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Ima, ai ni yukimasu (2004)
Time travel fans will fancy this, definitely.
I always find myself scouring books and movies during my free time. But this movie was not accidentally found under the covers of dusty cupboards or old bed sheets. It's a movie that I have watched with my love one, and it's a movie I'll cherish even after she's gone.
Be with you (Ima, Ai Ni Yukimasu) is a film that's affected my sense of time, both in the real world and the dream world. And it's going to do so for the years to come. Mind you guys, I'm more of a fan of chick flicks and B movies that just stretches my face because of laughter. But if you ever get a glimpse of this movie, you'll definitely find yourself thinking of other reelers like The Time Traveler's Wife.
The story is non-linear and linear at the same time. It's a love story, not that revolves between two lovers but a love story of a family. It's mushy, funny at some point... just the right type of movie that you would enjoy watching during a blissful rainy day, pun intended.
What I really like about the flick is how the actors gave the characters, well, their characters. Raw emotions here and there. Even Yuji, the kid, was awesome. The non-diegetic scoring (outside of the film sounds and tunes) fit at every moment.
No wonder it grossed around 47 million dollars!
This film is not for the typical man, because only real man can appreciate the beauty of having a family.
I heard the book is a great read too. If you want a funny movie with a theme similar to this one, I recommend watching Cyborg Girl (Boku no Kanojo wa Saibōgu).
But if you really want to cuddle and kiss under the rain, this movie is a definite must-watch, together with pizza, cola, and a roll of tissue.
Jeul-geo-woon in-saeng (2007)
Mid-Life Crisis, Passion, and the Secret to Pull off a Bad-ass Movie
While some Korean movies focus on love stories and death in order to pull off a flick, The Happy Life is so straight forward that it's good, grossing over 9 millions dollars (great for a Korean film). It's a story of 3 middle-aged "ajussis" trying to fix up their personal lives.
So here's a bit: An opportunity appears for the misters to get together in the form that most people or reviewers would find a cliché--death. In this case, the death of a beloved friend, and band member, if we can call it like that.
It was regret that fueled Ki-young(Jung Jin-Young)--an almost bum if not for his teacher wife's salary--and a guitar that was about to get burned that made him realize the reason why his already dead friend wanted--to reunited them again as the band, Active Volcano.
It's my seventh time watching this movie, that's how engrossed to it. And I'm sure that if I rerun this again some other time, I'd still well up to tears, smirk, laugh, get inspired, finally be able to sing the Korean lyrics.
Music is the key element that made this movie somewhat high-grossing. Come to think f it, people are attracted to music. Good job, Lee Jun-ik. Even if people don't understand the lyrics of the songs, if ever you'll get to listen to them via radio or some other source (well, thanks to subtitles we could see the translation), you get the vibes, literally sometimes. It brought me the chills, and this proves that the movie is effective in invoking raw emotions.
And this was done mostly because of well-scored soundtracks.
What really intrigued me is the use of the songs incorporated in the movie, varying in time signature, genre?,and degree to fit the pictures being rolled. I tried removing the subs and listened solely on how the off-screen music was done, and I got to say, I was really impressed, to the 9th star level.
Why not ten for a kick-ass, tsugule-ing, film? Well, there will always be blockbusters better than The Happy Life, a flick that has better lines and apply music... well, better. But as far as I'm concerned, having a DVD or a digital copy of this is a must. Why? Because it's a that you'll definitely regret being thrown in the thrash bin, both literally and digitally, cause it's something you'll probably cherish for the rest of your life.
Something that will remind you why the phrase "too late" to be added with never--either sides is OK.