"Because I Love You" (aka "Saranghagi Ttaemoone") happened to come to my attention from sheer luck. I happened to come across the movie while looking for something new to watch. And my love for Asian cinema and the South Korean cinema in particular made me instantly pick up this movie. I didn't even bother to read the synopsis for the movie prior to watching it.
However, I should perhaps have read it. I was expecting this to be a comedy movie, given the appearance of the movie's cover. So the movie turned out somewhat different than what I thought it was going to be. I don't say that in a bad way, because the movie was quite entertaining and also quite beautiful.
The story in "Because I Love You" is about popular singer Lee Hyeong (played by Tae-hyun Cha) who suffers a car accident and his spirit is set free to transcend, and he is set out on a quest of sorts to unite and promote true love. He becomes connected to different individuals of various generation, where he inhabits a person's body and is only freed once true love is set in motion.
"Because I Love You" can be broken up into five segments; the prelude and accident, where the spirit of Lee Hyeong is inhabiting a teenager, an adult, an elderly, and finally the prologue and finale. Some segments more moving and beautiful than others, of course this is a matter of personal preference. Personally, then I found the segment with the elderly people the most moving and heartfelt.
Writers Tae-hyun Cha, Jang Do-Yoon and Yoo-Jeong Kim really came up with something truly magnificent with the storyline and plot presented in "Because I Love You". And while it might not make much sense at some times, the storyline really comes full circle in a most fulfilling way. And director Jihong Ju managed to present the movie in a very beautiful manner.
The cast in the movie were doing good jobs with their given roles and characters, and they had some very talented stars on the cast list. So it was very nice to watch them perform their craft while bringing this story to life on the screen.
I think that "Because I Love You" is not a movie that is suitable for just everyone, because it is a somewhat slow paced movie, and you must have a love for the drama genre to fully grasp this movie. Sure, it is spiced up with romance and some comedy, but this is mainly a drama.
This is definitely a movie that is well worth taking the time and effort to sit down and watch, regardless of if you like South Korean movies or not. Because this is such a beautiful and impacting movie that is resonates across language barriers and any prejudices. And as a precaution, you might just walk to keep a tissue or two within hands reach.
