Ojik geudaeman

Always is a film that brilliantly captures the ironies and coincidences that life happens to offer, and because of this, could be accused of being structured in such a way as to deliberately push the plot in a particular direction. With this in mind, the feature never feels forced or out of place, and even though, by the conclusion, the film begins to pick up pace, as though hurriedly making its way towards the end, again, the climax and final segments are unhindered, and fit fantastically with the rest of the movie.

Occasionally, moreover, the conversations can be predictable, however this adds to the overall beauty of the production, the plot being as logical and understandable as it is fluent and engaging. So Ji-Sub is outstanding as Cheol-Min, a former boxer with a dark past, who is attempting to atone. His awkwardness in social situations is emphasized in his dialogue, sometimes conveying a hurtful comment to hide the honesty beneath. Han Hyo-Joo is equally superb as Jung-Hwa, a young office worker on the verge of completing losing her sight. Although the way she lost her vision is similar to Min Soo-Ah in Blind, I felt a greater degree of sympathy towards Soo-Ah, whereas Jung-Hwa seems to find solace in her condition, and though her life is immeasurably difficult, she appears to acclimatise more efficiently.

Despite Cheol-Min's attempts to rid his world of violence, it is this that eventually helps bring he and Jung-Hwa together, and at the same time, has the capacity to irreversibly tear them apart. Acquiring a job as a parking attendant, Cheol-Min replaces the worker that Jung-Hwa used to converse with. She appears one evening, to talk to her friend, and is surprised to meet a new individual, yet continues to stop by every evening to watch a soap opera.

Cheol-Min finds himself deliberately adjusting his appearance and life to accommodate Jung-Hwa, who he forms an attachment to, wanting to keep her safe from those who would use her condition to take advantage of her. Ironically, at the same time, he is unable to identify those who attempt to do the same to him.

The leads are incredibly likable over the course of the feature, their relationship being as passionate and sweet, as it is enjoyable to watch. At the same time, those who portray antagonistic individuals effectively create characters who are intensely loathsome from the moment they appear on screen, Min Tae-Sik (Yoon Jong-Hwa) being one such character who is as egotistical as he is villainous. Not long after severely beating Jung-Hwa's boss, Choi (Cho Seong-Ha), after he attempts to sexually assault her, Cheol-Min and Jung-Hwa move in together.

However, the expenses that are required to maintain their existence forces Cheol-Min to orbit back towards his former occupation, and though his love for Jung-Hwa is undeniable, represented by the sacrifices he is willing to make, the immoral, unsafe actions inevitably lead towards moments, as unavoidable as they are inescapable, which could ruin everything.

Though I will not deny the brilliance, not to mention the beauty, which encapsulates the characters and plot, as previously accentuated in a number of other reviews, I personally was disappointed that I didn't find the movie to be as terribly sad as I had initially imagined it to be. This aside, Always is a feature which delves into the reasons as to why we love, and why we are willing to go to such extraordinary lengths to maintain our romantic attachments. In this sense, the film is easy to relate towards, and even when shifting into intensely dramatic, and tragic instances, the feature never loses its capacity to keep the audience vested.

How many of you will see this? I am someone who now realizes that Korean movies are now worth paying attention to. On one level this movie is pure melodrama. But when you think about it, melodrama goes back to the beginning of film. And the plot of this movie, comes directly from Charley Chaplin's "City Lights". So the story works here precisely because this kind of film has disappeared from mainstream movies. I hope you remember how Steven Spielberg broke through by harnessing the power of the cinema to make us feel. I have no idea who this director is. But what I do know is that he is a master of a very old kind of storytelling and he is hip enough to kick the whole story up to modern times in a scene so violent, well, we won't go into it...but hide you eyes if you have to. The lead actors, indeed, all the actors, are so good that they make you feel things despite a language none of us hear very often. And they are not over doing it, in a story that could have been destroyed by their lack of subtlety. Seeing this movie with a crowd of young Asian Americans at their festival in San Francisco was a special treat. Do not miss this, it is one of the best films of the year for those of us who love pure cinema. Hats off to a culture and cinema production style that could allow this to be made. You will not see anything like this again anytime soon.

I loved this movie, the months I was waiting to watch it were not wasted... Han Hyo-Joo confirmed one more time her acting talent and bringing tears to my eyes. If somebody asks me to tell them about this movie in two words, I'll say 'warm sun'... This movie gave so many warm feelings... Director's and cameraman's work is brilliant... The game of lights in this movie, in my opinion, is one of the main positive effects... Because of the light in the movie... everything is printed in the smallest details in my brain... the girls clothes... the guys hair... the sun in the room... the beautiful kiss... the family feeling with the dog... the massage...the drama watching time...their field full of the yellowest flowers...her, touching his face to 'see' him... (I can go on, until I've told the whole movie..thehe). Though the plot is not something brilliant and new for a Korean movie, actors and the crew makes the movie unforgettable, in my opinion.. Watch it, you won't regret!

The Koreans do melodrama better than anyone else on the planet. I wish I had known about Korean movies years ago. (I saw "Always" four years after its release. When will a Korean movie get released in the US?!?)

The plot here is reminiscent of "An Affair to Remember," the quintessential Hollywood romance. But the feeling and cinematography are pure twenty-first century. Though it's a 100% melodrama story- line, the style is low-key and on the naturalistic side. It's never overwrought.

So Ji-Sub is a favorite of mine from seeing him in K-drama "The Master's Sun." Here he plays a very different kind of man, but with equal skill and charisma. His character barely talks, but still feels three-dimensional. Han Hyo-Joo is excellent and her character is refreshingly outgoing despite her disability.

I had to close my eyes for about 5 minutes when things got violent, but that was inevitable given that So Ji-Sub plays a fighter. If I have any complaints, it's that I wanted to know so much more about the characters, and the denouement is on the quick side. I still have questions. But the emotional aspects of the story were handled perfectly.

If you haven't started watching the good Korean stuff yet, you should. It's worth the subtitles.

"Always" (aka "O-jik geu-dae-man") is the type of movie that you simply owe to yourself to watch, because it is a beautiful and touching movie, up alongside "Failan", "Oasis" and "Fly Me to Polaris".

What makes the movie sink right in is the storyline and the detailed characters. This is a love story that will sweep you away, and the characters are ones you take to heart and bond with. As such, then South Korean director Il-gon Song really managed to put together an unforgettable movie.

And the actors and actresses in the movie also have an immense credit for making this a beautiful movie. Especially the two leading talents Ji-Seob So (playing Cheol-Min) and Hyo-Jo Han (playing Jeong-Hwa) were fabulous in the movie, both together and on their own.

"Always" tells the story of ex-boxer Cheol-Min who works at a parking garage where he happens to meet the blind telemarketing woman Jeong-Hwa. A friendship sparks and blossoms into love.

It should be said that "Always" is likely to have you in tears, so you might just want to have a tissue within arms reach. Yep, the movie does have that strong of an impact, as it a very emotional movie.

This is MUST watch if you enjoy the South Korean cinema in all its diversity.