and Cho Seun-woo (who play's the mother's love interest). The musical scores and selections are awesome and very fitting to the mood of the story. The movie title suggests a classic Korean love story but in the end, I can't help but wish that I too could have experienced such level of love. For the romantic at heart and those who want to experience the full range of human emotion watch this movie, better yet own this movie.

So a lot of people have compared this director's work to his previous work My Sassy Girl which came out about 2 years before this one did. There have been many comparisons between this one and that and while there are similar themes in choice of music and themes I would say it is like comparing apples to oranges. MSG was funny and then got dramatic hence it is a romance/comedy with some drama (if anything, i would call Windstruck MSG 2). This one was mostly a dramatic romance story with a few very classical clichés. There is enough foreshadowing that you can guess what is going to happen if you pay any attention at all and have seen any Korean drama, but the director still does an excellent job in telling the story.

The main characters do an excellent job acting and bringing out the character's emotions. The story is beautiful and so is the music. Enjoy it for what it is, if you have a heart at all you'll be teary eyed. You'll know what is coming and you'll still be floored by it, thats how good it is. Even the ending, which I thought was a bit over the top, is the only way you could have ended a classic.

I am a little hesitant to say that this is a date movie, definitely not for a first date. I would think that any emotionally sensitive human being is not going to be particularly happy throughout most of this movie until the very end. Such is a melodrama.