A Werewolf Boy

"Don't go."

A romantic film without a single kiss. It's an amazing feat, especially for a film so critically acclaimed. A Werewolf Boy is a Korean film about the forbidden love between a werewolf and a young girl. While the premise may seem shallow and overdone, A Werewolf Boy goes a completely different direction from the Hollywood stories. A sickly girl, Soon-yi (Park Bo-young), moves with her family to an open countryside, where they encounter a homeless boy with wolf/dog like behaviors. The family decides to take care of the young man for the time being, giving him the name, Chul-soo (Song Joong-ki). Soon-yi "trains" Chul-soo, resulting in the growth of a beautiful bond between master and boy.

The film may start slow for some, but the first half is filled with many charms, usually just from simple interactions. Song Joong-ki does a very convincing job acting like a wild canine, especially considering that most of his acting comes from facial expressions and body language alone. A lot of the early lighthearted humor comes from him scoffing down meals and fetching objects. Strangely enough, seeing him act like a dog doesn't seem a bit ridiculous whatsoever. Even though Soon-yi initially treats Chul-soo like a pet, their relationship steadily turns into something more: he is a (good looking) human being after all. The chemistry between the two characters and two actors work perfectly. Basically the first half of the film is innocent fun, mainly strengthening the ties between Soon-yi and Chul-soo in order to make their conflicts more devastating. And Park Bo-young, with her superb acting, really sells the devastation.

A Werewolf Boy easily succeeds in creating a really despicable villain character. Ji-tae, a son of a rich family, stops at nothing in order to get rid of Chul-soo and claim precious Soon-yi as his own. It's safe to say that the film builds up Ji-tae to be a bit too nasty, to the point where I found myself constantly wishing for him to just rollover and die. The antagonist almost seems to come straight out from a play, where his actions and mindset are cranked to extreme levels of arrogance and evil. I hate him more than Joffrey from Game of Thrones.

While the film is geared towards young women, it still has the potential to be entertaining for men as well. The film is a lot deeper than your average love story, relying more on character development, story, and emotional turmoil rather than CGI, love making scenes, and fantasy action. Viewers not only see the bond between Soon-yi and Chul-soo, but feel it as well. However, the very end of the film is slightly disappointing and has a missed opportunity to really sink in the emotions and leave the story with some mystery. Even so, A Werewolf Boy is most definitely a better love story than Twilight.

The title is misleading because he isn't exactly a werewolf and it isn't a horror movie. It is called Wolf Boy in Korea, which is a much better name. The main part of the movie is about socializing a feral child and the sweet relationship that develops between him and his adopted family, especially the older daughter. Although there are elements of fantasy toward the end of the story, enjoyment of the movie doesn't depend on that.

The cinematography is lovely and the acting is excellent, except for the villain being a little over the top. Although the movie seems to be geared toward teens and young adults, it is also entertaining for mature audiences who like a classic kind of emotional ride.

"A Werewolf Boy" made me cry, I was practically bawling towards the end. Very simple but good story-line and believable acting. I practically avoid drama movies (as my well of tears is shallow) but the plot is so compelling it easily dragged me in front of my computer and glued me on my chair so I couldn't move until the movie ended. No complains though.

This movie showed why I am a fan of Korean movies: Simple story-line, may be over-used, but very well executed. Some may say that the movie is slow-paced but I find beauty in it because it gave way to focusing on little details (e.g. facial expression, hand movements and other body gestures) which have big impact and lasting impression on viewer's reaction.

If you're looking for a sweet story which reminds of your childhood sweetheart, the one that got away (or you let go of) due to unavoidable circumstance (which I was before watching this movie), then watch "A Werewolf Boy". This is not a horror/suspense movie though, don't expect such things. Just be ready with your tissue box, because this movie will definitely make you cry.

I couldn't lie how I love this movie so much. I found myself enjoy watching it. There is credits to the director and two main casts who steal all the show. The relationship between soon-yi and chul-so was built really well from the beginning. How soon-yi treats him like a dog to become more than that. For me, the chemistry between Bo-yeong and joong-ki is the strongest aspect that makes this movie more alive and successful. Especially for joong-ki, he acts really convincing as an innocent wolf-boy.

Unfortunately, there is a big mistake for the make up and visual effects especially when chul-so turns into a werewolf. The visual effects look horrible and cheap, the studio should hire a professional one to make the werewolf looks real. I think visual effects in korean movie has improved nowadays and definitely not as poor as this movie has.

Beside weak visual effects, A Werewolf Boy is still a funny, beautiful and touching drama. It also very sweet and brings tears even to men. It's not the best ever korean movie for sure but it's still enjoyable to see and I personal love this movie!

The movie is about a family moving to the countryside because of the eldest daughter's lung ailment. There they meet a wild boy living all by himself in the barn and decide to take care of him. As he slowly becomes part of the family the oldest daughter is trying to introduce him into society.

As I've seen many Korean Movies so far I can say for sure this is the best for now. Most of the Korean Movies have been too boring but this one was captivating the whole time. The instrumentals are excellent: touching, suitable and not too intrusive. The thespian abilities are convincing. I have to hype most of all Song Joong Ki's (the wolf boy's) ability to mime the confused, seemingly mentally retarded and overly protective little Kid within an adult man's body. Most of the Dialogues are meaningful and relevant but the best conversation is the silent one between the main characters. You can automatically understand all that they are feeling towards each other in the process. All in all this Movie was one of the few that was able to make me feel in the midst of everything. I was crying, laughing and holding my breath throughout.