My Beautiful Girl, Mari

Perhaps due to the fact that I couldn't access the English subtitles with the original Korean voice actors, I found the voice work engorging and mild. Also, I was surprised that a film that deals with the theme of growing up and moving on (a subject that usually gains instant sympathy from myself), didn't particular move me. I compare this film to Miyizaki's masterpiece "My Neighbor Tortoro" where fantastical characters accompany the overall theme of common childhood hardships. In "My Beautiful Girl Mari", the fantasy may or may not exist, but I found it not really relevant to the progression of the story. In fact, the story did have more depth and interest then the images and occurrences that took place in the metaphysical universe in which the protagonists meet Mari, an odd-looking floating female in white. Maybe because of the nature of the film's two protagonists, I couldn't really connect with them connecting emotionally to the nature of the fantasy. Certain aspects in the film's emotion do succeed however, such as the important friendship between the the boys. It makes the film's ending more touching and meaningful. The soft, soothing music also complements the story's tone and animation framework.

"Mari" is interesting due to it's unique artistic style. The animation is not the common type used, and it makes for a more interesting visual appeal. I saw a lot of potential however in the story and deeper meaning of the film, and found it quite lacking.

Its been a week since I've seen this movie and it still haunts me. In its way its one of the finest animated films I've seen. Its not perfect and I'm not certain that its for everyone but for those who it clicks with will find that they have found a new friend.

The story is told mostly in flashback.It concerns the summer when two boyhood friends were just about to be separated. As they prepare to be apart for the first time they find their lives are changing rapidly. Added into the mix are flights of fantasy, perhaps, as first one and then both boys are pulled into a strange world.

What exactly transpires isn't wholly clear, which is fine, since this is essentially the memories of one of the adults of that magic summer. What happens, fantastic or not is simply reported as real, and we are forced to sort out if its real or not. Memory plays tricks and we don't remember everything, or even always correctly. You could say that how one sees the film marks what sort of person you are.

This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. There is a quality to the films images that has rarely been equaled in animated film. Several times the sheer beauty of what I was seeing brought me to tears.

The best part of the film is how it makes you feel like a child. Things transpire and you FEEL what its like to be a child. This is not an intellectual knowing that this is what its like to be a child, rather the film physically makes you FEEL what its like. I can't explain it other than to say its pure magic. I've seen literally tens of thousands of films and I've never felt like this ever.

Perhaps the only downside to the film is the odd nature of the telling. As I said things are not always instantly clear with what's happening. This is particularly noticeable at the start of the film where are characters are adults and they speak rather obliquely about whats going on. There is also several moments in main narrative where things seem a bit odd. While the oddness passes there is a lingering feeling, oh so very very minor, that something is amiss.

But the flaws are minor quibbles. This is one of the great animated films and proof that not all the best animation is coming from America or Japan. If you get the chance see this movie. There is something very special about it.

How come such a wonderful film like this is only rated 6.5 here on imdb?

Personally, I loved this movie a lot. I think it is one of the most beautiful films ever made, not only from a technical standpoint, but also in the way in which it marvellously captures the innocence and vivid imagination from childhood without doing it in a corny, schmaltzy manner as many Hollywood flicks tends to do.

If you like the films from Studio Ghibli, then there is a strong chance you will enjoy this movie too.

Call this the not-so-Wonderful-Days if you will, a sentimental, perceptive tale of a young boy, Nam-woo, coping with the loss of his father (which probably has even greater resonance in a patriarchal society like Korea's), the illness of his grandmother, his mother's new boyfriend and the impending departure to the city of his best friend by retreating into a world of fantasy where he meets the title character, a mute girl who becomes the only character in his life with any sense of permanence: his mother is trying to move on, his grandmother has a very pragmatical sense of her own mortality, his best friend will be continuing at school in another city (something repeated in the present-day opening sequence, in which the friend announces again that he'll be studying abroad, underscoring the sense of separation we all feel from even our closest friends with the passage of time). It's ultimately a cautious, profound tale about letting go and moving on, something the main character deeply wishes he could avoid, and something that can stir-up similar childhood memories in even the most hardened cynic. Director Lee Sung-gang wisely shuns conventional Japanese and western animation styles to create something entirely new and heartbreakingly beautiful in its deceptive simplicity. Computer animated but approximating traditional hand-animation in a wholly original style, the film boasts an absolutely gorgeous muted colour palate that brightens whenever Nam-woo enters the world of his mind. In many ways, I prefer the honesty and simplicity of this film to the high-tech sheen of WONDERFUL DAYS, which suffers from a painfully straightforward story.

"My Beautiful Girl Mari" tells the story, or requiem if you will, of young Nam-woo's fast approaching adulthood, and the growing fear we all experienced growing up of ending up alone if we ever left that fantasy world that is our childhood were imagination is always company in the most bitter of days. We are softly submerged into a memory-like setting as the movie opens with what I would describe as one of the most haunting and calming intro montages I have ever seen in an animated film of this nature. You fly away on the path of a seagull, and for a moment you're thinking of your own life and memories with no motive; as Lee Byeong-Woo's opening score paints familiar images and summons warm thoughts of a beautiful memory that's past.

You are introduced to Nam-woo, a young boy living a simple life in the beautiful coast of South Korea. There we meet other simple subjects like his young caring mother, his pet cat Yo, his grumpy grandmother, and best friend Jun-ho. They are all at a turning point in their lives. Nam-woo's mother is starting to date again after her husband's death. The grandmother is ailing quickly and trying to guide in the right path those she will leave behind. Nam-woo himself, deals with abandonment issues, after the death of his father, the though of his mother moving on with another man therefore forgetting him and his father; and the upcoming departure of his best friend as their lives as kids end and adulthood begins. As with most kids Nam-woo finds comfort in his own fantasies embodied by an angel-like girl and the world she inhabits who represent a more enduring and lasting bond. But as reality happens and nature runs its course fantasies fade, and Nam-woo must move on with the rest of his loved ones despite his wishes that the things he loves would never leave him.

This is probably something most of us still deal with … things and people in our lives we refuse to let go. The character Nam-woo embodies that notion in a most realistic and gripping way. His loneliness and refusal of closeness with others by fear of abandonment is something many kids his age experience and later endure as grown ups. And I like very much the approach of this movie to these issues, in where there is not necessarily a happy compromise or an absolution; instead a world of options and question marks we might or might not figure out for the sake of the rest of our lives.

Exquisite animation, haunting score, reflective subjects, and a calming escape for the mind are all part of what this work of art has to offer to those seeking something more meaningful in animation. Reminiscent of other great works such as "Whisper of The Heart", and as refreshing and inspiring as a Ghibli film; this beautiful story from Korea shows that everyone out there has visions of animation just as pure and resonant as the big boys.