Being the first Korean movie I've watched in my time, Seondal: The Man who Sold the River had a lot to live up to. I had high expectations, told by my friends that Korean movies had a certain charm to them within their storytelling. Of course, being a fan of EXO, I decided to start with Seondal, with the guest star of Kim Minseok (Xiumin), who played Gyeon.
From the start of Seondal, I found myself hypnotised. The storyline played out beautifully, fully capturing your attention from the start. With a harrowing beginning of war and loss, it's hard not to feel for the characters at the start. The first thing I noticed was Seungho Yoo, playing the main character - Kim Inhong aka Kim Seondal. His acting as our main character shows within the first few minutes as his honourable character begins with his protective nature and charm. Seungho really creates a character that is likeable from the beginning - even though we know Inhong is written out and scripted, Seungho brings a truly amazing feeling to the character and truly makes Inhong his own.
Following on from Seungho as Inhong, there is also Kim Minseok as Gyeong. An idol that I have grown to be quite fond of over the past year, Gyeong was a character that I was very much looking forward to meeting in this film, and my expectations were definitely not let down. Kim Minseok brings to Gyeong a side of the character that felt playful, but still serious. Along with his own heroic and honourable actions, it's hard not to fall in love with this misshapen small family of crooks.
The storyline itself of family, loss, and revenge truly shows the spirit of this film. A storyline that's often overdone in a lot of genres and in many countries nowadays, this film truly brings to light how it all connects together. It's been a while since I watched a film about family and it was as connected and well done as Seondal is. There's a connection between all the characters, and as well done as the film has been made, it's obvious that they all had a lot of fun filming it. When you can see this, I believe it truly makes the film even better, showing that the actors truly enjoyed themselves.
Overall, this film truly has a lot of charm to it. With its mix of comedy but yet darker storylines, innocence and the ruining of innocence, and the reminder of war throughout, this touched my heart in ways I never expected this film to do. I found throughout this I felt every emotion that the producers wanted us to, and I found myself in tears numerous times. If you've never watched a Korean film before - I recommend this is your first one. If you are looking for another film to watch, I recommend this. It's a work of art, and I will definitely be watching this plenty more times in the future.
