Inseparable Bros

I had the opportunity to sit down and watch the 2019 South Korean movie "Inseparable Bros", and needless to say that I jumped at the opportunity, as I hadn't already seen the movie.

And I must admit that the movie's synopsis definitely sounded like the movie would be worthwhile watching. And indeed, writers Hyeon Na, Lee Soo-ah and Sang-Hyo Yook did come up with a storyline that was every bit as enjoyable and entertaining as it was one that sinks right into the heart.

The movie has a pretty good ensemble of actors and actresses, but I must really point out actors Shin Ha-kyun (playing Se-Ha) and Kwang-Soo Lee (playing Dong-Goo) because they were phenomenal in this movie and put on really realistic performances that makes you care about the characters and take them to heart.

"Inseparable Bros" is sort of a make-you-feel-good movie given the storyline and its positive energy. I was more than genuinely entertained by the movie, and it is definitely a movie that is well worth taking the time and effort to sit down and watch.

My rating of this movie lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.

A simple story that teaches those parents to think 10 times before ditching their children and later decided to snatch back. Sadly poverty drives most of the parents ditching their children. Most even cannot tolerate hardship especially when they have handicapped children. Before birth, a lot of them chosen to give birth to handicapped children but ended up cannot cope and refused to maintain that responsible, they dumped their children. When they became rich, they become stubborn, greedy and selfishly demanded back their children ignoring others feelings and conditions. Many cases had happened and broken many families, not to mention that the children are very much affected from prolonged shadows, nightmares and the worse is psychological trauma. This problem happened everywhere in the city or village from any countries.

Korean cinema went through a phase of overly melodramatic situations trying to uproot the heartstrings by force. It often came out cheap, although the production values were high and the plots were different enough from "normal" hollywood fare to make them entertaining.

By 2019, the level of refinement has increased dramatically, with "My Special Brother" proof of this (the English title is weird and far less effective than the Korean one, so I won't use it). This is a movie whose plot cries out for mawkish treatment, but whoever the director was handled it very skillfully and it turns out to be a strong emotional dramady.

Seha and Dong-gu are orphans who grew up in the same orphanage. Seha suffers from total paralysis from the neck down and he was abandoned there because of the great burden he was on his caretakers. Dong-gu is mentally underdeveloped and acts like a child, but his mother gave him up to the orphanage because of poverty.

Seha is the brains operation, and Dong-gu seems to admire him and obey him unquestioningly. On the other hand, Seha can not so much as survive without the help of Dong-Gu, and the director conveys this skillfully through scenes of their daily lives, showing us how Dong-Gu must get up several times a night to change Seha's position so that he doesn't bruise, for example.

When the pair reaches adulthood, some government lottery for the disabled allows them to live together in an apartment rather independently. This goes rather well until Dong-Gu's biological family, now economically comfortable as restaurant owners, want to reclaim him.

It would be selfish of Seha to demand that Dong-Gu stay and take care of him when a loving family is willing to take care of him, right? Well, it's not so simple and this movie goes on to effectively explore things like sacrifice, dependence, love, the meaning of family, and dignity in disability.

Veteran actor Shin Hagyun plays Seha to perfection. I don't have enough experience to say whether it's an accurate portrayal of a man in his situation, but with his avoidance of affect and strict but caring attitude to Seha, he is perfectly portraying a human being who is resigned to the fact that nature has dealt him one of the worst hands imaginable, but that life can still be bearable even so if it's taken one day at a time.

The guy who plays Dong-gu doesn't do as good of a job. It seems extremely overplayed and theatrical, with odd continuous tics and mugging. I was almost going to give it a 9 for that, but the rest of the movie is so good it makes up for it.

This movie doesn't attempt to surgarcoat or romanticize Seha's situation, but it doesn't wallow in self-pity either. He is able to function in limited comedic scenes which work well and aren't disrespectful or mocking like they would be in Mr. Magoo, for example. There's a sort of love interest as well and at first it seems like she's going to be superfluous, but the movie doesn't take a cheesy or unrealistic route with her.

The sub-ending is perhaps the best ending in any movie, the actual ending is good, and I really enjoyed the song for the ending credits.

Honourable Mentions: Born on the 4th of July (1989). Tom Cruise plays a paraplegic who becomes an anti-war crusader.

A fine plot with a very touching realistic performance.

This Korean comedy-drama film tells the story of Se-ha, a wheelchair-bound intellectual, and Dong-goo, a physically capable man with the mental age of a child. The two share an unbreakable bond, formed over 20 years, complementing each other and relying on each other to navigate the complexities of life.

The film presents a nice balance of comedy and drama. I loved the bumbling antics and playful banter. The realistic yet dignified portrayal of disabled individuals was much appreciated.

There were solid performances from Shin Ha-kyun, Lee Kwang-soo, and Esom. LKS won a number of awards for his supporting role. While some scenes seemed overacted, this was an overall enjoyable film.

It is a heartwarming film, celebrating resilience, interdependence, and the value of human connections that transcend disabilities.