This review may contain spoilers
Fun fact: this movie came out on my birthday. But then of course, we had to wait a little to finally be able to see the subtitles. A love story? *reads the plot* Love it. The actors? *checks the cast* Yes, two of my favorite South Korean actors, both such beautiful and talented human beings. The decision has been made - I'm watching this!I have a thing for love stories set in the 90's or the early 00's: how the set design is specifically made to reminisce the flip phones, dvd's, etc. I even noticed how the filming style varied a lot in this movie, from shaky to cinematic and professional. So even the little details stood out to me. Now, the main characters and their relationship seemed to genuine. They had amazing chemistry and character development. People gave this film a lot of backlash because of the sad ending, but I found it quite contemporary. The writers of the story didn't want to sugarcoat anything. This movie depicts how relationships in the real world work: people might have a strong belief in fate and how it brings humans together, but love doesn't last forever. Personally, I was balling my eyes out and had a thought that life is, indeed, so unfair sometimes. I'm still convinced that the main male lead Hwang Woo Yeon had the biggest character development. From a stupid jock to a mature and sweet teacher, we all wish him true happiness and to look back at everything as memories that shaped him. Even the female character Hwan Seung Hee changed from someone unapproachable to a loveable and hard-working woman. In other words, the story is important, but I though that observing the main characters was more fascinating. So if you're still on the hence whether this movie should've ended on a bad note, take your time to rethink if it would've been better with a happy ending.
Overall, this exceeded my expectations. I definitely recommend watching this and myself, I'll go and rewatch this movie sometime in the near future!
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The ending killed me...
So I just finished watching this movie and I'm feeling rather heartbroken. I really loved the build up of the story where we got to know the characters over the course of their lives, with their relationships changing/developing along the way.I found the romance between the two MCs to be sweet, humorous at times, and fair in its depiction of reality. There were numerous highs and lows in the relationship between the 2 MCs where each time left me hoping that they would figure it out and grow from the experience. But one particular low led to their breaking up, and with 5 minutes left in the movie, I realized they wouldn't get back together and the FMC would really marry someone else.
While I was very happy to witness the character development and maturity achieved for both MCs through the course of their teenage years to adulthood, I desperately wanted them to be happy TOGETHER. And they *were* happy together for some time before their break up, but things got strained due to outside variables, not necessarily personal issues with each other (unhappiness due to family death, bitterness/frustrations in careers). Having seen them so in-love and sweet with each other, I really wanted them to recognize their faults/problems, grow from them, and FIGURE IT OUT when things started to get messy. It was obvious that they still loved each other in the end and so them not working through it and being together in the end really ruins the entire story for me. And call me close-minded or a romantic, but after they struggled for 10 years to be together, having been there for each other during their largest hardships, there would be a strong bond that can't be so easily erased and forgotten...
I believe that the key to a happy relationship is communication and hard work. It takes a lot of effort to make a relationship work - you won't agree about everything, you will hurt each other's feelings at times, and they will piss you off better than anyone else. BUT that's normal because love is a fierce emotion that makes us that much more sensitive to our partners. This is where hardwork comes in. That's what I needed to see in the ending. He loved her, always did. And in the end, it became clear that he loved her more than she loved him, and that was really sad to me too. She gave up on them and wasn't willing to fight for them. Thankfully he bowed out gracefully.
I'm happy that they each had that heart-to-heart at the very end where they each recognized their roles in each other's lives, but why is she the only one who gets the happy romantic ending, happiness achieved in all aspects in her life? I feel like he matured to a pretty great human being, so why didn't he get a more well-rounded resolution? I can only hope that in the ficticious world, he got his whole happy ending too.
As you have read, quite a bit bothers me about how the resolution to this story was handled. And while I enjoyed the first 3/4 of the story, this ending will prevent me from watching the movie again.
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One Wrong Sentence Can Change Your Life
An interesting movie is about the best I can say for this one. If the message of the movie was to point out how one wrong sentence in a conversation can change your life, then it was a success. Don’t watch this if you want to feel good when it’s done. It was depressing, a one hour and fifty-minute lesson on how to not run your life. I watched this movie because I saw a promo and thought I had to see how this movie ended. To my surprise, the promo was the end. Who shows the end of a movie in a promo? The whole movie was strange and pointless. Nothing cute, nothing felt good. The minute she came to the school and they had that awkward conversation about her getting married I knew it was going to be an awkward ending. It was like the producers got together and came up with an ending they thought would be different from other movies. Different is not necessarily better. In my opinion, this one missed the mark.I like the actors and the acting was good.
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This review may contain spoilers
Rather than movies, I am a more drama-person. But Park Bo Young and Kim Young Kwang, these two are the cutest ones! And after seeing them as couple, I don't have any chance but to watch. Did you see the photos from press conference? I started to think "I will definitely love this movie" after realize their chemistry. And also those movie posters! Everything about this movie looked so cute to me, except one thing, its name. And my fears came true. I couldn't think it doesn't have an happy-ending. The name of the movie says lots of things, it says "you should prepare for an possible unhappy-ending". But I didn't want to hear. I was expecting a love story. It wasn't. It was a story about intermittent relationship of 2 people who don't try hard enough to be happy together. I don't know why Woo Yeon didn't call her when he is in the military service. Maybe he decided to forget her. So if he decided to forget her, why he didn't just ignore her when he saw her in the street after several years. And in my opinion Seung Hee was always passive for their love and was the person who loves less. There are more things in my mind, but won't dwell on this subject.
