"The Harmonium in my Memory" is nothing short of spectacular. It is the type of movie that will bring a big, heartfelt smile to your lips and rekindle your belief in love and true romance.
The movie is from 1999, but the way that it is shot and the entire feel to it really captured the feeling of being an older movie. And that worked so well, because it was really like you were right there in the Korean village, having taken a step back into the past. Hats off for the director, Young-jae Lee, for this achievement.
The story in "The Harmonium in my Memory" is about two teachers coming to a remote village in Korea to teach in school. It is a school unlike the ones in the bigger cities, and the new teachers have to adjust to the way of the rural school. The student girl, Yun Hong-yeon (played by Do-yeon Jeon) falls in love with her new male teacher, Kang Soo-ha (played by Byung-hun Lee), though he has fallen in love with the other newly arrived teacher.
The performances in the movie, by both the leading cast and the supporting cast was really amazing. People did such great jobs with their roles, and it all seemed so natural, like it was actual life and not a movie. It was Do-yeon Jeon who pulled the most weight in the movie, though. Her performance was simply phenomenal.
I was really taken by surprise when I watched this movie, because it was so much more than I had expected it to be. And it is really a movie that will stay with me for a long, long time. And be sure to watch the photographs that will show during the scrolling end credits, because they really round up the movie in the most wonderful way.
Having sat through "The Harmonium in my Memory", my spirits are really lifted and I feel much happier. This movie was really one amazing piece of cinema history. And it is no surprise why it won the 'Best Film' award at the 2000 Verona Film Festival.
If you like Korean (or Asian) movies and enjoy movies that you can relate to, movies that will sink into your heart and spirit and stay with you for a long, long time, then you owe it to yourself to sit down and watch "The Harmonium in my Memory". This movie is a testament to Korean movie-makers being able to put other great movies out there aside from action and comedies.
