Hello Ghost

I am not a movie buff I just like watching films in any language as long as they fit my criteria. I don't usually go for horror, action or thrillers. I really like sci-fi, fantasy and romantic comedy. And this film ticks a lot of boxes for me. Being in my mid sixties I have got past being an adrenalin junkie and have had enough of crash- bang-wallop films and ones that attempt to give me a heart attack. I want films that make me feel warm and cuddly and put a wistful smile on my face. How Korea keep making films like this to such high standards of photography storyline and character development is beyond me. Hollywood is so predictable and boring that they are bottom of my list when checking out new releases, if they do by accident make an original film instead of a remake of some other countries they don't change the formula until all the other studios have made their version of the same or very similar film all of them crap by comparison. This film is straight into my list of all time favourites. It opens with a young man sitting in a sparsely furnished room shovelling handfuls of pills into his mouth when the phone rings......... He ends up with four ghosts as companions - an old man who has lost a camera another who has been looking for a car, a woman who can't stop crying and a small boy. They are all quirky and endearing and we begin to care about them as their stories unfold before us.........

What a surprise ending! Fantastic! Whoever makes this into an English language film had better protect it against too much overt corn along the way. It must have real dignity and integrity as a film! Good luck to all concerned! This could be an enormous success for English language audiences if the people who do the adaptation don't give into sappiness. I would kill to get the job of adapting it. I'd love to write AND direct. I know just who to cast and who to hire for the DP. I'm in love with this picture--the idea and it's potential for American markets and English language audiences around the world. Boy oh boy, what a find! All the best!

And I almost missed it. When I saw the poster, I thought to myself "Another stupid comedy making fun of ghosts". But due to the fact that Tae-hyun Cha is a very good actor, and he has never failed to impress me, I decided to force myself to watch it. And that is a very brilliant decision of mine.

Cha successfully plays the role of a hopeless guy, Sang-Man ,who doesn't have a family, friends, goals and desire to live. After a few attempts to commit suicide, he was stuck with 4 ghosts. While trying to fulfill their wishlist to free himself from those ghosts, he was helped by them to get close to the beautiful nurse Jung Yun-soo (Kang Hye-won). The movie moved at quite a slow pace at first but I didn't really mind. Every minute passed and you find yourself in more and more confusing questions about the ghosts and their stories that you couldn't wait for the next part of the movie to answer them.

The most shocking part is the ending. It is completely unpredictable. I watched the ending with my mouth wide open (because it was absolutely against what I thought it would be), tears keep falling from my eyes and I finished the movie with a very satisfy smile.

Excellent movie. I would highly recommend it. If you are searching for a light, touching, emotional (and sometimes hilarious) movie, this one is definitely for you.

Whew, talk about an unexpected surprise! Cha tae-hyun (of My Sassy Girl fame) seems to be involved in a never-ending list of box office hits, from the aforementioned title to the more recent My Speedy Scandal. With Hello Ghost, he can add another one to his belt.

Marketed and billed as sort of a screwball comedy involving ghosts, the movie is surprisingly light on comedy and more heavy on scenes of a more touching nature.

The movie tells the story of a suicidal man (played by Cha) who is a complete failure in life, with no family to speak of and no friends to comfort him. Following a close brush with death, he starts to see 4 ghosts who can inhabit his body at will. A woman who is always crying, an old pervert, a middle aged smoking taxi driver, and a young boy with a penchant for sweets.

The movie goes through the expected motions of each ghost practically instilling him with a different value and newfound appreciation for life, HOWEVER, it is the climax of the movie that ties EVERYTHING together in a way that will not only make you think back and go "ahhh, that makes more sense now" but also, will create an a flood of never-ending tears and sobs (...at least on my part).

Give this movie a chance and stick with it to the end, you'll be glad (or sad, depending) you did.

Sang-man (Tae-hyun Cha) is an adult orphan, with no job, no friends and no life. So it's not surprising that he's seeking to end his life, only he's really bad at it and every time he tries to kill himself, he ends up in the hospital. On the most recent occasion, he finds some strange characters in the hospital with him – an Old Man (Moon-su Lee), a chain smoker (Chang-Seok Ko), a crying woman (Young-nam Jang) and a kid (Bo-geun Cheon); it isn't long before he realizes that they are all ghosts who, for some reason, have decided to stick to him like glue. An old fortune-teller (Ho-seok Kong) tells him they will only depart after he has fulfilled their wishes, and that he cannot take his own life until the ghosts are gone. Meanwhile, Jung Yun-Soo (Kang Hye-Won) is working at a hospice where the dying patients include a young child, a pregnant woman and an old man, her father. She must make her peace with them, and with their circumstances, and her life is made much more complicated when Sang-man meets her and falls in love....

This is a wonderful film, the first directed by Young-Tak Kim; it's funny, it's charming, and it's poignant, all without being in the least bit sappy. The revelations about the lives of the ghosts, about Yun-Soo's treatment of and by her father, and the denouement were all exciting and touching; I'm pretty sure there wasn't a dry eye in the house by the end. Tae-hyun Cha is delightful in the lead, but my favourite was Chang-Seok Ko as the chain smoker, a fat man with a sometimes sorrowful countenance but an absolutely stellar smile. My favourite film of FantAsia 2011 so far, and highly recommended if it comes to your town!