thrak61

I watched this film without any reference to reviews or even a knowledge of the director beforehand. Just plunged in. The puppet sequence that starts the movie tells you there's tragedy ahead, but also a poignancy.

Then the narrative shifts to the main story, about a young couple in love but for whom family and business split apart. For a time. But the truth is there's no one else ever for either one of them, and while this sounds clichéd, it somehow works. I think it's because of the pacing and layering. The director doesn't push any obvious buttons - in fact, there were times when I saw these two damaged people together in these really slow scenes where not a whole lot is happening that I wondered if I wanted to go the duration of the film with them. And just at about that time the second story weaves in, about an again executive who remembers a young woman who loved him uncritically and unconditionally, but who he selfishly dumped because he wanted to focus all his attention on making money.

The third storyline is about a man smitten by a pop music princess, and again this would seem to stray into cliché territory, but the way it's handled is done so sympathetically that you never feel the man is a buffoon; he's childlike and uncomplicated, but at the same time he's not a simpleton.

Interwoven with these secondary stories is the main plot, with the "bound beggars", as they're known to the locals. And by the time the movie is about 3/4 done you realize that your patience is mirrored by the man's patience for his damaged girlfriend, and you start to care about them both. There's a scene late in the film which is done in total silence that is completely breathtaking. I'll never forget it.

Let it wash over you.

I have to agree with the previous 3 reviewers. A sequel to a romance movie has to answer the question what happens once the couple finally gets together? Inevitably the answer is disappointing since no one really wants to see them fall out and spend another movie's duration trying to figure out if they belong together or not. But that's what this movie does, and throws in all matter of contrivances to occupy the characters' attention while they are separated. Of COURSE they're going to bump up against the age difference, but the way in which it's handled is a disservice to both their characters. They become idiots instead of being merely difficult, which they were in the first film. The two leads are appealing to watch, but they're not given enough interesting material to work with.