Happily Ever After

  The 1936 Berlin Marathon remains as a heartbreaking history to Koreans. During this time, Korea was under Japanese rule. Therefore, Korean marathon runners had to participate wearing a uniform with the Japanese flag engraved. In this marathon, Son Ki-chung finished first, and Nam Seung-ryeong finished third. Two Korean runners won the gold and bronze medal but sadly, the Japanese national anthem rang across the stadium. In the award ceremony, Son Ki-chung covered up the Japanese flag on his uniform with laurel leaves he received, and Korean newspaper company deliberately erased the flag to cover up the heartbreaking reality. Due to this incident, Son Ki-chung was forced to give up his life as a marathon runner, forever remaining as a Japanese runner who won a gold medal for Japan.    Years later, in 1947, Son Ki-chung encounters a talented young runner Suh Yun-bok, winner of the marathon held in his name. Son had been living a meaningless life, but meeting Suh lights up...

  The second Chuseok movie to introduce is Cobweb .  Many renowned actors, including Song Gang-ho, Lim Soo-jung, Oh Jeong-se, Jeon Yeo-been, and Jung Soo-jung(aka Krystal) participated. It was also amazing to see actor Jung Woo-sung appear as an important cameo.   Although the story is different, I was reminded of the Hollywood movie  Babylon ,  since Cobweb a lso takes place in a movie set. In my opinion, Cobweb would be better for Koreans to watch because it better suits people's taste.   Among the three movies of Chuseok,  Cobweb w as personally the best. Detailed scenes were gradually and carefully accumulated to form a massive consequence to the end. The build-up was absolutely astonishing, and twist-and-turns were presented perfectly. Impeccable acting from Song Gang-ho especially stood out; indeed,  Cannes Best Actor Award w inner:)   It all happens when movie director Kim decides to film the ending of his movie again after getting...

  This Chuseok(Korea's national holiday), three major Korean movies were released on the same day, and this is the first movie to introduce.   The comeback of actor Kang Dong-won through an exorcism theme was welcomed by many. His exorcist character from the renowned movie The Priests g ave great impression to the audience years ago. In  Dr. Cheon and Lost Talisman ,  he once again dresses up as an exorcist, giving excitement to his fans.   Dr. Cheon gave up his duty as an exorcist when he was young, wanting to live a normal life. The role instead went to his younger brother, who ended up dying along with their grandfather, a powerful exorcist, due to an evil spirit. Dr. Cheon makes a living by faking as an exorcist when he actually can't see spirits. One day, he encounters a woman who can see spirits, and due to this incident, he also gets tangled up with the evil spirit that murdered his family long ago. Now, he has to become a real exorcist by using his...

    It was interesting to watch  Masquerade now, especially because of the worldwide phenomenal K-drama, Moving . The two lead actors of Moving , Han Hyo-joo and Ryu Seung-ryong, first acted side by side as lead actors in this film. Although  Masquerade is extremely famous, I hadn't seen it somehow. Now that Moving  came to an end, I made up my mind to finally watch this masterpiece; and automatically admitted its value. It was also meaningful to watch young Han Hyo-joo and Ryu-Seung-ryong together:)   Kwang-Hae, the fifteenth king of Joseon, falls ill due to poisoning. His loyal subject, Heo Gyun, sets out to look for someone who resembles the king in order to replace the ill king for a while. He finds Ha-seon, a lowly clown who has a striking resemblance with the king. Due to his poor background, he has a long way to go. With the love for the people, and as he falls in love with the beautiful queen, he starts to improve in his part as a king. But there ar...

  청소부와의 결투에서는 절제된 깔끔함이 돋보였다. 오랫동안 몸에 품어만 왔던 동작들. 드디어 선보인 동작들은 확실했다. 몸에 배어 있었고, 완벽했다.   그리고 대망의 각성씬. 미현은 숨을 깊게 몰아쉬다가 한마디에 굳어버린다. "김두식". 이 모든 게 그이 때문이라고.    미현은 바닥에 웅크려 있다. 분명 총을 쐈을 땐 멀쩡히 서서 멋지게 발포했는데 다음 장면에선 어두운 바닥에 웅크린 채 숨을 고르고 있다. 생각해보니 그녀의 첫 살상이다. 미현은 여러 감정이 교차했을 것이다. 살상자인 블랙이 되고자 할 때 치열하게 훈련받았으나, 정작 임무에 투입됐을 땐 살상하지 못해 실패자가 되었다. 그랬던 그녀가 세월이 지나고 비로소 오늘, 첫 살상을 했다. 어떤 기분이었을까. 미현에게는 다소 충격으로 다가왔을 것이다. 그래서 청소부에게 조심스럽게 다가가 그녀가 진짜로 죽었음을 확인했을 것이다. 사실을 확인한 후, 미현은 그 청소부를 출입구 쪽 벽에 기대어 옮겨놓는다. 이는 청소부가 총을 맞은 위치와 시체가 놓인 위치가 다르다는 것을 통해 알 수 있다. 미현은 청소부를 앉혀놓고 나서 쭈그린 채 숨을 거칠게 몰아쉰다. 방금은 어쩔 수 없는 선택이었다고 스스로를 다독이며.   그렇게 호흡을 가다듬는데 그의 이름이 들린다. 김두식. 블랙 커피를 좋아하는, 왕돈까스를 좋아하는, 아재 개그를 좋아하는, 그리고 눈 내리는 밤 하늘에서 내려다보는 광경을 좋아하는 그. 그녀의 기쁨이자 슬픔인 그. 바로 그의 이름이 북한 기력자의 입에서 나왔다. 그 순간 미현은 무엇을 느꼈을까. 어쩌면 희망이지 않을까. 생사도 모르는 행방불명된 남편의 소식. 김두식의 이름을 듣고 미현은 용기를 얻었을지도 모른다. 이 모든 게 아직 끝나지 않았을테니. 아니, 실은 시작에 불과한 것일 수도 있으니.   그래서 그녀는 웅크리고 있다가 서서히 일어선다. 설상가상으로 봉석이가 전화를 받지 않지만 그래도 그녀는 일어선다. 결연한 눈빛으로. 그리고 천천히 문 밖으...