It's contrived, preposterous, emotionally manipulative and sappy but such a crowd pleaser. My specs fogged up a few times because of my hot tears.
Even though it was dripping with schmaltz, I still found myself easily lulled into the story. It's a prison story, a family drama, a redemptive drama, an investigative thriller and a court drama, all rolled into one. The strength with the film lies in its excellent ensemble cast of veteran Korean actors and the little girl - a total natural. I love her character's name, Yesung. Pronounce the name a few times in your head... sounds like Jesus?
Love the scenes in the cell... It's quite ridiculous but the earnest performances are so good, you will easily overlook the preposterous setups and some of the situations are ingeniously funny.
This film was released in Korea early this Jan and has now become the third highest grossing domestic movie of all time, behind The Host (2006) and The Thieves (2012).
So far this year, this is the only film that made me laugh and cry. An excellent film. The perfect film to bring your other half, especially if she's into Korean weepies. Don't be afraid to show up your new age sensitive self dudes
