The Classic

After finding out that the same director for Yupki Girl was directing Classic, I immediately went to watch this movie. And I was glad I did. Classic is a movie that is definately worth watching and it incorporates many of the same themes and styles from Yupki Girl such as great scenery shots and similar music (like Pachabel's Canon).

If this movie had not been called "Classic," I would have given it a lower rating. But because it is, it is definately classic. I'm sure the director wasn't making this movie unique so that it would stand out like his previous movie, but instead wanted to make a movie that makes people remember what cheesy romances were like back in the days. Yes this movie is VERY cliche and VERY cheesy, but that's why it's called a classic. The director's intention was to create a film that reminds people what a perfect romance is and how perfect things will eventually turn out.

I loved this movie and would recommend it to anyone who wants to watch a perfect romance.

I gave this movie 10/10 because it's, beside My Sassy Girl and The Notebook, one of the best love stories I have ever seen. Storytelling is perfect, actors are excellent and music is very nice and ads to the atmosphere.

I highly recommend this to anyone. Not just to people who love romantic movies, but to people who love good movies, regardless of genre.

I just started to explore a wonderful world of Asian cinematography and so far, I'm absolutely amazed! :)

I'll also use the opportunity to recommend: Thirst, My Sassy Girl, The Classic, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and A Tale of Two Sisters if you haven't watched them already.

Technically speaking, this film showcased beautiful cinematography, convincing acting, and an overall continuity that brings viewers so deeply into two stories which become one, that it resonates long after viewing the film. This movie takes place in flashback format and the quality of the production is proven in the fact the the movie is seamless and smooth that even watching it without subtitles (which I did!), the story was still so easy to follow. Classic is not strictly just a love story, but a story about humanity and relationships of all kinds: friendship and the bond between children and parents. I am reminded of "Amelie" for it's lightness of spirit and dips into the imaginative and the fanciful. An underlying belief in romance rules the characters in both films. Classic is a complete package, there are no loose ends and instead at the end, you can take a deep breath and feel satisfied. I think that this would be a great foriegn film for someone who doesn't like foreign films to see because the actors portray the characters and their stories so convincingly that you can read the humanity without understanding the language. The quality of the acting and entire composition of the movie make it universal. It's inspiring to know that even in 2003 a film can be created that is truly timeless.

The story involves a girl, whose best friend is dating a guy that she secretly likes. She one day finds a diary and letters from the past that belonged to her mother. The story then shifts to the past where the mother is a young woman who falls in love with a guy, but she herself is arranged to be married with the guy's friend. There's a parallel between the past and present and the story shifts back and forth between two romances. I found this movie to be a well-executed Korean melodrama. The cinematography is quite beautiful. However, it is rather cliche in some parts (as some aspects of the director's previous work feels a bit repeated here), yet as a movie itself, it is a well-filmed, nicely delivered piece of work. It is kind of unfortunate, however, given the popularity and the expectations given to the movie due to the director's more accomplished, previous work, "My Sassy Girl," this reviewer couldn't help but feel somewhat disappointed. If I hadn't seen the previous work and saw this movie for the first time, I might've given higher praise. As it is, however, the movie almost accomplishes in being a truly great movie (as opposed to good, which it is). Occasional inventiveness in composition and atmosphere and timing is excellent. The movie does tend to be a bit predictable (particularly if you know what kind of themes the director has presented in his previous work) and admittedly I saw the ending coming sooner than I probably should have (althogh it didn't really distract me from enjoying it either). One can't help whenever one sees a rainy scene or when a certain Pachebel music comes out, one is reminded of a scene directly from "My Sassy Girl" (As "My Sassy Girl" actually pokes fun at melodramas) Without some of those distractions, it may have resonated a lot more strongly as an original piece of work. In terms of characters, they are certainly memorable, and the romantic elements (while, not as multidimensional or as deep as the director's previously mentioned work) are convincing. There are some historical backdrops to go along the romance that gives the film a somewhat a denser, almost epic, if not nostalgic, feel, yet doesn't really go in the way of an epic (which itself might not have been a bad direction to go). Some of the attention to detail are also pretty well done. Overall, though, I enjoyed the film as a romantic melodrama, while being a bit hampered by tough expectations and some cliches, the characters and the romance certainly leaves a nice impression.

So a lot of people have compared this director's work to his previous work My Sassy Girl which came out about 2 years before this one did. There have been many comparisons between this one and that and while there are similar themes in choice of music and themes I would say it is like comparing apples to oranges. MSG was funny and then got dramatic hence it is a romance/comedy with some drama (if anything, i would call Windstruck MSG 2). This one was mostly a dramatic romance story with a few very classical clichés. There is enough foreshadowing that you can guess what is going to happen if you pay any attention at all and have seen any Korean drama, but the director still does an excellent job in telling the story.

The main characters do an excellent job acting and bringing out the character's emotions. The story is beautiful and so is the music. Enjoy it for what it is, if you have a heart at all you'll be teary eyed. You'll know what is coming and you'll still be floored by it, thats how good it is. Even the ending, which I thought was a bit over the top, is the only way you could have ended a classic.

I am a little hesitant to say that this is a date movie, definitely not for a first date. I would think that any emotionally sensitive human being is not going to be particularly happy throughout most of this movie until the very end. Such is a melodrama.