Calla's frenetic opening, with its blurred, fast paced imagery, is representative of the occasionally illogical plot. Part the Time Machine and part Frequency, though rarely as powerful as either, Calla works its magic as a romantic drama, while also acting as a social commentary on life. The film has a strong focus on visuals and sound, from characters expressions and the worlds they inhabit, to the sweet melody of the soundtrack, there being stretches where dialogue has little role at all. It should be noted, the English subtitles for this film are not perfect, and some reading between the lines is required.
Seon-Woo (Song Seung-Heon) finds flowers on his desk each morning, his secret admirer leaving no clues to their identity. On a tram, he meets Ji-Hee (Kim Hee-Seon), who happens to work at the same store he receives his flowers from, immediately assuming it is she who has been serenading him with gifts, and not fellow florist Soo-jin (Kim Hyun-Joo). But who really has been giving him the flowers? Seon-Woo has little time to investigate due to work commitments, arranging to meet Ji-Hee at an extravagant lounge when his schedule next allows. On the evening of their first dinner however, Ji-Hee is violently killed by Chong (Choi Cheol-Ho), a deranged drug addict, in a hostage situation gone terribly wrong.
Three years on, Seon-Woo remains unable to move on from the past, and finds himself wishing that he could have one more chance to see the love of his life – a wish that just so happens to come true.
What follows is Seon-Woo's journey to stop history from repeating itself. To say more would take away from the film's enjoyment, and though there are moments of predictability, there are an equal number of twists that are brilliantly executed. Due to this, the film has us on the edge at all times, the burning question of whether Seon-Woo will be successful propelling Calla forward, sometimes with great intensity. Considering this is not a Hollywood film, where happy endings are almost always a certainty, we are unable to escape the dread of what might come of this love story, a feeling the filmmakers take great pride in establishing.
The leads especially deserve kudos in bringing their characters to life. We feel both the embarrassment and the intensity that Seon-Woo does, though his short-sightedness and lacking objectivity can occasionally be a letdown. At the same time, we feel the joy that Ji-Hee does, and the sadness when Soon-Jin cries, the film making us not just sympathetic, but empathetic, as we are dragged into the world of Calla, which is one of the feature's greatest accomplishments.
The music too helps conjure up emotions, granting the viewer a melancholic, sentimental overtone, while the Christmas setting from its vibrant colours to its pure snow, helps further establish the film as an addition to the romance genre.
Though having a specific focus on Seon-Woo, halfway through, the feature gives us the point of view of another of its leads, this segment strengthening the film as a whole, and establishing some of the emotional depth that was lacking until this moment.
Considering there are only three leading cast members, it is peculiar at times that we are denied further information about them, while sub-characters randomly crop up with little explanation, only to disappear just as quickly.
The film is not always rational, and there are moments that are given little to no explanation, though Calla's intent is not to leave us pondering about such things. Instead, the film would rather us think about the chance encounters we experience in our own lives, and the invisible few people we overlook, who deserve as much credit as those we focus all of our attentions on.
Calla can at times be sad, and at other times beautiful, and though there are other Korean films that harness both to greater effect, Calla in itself is a delight that ought to be experienced no less.
