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Reviews
Liteul poleseuteu (2018)
A pleasure of pure, simple storytelling
Song Hye-won, played by Kim Tae-ri, comes back from Seoul to her family home in rural South Korea. She had left the home to get a teacher's certificate and escape it's slow-moving lifestyle. Her mother, played by Moon So-ri, left the home before Hye-won went to college. The father had died.
Some of the things that Hye-won learned growing up included agricultural work and nearly gourmet cooking. Her mother always prepared the most exquisite dishes and as Hye-won grew up she wanted to surpass her mother's skills.
Two of her hometown friends renew their ties to her. Joo Eun-sook, played by Jin Ki-joo is her best girl friend who stayed in the small town and works at a bank. Ki-joo yearns to escape what she sees as a boring existance. Lee Jae-ha, played by Ryu Jun-yeol, had gone to Seoul and worked in on office before deciding to return home to work as a farmer so he could make his own decisions and live life more fitfully.
Delicious meals are lovingly prepared and shared for Hye-won's friends. Hye-won can't decide if she wants to go back to the big city or stay at the family farm. She also mulls over life lessons her mother taught her in flash backs.
All I can say is that is another Korean drama that is of very high quaility. The photography of the farms and the forest are so beautiful. The conflict between mother and daughter is also well done. The scenes of fellowship with Hye-won with Jae-ha and Ki-joo are filled with love and sometimes strife.
The cast did a fantastic job and no doubt Kim Tae-ri will continue to blossom as a leading lady in Korean dramatic films!
Ren'ai kitanshû (2017)
Low rating is totally undeserved for a wonderful drama
I believe that the low ratings are from Horror fans who prefer films like "The Ring." The horror in "Strange Tales of Love and Strangers" is very low-key and is there for explanation of the melancholy felt by a number of the characters.
The entire case plays wonderfully. Ai-Ning Yao, playing Taiwanese exchange student Yuwen, and her mysterious friend Yuri, played by Mayuko Fukuda, have a very close, mysterious friendship that blossoms in a rural Japanese village. Both feel displaced and can only truly communicate to each other with true clarity. Meanwhile a saddened sake maker (Sôkô Wada) and a former school mate of his, played by the pretty Chika Uchida, renew acquaintances as she returns from Tokyo where she's been modeling. Yuwen develops a crush on a classmate but has to deal with his jealous girlfriend.
The film is beautifully shot and acted. The modern, Japanese countryside is not something I've seen in many movies before. The story is one that stresses dealing with loss, loves found and lost, and the ability to live life anyway. All the performances were believable, but Miss Yao and Miss Fukudu really brought a lump to my throat. Highly Recommended!
Mùi du du xanh (1993)
Subtle charm yields screen magic
Beautifully photographed, subtle film of the life and the sexual awakening of a servant girl who grows into a mesmerizing woman. The film is deliberately paced and rewards those who appreciate the everyday details that make a person who they are. The study of the protoganist's face reminds one of Dreyer's "Passion of Joan of Arc".