I watched Forever the Moment on the plane en route to Corea and I have to say it was a good way to pass the long hours. This is a Corean sports movie. Not only a sports movie, but a handball movie. And not only a handball movie, but a women's handball movie. That's right. A women's team goes for the Olympic glory in handball at the Athens 2004 Olympics--the story is their rise to their moment in the spotlight.
Based on the story of the actual team that went to Athens in 2004, the story focuses specifically on the lives of four older (at least as far as athletes go) women who, by virtue of their prowess and past experience in Olympics settings, are recruited into this year's team and their struggles. Each has a different story and the film takes a few minor twists as it goes forward, which wouldn't be a surprise to those who know the story of the team.
The overall story itself is very much like many sports movies, although Forever the Moment seems to take a lot more interest in the personal lives of the four protagonists than their struggles with their various games. Nonetheless, the expected losing, followed by successive wins sequence still makes an appearance here. I think the strength of the film lies in that it takes time to tell the stories of the four older women in the squad, while not entirely neglecting secondary characters and tells the stories with sympathy. When the story came to a close, I felt myself caught up in the emotions of the characters, not because of the win or the loss, but what the win or loss meant to the characters and their personal stories.
The direction decidedly goes for the straightforward story and does a great job highlighting the various actors. Peppered into the script are moments of comedy as well as some expected melodrama (even as this is based on a true story). One of the support characters, however, undergoes a change that happens too quickly and without enough merit, I think, but overall, I think the story is well constructed and believable.
I was surprised that I enjoyed a movie about a sport that I didn't know existed. Forever the Moment isn't a mindblowing experience, but as sports movies go, this is a solid contender. Enjoyable. 8/10.