I loved the not-chronological story telling technique, leaps from past to present than again to past were interesting.
About acting, there can't be any problem. In my opinion they are just perfect.
I love Woo Yeon's love. Yes, I think he had some mistakes. But things he did for her especially during highschool days were so cute. Also his reactions! *-* Maybe the reason of it is Kim Young Kwang, aren't his reactions so cute?!
I was in a "cute love story movie" mood, but the times that they look happy together were really short, they immediately met with an obstacle (or they made an obstacle for themselves). Yes, maybe it was realistic. Maybe 2 people who really loves each other can't be happy even if they try hard. But it doesn't matter more realistic or not, I hate unhappy endings. Also I hate spoilers (I didn't read even plot summary part to avoid spoilers), but I wish I saw an spoiler about this movie's unhappy ending, so I didn't watch it and I would choose a movie about cute love story.
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Love does not conquer all
We have always heard the famous saying " Love conquers all" but does it really?This movie is the exact answer to that question. It shows first love and childhood romance. Fresh, full of life, and beautiful, but there is a lesson here; Timing matters. No matter how you try to keep it alive, life happens. People change. Hearts change and so does surviving in this world.
The leads depict a beautiful chemistry. Their love is real, and so are their struggles. The story does not drag at all. I can say it's flawless in some way.
Maybe it didn't fit in a movie to show more details, but that was missing a bit. They could've given each other second and third chances, but they didn't. We could've gotten to know their feelings a bit more, but that was missing too.
Overall, a beautiful movie. Not your typical love wins and all movie, but rather a very realistic and in some way heart-wrenching one.
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Acting was good overall. However the flow of certain side characters were left hanging. Yet still enjoyed their acting.
Soundtrack were okay for me. However I didn't get that much 'feeling' I got when I watched the Taiwanese movie I mentioned earlier.
Maybe I didn't hyped much about this movie is because I had watched a similar kind movie before. But I can guarantee you, if you haven't watch "You're the Apple of My Eye" yet, then this movie can make you cry. Cheers.
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As for the story, I found it a bit annoying, mostly because of the way the story has been portrayed. It gives a vibe that the female lead is pretty comfortable when it comes to "moving on" even though it's not true. Of course, the female lead had to go through hardship to move on but her side of the story hasn't been portrayed almost at all. Also, I was wondering if it is that easy to break up over the other party's random comment or thought when the other party is pretty depressed. I mean when two people are in love, they try to stand up for one another, especially when they are struggling. So breaking up over a thought in a time of depression doesn't seem very normal to me, it's pretty personal opinion though. This is another problem in the storytelling of this movie, it gives a vibe that the male lead had got new passion, new dream not because the female lead had inspired to do so but because he was in love with her whereas he actually stands up every now and then beside the female lead when she is in distress. Because the female lead's emotion has not been portrayed that much, it leaves a vibe that the female lead is selfish. In a nutshell, the story may be realistic but the way the story has been told has made it a bit abrupt.
The OSTs and background music are Ok, so is the videography. The transition between different time periods might be confusing if one is not paying attention. Well, after completing the movie I was left with the question that who is the lady the male lead was going to kiss in the first scene in his imagination when he was narrating his story to his students? I don't remember finding that lady again in the entire movie!
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This review may contain spoilers
A little too real for me
7.5/10 is my rating. This is a 2018 South Korean Romace Movie that is 110 minutes long.Hwang Woo-Yeon (Kim Young-Kwang) receives a wedding invitation from his long time friend and first love, Hwan Seung-hee (Park Bo-young). They had ten years together as friends and eventually as a couple. They parted ways and the wedding invitation is the first Woo-Yeon heard from Seung-hee in awhile. The wedding invitation makes Woo-Yeon realize he still has feelings for this girl he should not have let go.
*Spoiler alert I really liked their friendship in high school. She dated other guys and he other girls but they were always there for each other. He was obviously in love with her and she knew it yet held him at arms length. I think she did it because she knew if they got together romantically and it did not work it would end their friendship. Girls often feel that way and that is why a guy that has it all and seems perfect gets friend zoned. They do eventually become a couple and he blows it by saying meeting her was what made his life go downhill. It was the type of fight that most couples would get through but they did not. The fact that neither held on that hard is telling about their relationship. The ending was most disappointing. He receives the wedding invitation and spends some days drinking and being consoled by his friends. At the last minute he goes and hatches a plan to have a private discussion with the bride. Now this is normally where they would profess their love and make amends the walk off together. what happened was they apologized and thanked each other. Then they wished each other well and she exited to do the bridal walk and he walks away. It was what might really happen in real life but that is not what I watch drama for. I want the sweet romance, the love that lasts - you know happily ever after. It is a bummer because I liked elements of it but was saddened by the end. A good watch if you like a close mirror on reality.
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