Donggam

As a fan of actress Kim Ha Neul and the movie Il Mare (another time boggling K-drama), I really wanted to love this movie. Instead I have to settle for liking it and barely, unfortunately.

Korean cinema has built quite a reputation for itself in the melodrama genre. This movie is no exception. However, it does more than deliver the melodrama; it buries you in it. The classical soundtrack, while rather lovely, gets heavy fast. The leads, Kim and Yu Ji Tae, manage to be charming in their own ways, but charm is not enough to shoulder this film. I had difficulty attaching to any characters in this movie and couldn't help but find their emotional moments very contrived. The downpours of tears and the slow quiet moments got to be too much. And this is coming from a drama fan!

I think so much more could have been done with the concept of this movie. It had its moments, but nothing special enough to make it truly memorable.