April Snow

The role of the mobile phone, in the making of and destruction of romantic relationships. Hands up, those of you who have used it to flirt, and keep your hands there if you have an archive of secret messages stashed away in one of the electronic folders of your phone's memory. Password protection, afraid of someone dear chancing upon them, aren't you? Bae Yong-jun (geeks of the world, rejoice!) stars as In-su, a man whose wife met with an accident. Terribly shaken, he sees his spouse in the hospital intensive care unit, in a comatose state. Unknowingly, he meets a woman Seo-young (classic beauty Son Ye-jin) at the ward, whose husband too, was involved in the same accident. Slowly, they discover that their spouses were cheating behind their backs, thereby giving both another blow to their emotions.

I'm not really a fan of the bespectacled Bae, but in this film, he has demonstrated his acting prowess somewhat, if not already seen by most fans in his famed TV series Winter Sonata. You see the pain of a man who has dawned upon the knowledge of being betrayed by a spouse, the sadness emoting through his eyes when he reads SMS from the strayed spouse to her lover, and the intolerance viewing the video clip of their tryst in a hotel room. Here's a man who had lived in a web of adulterous deceit.

And in the same boat, Son Ye-jin, ever so vulnerable as the clueless housewife Seo-young, who suffers silently while awaiting for her husband to awaken from his coma. On one hand, she hates him for what he has done, but on the other, still dutifully cares for him. And this duality and fighting of emotions for their respective spouses ring through the state of confusion both In-su and Seo-young are in.

Sure, they want to seek revenge, which I suppose is a normal human reaction in these circumstances, but how? The other party's spouse happens to be a victim too, and hereby lies the dilemma in the inability to exact sweet justice. Or can they? As they meet up more often, by chance or otherwise, to have someone to talk to, to spend time with, to have meals together, each becomes the pillar of strength for the other, while they seek to unravel the rationale of their spouses' illicit affair.

A drunken slip of the tongue became the foreplay, and it's no rocket science that they decide to express their emotions in a physical manner, as promoted in the trailers. Note that I did not mention "love". It doesn't seem so at this point - their body language seemed more like strangers, their movements awkward. It's like for the purpose of releasing pent-up anger and frustration, of getting back and for the sake of getting even. Twisted; weird. Love? No.

But Love, probably, did creep in after a while. But you question if this is love out of convenience, of being there for the other person, just like the other is there for you, in dire straits? And in an attempt to steer this controversial romance theme (Two wrongs don't make a right - love borne out of an affair) into more mainstream acceptance, the filmmakers brought in Fate to decide - to have something identifiable between the two leads, for them to make the decision on their plausible future. Hence the title.

But the one scene which stood out for me, is the one where the confrontation is held. There isn't a need to ask point blank questions. A side remark in passing, and you'll come to understand whether it's worth burying the hatchet, or not.

And it's kinda back to full circle, as the mobile device which destructed one side of the relationship, ended up nurturing another. Such is the electronic era we live and cope in.

"Oechu", or "Wae Chu" according to the Toronto IFF, means "going out". The English title for both Toronto and Hong Kong is "April Snow". It seems that director Hur Jin-ho has a high awareness of the seasons as the titles of his two previous movies were "Christmas in August" (1998) and "One fine spring day" (2001).

To many regular viewers of Korean movies (a few movies each year), "Christmas" was their first introduction and is still considered among the best (while the tombstones of those who died of boredom watching it would already be showing signs of weather erosion). "Spring" has mixed reviews, with many considering it a setback from "Christmas". "April snow" is sort of a comeback, although it does not have the depth of "Christmas" in which death is the subject matter rather than a plot device.

The plot of Oechu is simple. His wife and her husband, who are having an affair, got in an accident during their escapade and are both in a coma. Encountering at the hospital, they gradually find out that their respective spouses, who where college classmates, have been cheating on them. Starting with understandable animosity, they wind up falling in love.

The key to the success of the movie is the development of the relationship between these two people, which takes time and patience to render believable. With this director Hur has done a splendid job. For the critical turning point, he cleverly utilizes a situation where the two attend together the funeral of a third victim of the accident, a young chap. As the spouses of the careless drivers (it could not be established which one was driving), they obviously are met with extreme hostility from the family of the deceased. This incident creates the necessary empathy which breaks the ice between them.

There are some lovemaking scenes, which are more sensual than erotic. Very palpable together with the pleasure is also a sense of agony and pain. And those who think that these scenes are daring for a Korean movie have obviously not seen "Happy End" (1999).

