Hwaiteu ballenta-in (1999) User Reviews

Simply gorgeous

[leekandham · 7/10 · 18 August 2003]

White Valentine

Starring: Park Shin-yang, Jun Ji-hyun Directed by: Yang Yun-ho

Korean cinema has taken off over the past few years and has begun to reach untraditional audiences, a category in which I'd include myself. There have been some movies with very good scripts and imaginative direction, such as One Fine Spring Day, Failan and My Sassy Girl.

White Valentine, meanwhile, is the debut film of Jun Ji-hyun, who has since gone on to star in My Sassy Girl, which became as massive Asian hit. In White Valentine, she plays a girl in a remote town helps run a bookstore with her grandfather. A high-school dropout, she has a talent in drawing and has ambitions to become an artist, much to the dismay of her grandfather. Meanwhile, a young bird-store owner (Park Shin-yang) moves into the town. Heartbroken and love-lost, he longs to see his girlfriend once more, and sends messages to her via a dove. The dove, however, arrives at Ji-hyun's window. And so she writes back and returns messages via the dove.

White Valentine is a traditional love story, and whilst it's not extravagant, its beauty is in part down to its simplicity. There are some beautifully constructed scenes, with gorgeous camerawork and direction. And the two central actors do bring the brightness out of the plot.

White Valentine isn't outstanding, but it is a gorgeous story. One I recommend to see.

White Valentine is just for a few people, since it won't please everyone

[jjhfan · 6/10 · 31 December 2005]

(I won't say any spoilers here, so you can read it freely)

White Valentine is a really traditional love story. Not only this, it's also a somewhat confusing movie. I don't know if it was because of the subs, but it got confusing in some parts.

This movie isn't very great since it really didn't have any climax. It's one of those movies you watch and when it ends, it makes you think "What? It's over already?". Yeah, and it has some unnecessary scenes, which makes its pace really slow...

It's strange because it doesn't really have a "main" story. I mean, there's a lot of short stories (by story, I mean the character's personal problems) gathered altogether, which really doesn't matter in the movie. This is why it's confusing, because it gets like this: The movie shows you about a little particular problem that one of the two main characters is having. And, even though it gets resolved, in the end this really didn't matter in the movie's main story!! These little problems are just there to confuse you!

And here's the most strange part: the movie's main story is actually all these "little personal problems" gathered together.

Well, but overall it's a good movie, thanks to the good acting of the main characters.

"Ok, so should I watch it or not?" I'd say, watch it only if you're a Jeon Ji Hyun fan, or if you're really a fan of traditional love stories. Even though I like both JJH and traditional love stories, it didn't really satisfy me. I'd still recommend Il Mare over this one. (for people who likes just love stories)

If you're going to watch this movie, the tip is: pay a lot of attention in the plot and the subs (or dubs, if it's your case).

different because of the culture from which it springs

[colcam · 2 August 2009]

White Valentine is strongly "cultural based storytelling" instead of canned and stale boy-girl meet/part/reconcile structure storytelling.

Many Americans only think of a romance or love story as having one format, one way of progressing, while the rest of the world might be very familiar with the "American" format, Americans tend to miss the nuances of other cultures.

In this case the lack of money-- not poverty, just a lack of money, the cross generational bonding and emotional ties, the way the characters need to balance their family ties with cultural norms as they try to move toward goals that they personally choose, this set of culture based guidelines makes the story more difficult to understand, and, on top of the simple cultural difference, the story is a story that is less romance that the personal journey story for the two leads as each heads toward their personal destination.

The question of what happens to "the two" is less important to the movie than the question of what happens "to each" of the characters. Not for everyone, be it in Korea, China, Japan, or the USA, this is a story of two personal tales, two personal stories, each bouncing off the other, each providing the other story the dynamic to stay in motion.

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a love story

[floratang33-892-771589 · 8/10 · 8 January 2014]

I love this movie, when I first watch it, I did not like it at all, but when I rethink about it, watch it again, it is touch me very much. This movie, it is not about how much good at its plot, it is good at emotion it want express. It will make me think about first love. I love actress way to deal her feeling for the actor. She know he is the man she write all these years, she know how much she love him, but she did not tell him, because she did not want disturb him, so she choice accompany him quietly. and she painting, the painting place her love,her missing, all her feeling for him. many years later, she published all her painting, coincidentally, he see that book and know she is the girl who accompany him before, at that moment, he finally acknowledge her feeling all these years, it already very beautiful, love is just oneself thing, you ever did not need to tell the person you love, even you just let all the feeling stay in you heart, it still be very beautiful. because love someone feeling will always stays in you mind, many years later, both of them think about it, I think they will still have beautiful memories stay in their heart,it is enough. They are together or not is not so important, most important is we all remember or we all ever have this kind feeling, beside I think painting your love for someone, and published as a book, and he could pick it in the bookstore, and watch it and acknowledge all the painting is you saying you love him, it is quite impossible romantic. nowadays most of people are lack of this feeling, maybe we could replay in here.