13 October 2005

Bae Yong-Joon, Son Ye-Jin

Melodrama

1 hour 45 minutes

Hur Jin-ho

4 kernels out of 5

Things in life never come close within expectations.

An accident, a pair of adulterous lovers and a quiet seaside location. One will never imagine how these insignificant details can interweave conspicuously to conjure a melodramatic sequence where love, with all its divinity, had fallen into the clutches of lust and sinful desires.

In-su (Bae Yong-Joon), a self-made concert lighting director, discovered a dark secret about his spouse Su-jin. The planned company business trip to Samchok, a south-eastern shore city in Korea, was nothing more than a lie to meet up her varisty sweetheart Kyung-ho. Coincidentally, Kyung-ho's wife Seoyoung (Son Ye-Jin) was also thrown into shackles of depression when she managed to retrieve arresting images of her husband and Su-jin from a chic digicam.

Life came to a standstill. The two protagonists, In-su (Bae Yong-Joon) and Seoyoung (Son Ye-Jin) were at their crossroads of love when they have to decide whether to continue loving somebody whom had betrayed their trust. The movie was transformed into a reflective prose for these two strangers where they start to question these bizarre occurrences of things. The tragedy of sorts had defied all conventional thoughts on marriage. It is no longer just good enough to be faithful as a committed husband or a faithful housewife when love grows stale and cold in the drudgery of life. Losing the 'touch' can spell imminent emotional disaster as the crevices of love need to be mended somehow.

Director Hur Jin-ho, a perfectionist and talented story teller, spun a gripping depth of emotion in this film. There are no scenes of furious yelling, shattering vases or terrorizing violence. Instead, the quiet exchange of glances or caesuras in slow conversations could have possibly drawn more audience closer to the theme of lost love. This is so because we are so convinced that this is how we would deal with the problem in the face of a busy, empty lifestyle; often plagued with sleepless nights and pointless anxiety.

In some ways or another, Bae Yong-Joon and Son Ye-Jin made these moments come true. They are always placed on a journey. In-su (Bae Yong-Joon), a typical workaholic, was always traveling in and out of town to find some comfort from his job. Seoyoung (Son Ye-Jin) was in her own world of delusions, getting occupied with mediocre chores. These deliberate outward maneuvers deeply reflect our fallible human nature - a resignation to the impending grief that was to come… .

Adopting the melodramatic Korean drama formulae, the director delivered his final blow when In-su (Bae Yong-Joon) and Seoyoung (Son Ye-Jin) fell in love in these trying moments. Torn between guilt and new found happiness, the thespians lost their moral compass of what's right and wrong in this seemingly hopeless relationship.

So, will there be a miracle? What could be the ending? Perhaps the movie title '' (April Snow) can provide some clues for you. If you are curious to find out, it is time to make your way to the cinema.

Funkygrad attended the April Snow's 'Charity Gala Premiere' in aid of the Singapore Breast Cancer Foundation. Singaporeans, local fans and celebrities were present at the event.