One scene that left me with the deepest impression was when his father-in-law knocks on his hotel room door while they are in the room, not making love but simply enjoying being with each other. Millions of similar scenes must have been seen in movies and yet I've never seen one that moves me so deeply. There's light tension, but no panic, as he asks the father-in-law to wait a second, gathers her telltale belongings and leads her gently into the bathroom and closes the door, gently. He then meets the father-in-law at the door and suggests that they go out to lunch together. On the stairs, he asks the father-in-law to wait downstairs, saying that he has forgotten something. Back in the hotel room, he opens the washroom door. She is still standing there, coat in hand, looking very stoic. She then turns and faces him and very mildly, but reassuringly, says, "I'm OK". The scene ends in a light, affectionate embrace.

This scene says so much. There is nothing that they are ashamed of or need to hide, but tradition dictates that they should not be found together in his room. They face the situation together, with sensible and sensitive consideration for each other.

Since Lover's Concerto, Son Ye-jin has been the most sought after young Korean actresses. Personally, I think her most popular "Classic" (2003) is over-rated. "April snow" is where Son has attained a breakthrough in her performance.

Bae Yong-jun is a victim of his own popularity as I've seen more than one criticism of his acting that reflect the writers' "hate-celebrity" syndrome, from which I'm happily immune as I can't tell him apart from the guy next doors. The only other movie I've seen him in is "Untold Scandal" (2003), in which he wears a mustache and beard. In that picture he comes short, not having enough maturity and charisma to play a character brought to life by John Malkovich in "Dangerous Liaisons" (1998). He is much better cast here in "April snow" as a melancholy sort-of artist (stage light designer, particularly for concerts).

One thing I must say is that you'll be hard-pressed to find a better looking (in a very literal sense) Asian couple than this pair.

After a long time I've seen a romance movie that does not seem like a piece of fiction to me.. what I love the most about this movie is the development of the relationship between the two people.. the way their budding relation evolved taking time & patience was convincingly believable.. and also that how perfectly their body languages were in harmony with their intimacy level at that particular stage of their relationship..

Dialogs are few and one needs to pay attention to so many subtle details in each and every scene.. the psychology of multi-layered characters torn between contradictory sentiments, their restrain and painful outbursts and a struggle for solace.. the delicate treatment of highly dramatic events and complex emotions make it feel so close to reality..

Throughout the movie there is an air of melancholy that never lifts till the end.. filmed in muted colors, aided by the heartrending soundtrack accompanied with a more than perfect use of silence.. one feels like a quiet observer of their sadness.. perhaps some people may find it boring because of its slow pace and few dialogs but for me this is the most preferred and adored setting for a romantic movie for sure..

Take IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE but have the protagonists meet when their spouses are in a serious car crash, don't be so bloody obtuse about the whole thing, and you're on way to making APRIL SNOW. Writer/director Hur Jin-Ho is certainly not a cheerful chap, with his trilogy of seasonally-named films each taking a depressing scenario and quietly exploring the characters' pain... yet somehow his films don't end up actually being depressing. The situation could easily lend itself to melodrama (and the soundtrack seems like it wants to go there), but the characters and emotions feel too real and natural.

Although the plot of the film is essentially very predictable, it's all about the details... the unassuming direction places the actors in the spotlight - a light that pierces right into the characters, and requires superb performances from the cast. Luckily Bae Yong-Joon and the gorgeous Son Ye-Jin are capable of delivering exactly that.

Very well crafted and enjoyable, though not so innovative as ONE FINE SPRING DAY.

This film's presence is simple but effective: After hearing that two people, a man and a woman, were involved in a very serious car accident, their respective spouses rush to the hospital. They find out that these two people were having an affair. Since they had to stay in a hotel while their spouses remain in comas, they see each other all the time and eventually begin having their own affair. The good thing about this film is how director Jin-ho Hur makes this not only believable a premise but also makes it seem completely natural. However, he needed good actresses to make his vision work and he found them: Yong-joon Bae plays the husband of the crash victim and the quite pretty (actually, both are good looking)Ye-jin Son the wife. Both take this necessarily slow moving film to a very dangerous but somehow natural place. The film has a refreshing subtlety, and the film is shot beautifully, great cinematography. While not a great film, it certainly conveys the themes of sadness, betrayal and eventually lust quite well. I would recommend this, it kept my interest throughout.