Donggam

I was leary of spending the time watching "Ditto" on the Japan Air flight I was on as it would interfere with my nap. This was a refreshingly nice twist to the story lines like Frequency and many Star Trek episodes...

Melancholy and sad moments were balanced out with the innocence of the female lead's character, it never got overly heavy with sadness. No nudity and very minimal abusive language.

I can understand why many people would like this film. To a certain kind of person this may be very appealing.

But I have to agree with LostMyHairbrush. I am a fan of Korean drama / fantasy / scifi. While this film has a moderately interesting plot and a good twist, it fails to deliver in both directing and acting. The characters come across 2-dimensional and flat, making it difficult for the audience to connect with any of them. The lead female romantic role is meek and uninspiring, the male lead romantic role isn't all that charismatic, making one wonder what she sees in him to begin with. Everything presented it just somewhat bland... which causes the movie to just coast along.

While most such movies present an emotional roller coaster and often have the viewers laughing and weeping multiple times throughout, I never felt really moved by any of this. I'm withholding specific instances to avoid spoilers... but this is somewhat like a nourishing meal, but without significant flavor. There's never really a climax to this film anywhere, at all. It basically starts out telling a story, continues to tell the story, and ends up telling the story without really accomplishing anything more. I didn't really feel much emotion in any of it.

For those who loved the film, I'm glad they did. This will appeal to some viewers. But although I usually very much like this genre, Ditto left me unimpressed. It's been done before, and better. At the end I found myself wondering, "Why the name Ditto? What does that mean in the context of the movie?" And that summed it up there: what was the writer / director trying to get across? It didn't feel real, didn't bring the story home, didn't tug the heart strings. It wound up a 2-hour-long bland meal without dessert.

As a fan of actress Kim Ha Neul and the movie Il Mare (another time boggling K-drama), I really wanted to love this movie. Instead I have to settle for liking it and barely, unfortunately.

Korean cinema has built quite a reputation for itself in the melodrama genre. This movie is no exception. However, it does more than deliver the melodrama; it buries you in it. The classical soundtrack, while rather lovely, gets heavy fast. The leads, Kim and Yu Ji Tae, manage to be charming in their own ways, but charm is not enough to shoulder this film. I had difficulty attaching to any characters in this movie and couldn't help but find their emotional moments very contrived. The downpours of tears and the slow quiet moments got to be too much. And this is coming from a drama fan!

I think so much more could have been done with the concept of this movie. It had its moments, but nothing special enough to make it truly memorable.

It's been almost fifteen years since this South Korean romantic drama was released, and yet, even now, it has lost none of its poignancy. In 1979, So-Eun (Kim Ha-Neul), a university student, by chance, stumbles upon a ham radio whilst attempting to capture the attention of Dong-Hee (Park Yong-Woo), a fellow student she strongly admires. In order to convince Dong-Hee that her appreciation for the ham radio is legitimate, she begins to converse with a young man on the other end, Ji-In (Yoo Ji-Tae), a fellow student attending the same university, however, 21 years into the future, in the year 2000.

Although neither of them is capable of initially believing that they happen to inhabit different periods of time, they begin to have a profound affect over each other, and in so doing, shape their characters and lives. So-Eun's sweet friend Seon-Mi (Kim Min-Joo) and Ji-In's occasionally inebriated, yet charmingly caring friend Seo Hyun-Ji (Ha Ji-Won), equally believe the distance in time to be nonsense, but as events begin to slowly become even more realistic, the question of whether the changes that commence are actually for the better, begin to plague the leads.

The characterization is certainly impressive, distinct impressions being made that help the audience clearly identify each character as they subtly grow, maturing into the individuals they shall later become. The focus on the leads however means that many of the secondary characters, from friends to familial members, are provided limited screen time or depth.

The directional style moreover, clearly emphasizes the impact each character has over the other, and how their lives begin to intersect, even despite the massive difference in time. Initially, So-Eun and Ji-In are continuously shown in separate scenes, skipping from one to another. Later, both appear, side by side, like a comic strip, before we eventually see them, in their own times, walking in the same locations, So-Eun fading out as Ji-In is superimposed over her, following in her footsteps.

From the sweeping melody of the piano, to the use of stringed instruments, the audience is frequently being serenaded by beautiful music. Although this initially sets the scene for what gradually is to come, the music for the most part mainly serves as a beautiful companion for the story, until later, when it begins to solidify and cement the emotions that really impact the viewer.

The use of color, especially at the beginning, where a vast amount of bright pinks and reds occupy the screen, thus evident of the romantic themed plot, is incredibly flattering on the senses, which are capable of being later contrasted with the beautiful lily white snow. These changes are additionally evident in the plot, the elements of humor, social awkwardness and friendship, being overtaken in the film's later stages with a greater focus on melodrama.

Though the feature's conclusion is neither forced or peculiar, offering viewer's an ending that effectively fits with the narrative and characters, one cannot potentially feel as though they are been deprived of something deeper, which only adds to the intensity of the emotions the ending reveals. Ditto is one of those rare great films that are incredibly difficult to find, but if by luck, you, dear reader, manage to procure a copy, you shall not be disappointed.

from what you have already heard about this film it may remind you of a movie released in 2006 called 'Lake House' a cheesy love story between Keaun Reeves and Sandra Bullock mainly based around them communicating a year apart from each other and realizing they're 'meant to be' love for each other.

Ditto (the English name of the movie) has only a basic connection to 'Lake house' It's main difference is the two characters are 21 years apart in their communication to the past or future. This allows the story to be handled less of a love story between the characters but as an exploration of how their 'long distance' relationship affects the two characters lives and in unexpected ways.

In my opinion we have to many clichéd, formula love stories. Moving away from that, and dealing with the portrayal of relationships in a mature, realistic way pushes the film from being just an ordinary love story, to being a wonderful film.

Moments of the film however seemed rather strange. The mannerisms of the characters and some of the ways of doing things seemed foreign and stereotypical to Korean culture. Begging the question of whether or not Korean cinema is as accurate of Korean life style as Hollywood is of western lifestyle.

It also seemed that bits of the movie were 'lost in translation' with background details like signs not being translated to English , or not having translation for what characters are writing down. As well some of the language is awkward and unfitting for the situation when translated, however this is only a mild complaint because the general message was portrayed beautifully.

In conclusion, Ditto was a wonderful film, handled with maturity and elegance. It is well worth the read, and will leave you feeling satisfied.