April Snow

Yes, it's a bit like Random Hearts and I guess In the Mood for Love, but I liked the realism of it. I liked that they had a reason to stay near each other because their spouses needed tending (best looking coma victims, ever!). I like a bit of logic in my romances.

I really enjoyed the lead actress. In the few Korean movies I've seen, the lead actresses always seem too done-up (hair, make-up, perfect clothes and shoes). This actress was just a bit messier and a bit more average in her appearance, which made her all the more attractive. I could relate to her numb anger. She's mad, but she also has an ill husband to watch over. I like too that she's the one who approaches the other man first. That she reaches out and doesn't stay all locked up in her grief. I hope I can find more movies she's been in.

My favorite moment at the very beginning is when she spots the condom in the basket and just freezes and knows. She just knows in that instant. And he just grabs it to hide it away.

It was romantic without going over the top. Very cool.

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.

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..

"April Snow" is only the fourth Korean film I have seen and it has transformed my budding interest in that country's cinema to outright obsession. The simplicity and intimacy of the camera work piqued my interest and the two leads -- the movie's only significant characters -- held me there. Ye-jin Son and Yong-jun Bae moved me effortlessly from one emotional swell to another as they found solace, revenge and perhaps more? -- in each other. The question of how they can care for their adulterous comatose spouses falls quickly away as they silently wonder if, through this tragedy and betrayal, they might have found something wonderful.

Sad, lovely and surprisingly sensual, I highly recommend "April Snow" to those who have the slightest interest/curiosity in Asian cinema.

South Korean director Hur Jin Ho is unique. At a time when most of the Korean directors are making more or less violent, thriller films,he has decided to follow his own path. This can make viewers aware that as a filmmaker he likes to do something different. That is why he likes to make romantic films. This is fine as 2 of his previous films "Christmas in August", "One fine spring day" have been very soft,lovely,a bit melodramatic and pure romantic films. This is also the case of "April Snow". It is a film which would immensely appeal to both boys as well as girls.Yeah, it would captivate married people too.The film is a pure reflection on what love is. Of course, love experienced under normal circumstances is good. However any kind of love experienced under pain,bitterness, trouble or hardship is the truest,everlasting love and is pure in all its form. This is the main premise of this film. For those who have seen "In the mood for love" by Wong Kar Wai there is something in store. What it is ? Just go and watch this film.