Endless Love (A tale of Autumn/ Gaeul donghwa) is the first soap opera to elicit an emotional response from this reviewer. Soaps are the usual target for mockery due to the presence of bad acting, lame plots and even lamer dialogue. Endless Love, however, managed to overcome these weaknesses. It stands as one of the best soap operas I've ever seen.
It's the story of Joon Suh (Song Seung Hun) and Eun Suh (Song Hye Kyo), who for 14 years believed themselves to be blood-siblings. They share a close bond as shown in the scenes of their happy and idyllic childhood. Yet an accident when Eun Suh was only 14 revealed that she was actually switched at birth with another baby. Her real family is composed of a single mother and a rascal brother living in the throes of poverty. The daughter (Shinae) who lives with that poor family is Joon Suh's real blood sister. After some dramatic scenes, the two daughters are switched back to their real families. Joon Suh's family leaves for the States as a way to start over while Eun Suh stays behind with her poor mother and grows up terribly missing her brother. Eight years later, Joon Suh returns to Korea in search for Eun Suh. They meet again via JoonSuh's best friend, Tae Sukh, who also happens to be attracted to Eun Suh. The two former siblings are deliriously happy to be reunited, but complications take place as they realize that they are falling in love with each other. Joon Suh is already engaged to Yumei, while Eun Suh has just "accepted" Tae Sukh's declarations of "love". To make matters worse, their parents cannot accept a romantic relationship between them as they still see Eun Suh and Joon Suh as siblings. These complications drive the plot to an ending that will surely melt even the stoniest of hearts.
Despite its predictable storyline, it still succeeds in conveying sincere emotions, largely due to the chemistry of the two leads, Song Seung Hun and Song Hye Gyo.
Song Seung Hun in particular, was amazing in the role of the strong and honorable Joon-Suh (Johnny). It was a character that barely had any speaking lines yet Seung Hun hit every emotional note required for the scene. His expressive face (particularly his gorgeous eyes) clearly conveyed all of his character's conflicting emotions: his love for En Suh (jenny), his respect for his parents and his affection for his friends. Everything about his acting is restrained, yet he never comes off stiff or wooden. He projected strength and vulnerability without resorting to exagerrated theatrics common amongst young actors. It's definitely an amazing performance which sets him apart from his peers. There is no doubt in my mind that only Seung Hun, with his talent and maturity, could have played this challenging role. The other actors in the movie simply played their characters in a stereotypical manner that doesn't stand out, but doesn't disappoint either.
The story is also wonderful in that it is different from the usual American love story. It teaches us that lovers do not exist for themselves alone. The characters of Joon-Suh and En Suh love each other deeply, yet they also can't bear seeing everyone around them suffer. As such, they sacrifice their own happiness just to keep their families and friends satisfied. With such sacrifice, the audience cannot help but root for the two underdog lovers.
Top it off with beautiful cinematography and sentimental music and the audience is defintely set for an emotional experience with this series. Take my advice, this series is for keeps. It's bound to become an Asian classic. In fact, I think it already is.
