My Love (2007) Movie Review

“My Love” is the latest from noted Korean romanticist Lee Han, who previously charmed genre fans with “Lover’s Concerto” and “Almost Love”. Here, he attempts to out-do himself by assembling an impressive all-star cast in an unabashedly sentimental exploration of the many different faces of love.

The film follows four different couples in Seoul, all of whom experience love in different guises. The first of these is subway driver Sae Jin (Gam Woo Sung, excellent in “(King and The Clown”) and his girlfriend Joo Won (Choi Kang Hee, recently in the rather different romantic comedy “My Scary Girl”), who could politely be described as eccentric. The two meet on the train and share a loving relationship, with Joo Won being prone to daydreams and flights of fantasy. College student So Hyun (Lee Yeon Hee, “M”) is a similarly odd girl, who falls in love with fellow student Ji Woo (Jung Il Woo, “Unhindered Highkick”). Strangely, the best plan she can come up with to get close to him is to ask him for drinking lessons – something that proves awkward since she can’t handle more than one shot. Next up is abrasive career woman Soo Jung (Im Jung Eun, “Fly High”), who yearns for the clearly uninterested widowed father Jeong Seok (Ryu Seung Ryong, “My Eleventh Mother”). One day, she receives a random call from Jin Maan (Uhm Tae Woong, “Forever the Moment”), an oddball who has returned to Seoul to hopefully meet his ex-girlfriend during a total eclipse. After he begs her to give him back his old phone number so that he can get in touch with his former squeeze, the two go for a drink and exchange sad stories about their depressing love lives.

As such, “My Love” basically functions as four separate stories, or romantic case studies, though director Lee does make an effort to weave them together somewhat as things go on. Thankfully, he holds back from too many contrivances, and although none of the narrative arcs ever really rise above the level of predictable fluff, he ensures that none of the courtships are too easy and manages to keep viewers interested as to which of them, if any, will end in tears, even if the various endings are rather obvious from the start. The film is a pretty clichéd affair throughout, throwing in just about every trick in the Korean romantic comedy book, with Lee seemingly desperate to cover all bases, packing in some post “Sassy Girl” wackiness, sob story melodrama, sickeningly cute fantasies, and so on, and indeed on, and on. These are all included without any apparent sense of self-awareness, or any attempt at innovation, and as a result the proceedings come across as though Lee had taken a determined stab at creating the ultimate genre film through the Frankenstein style method of simply sewing together pieces of others. To be fair, the various elements, though familiar, are by no means unpleasant, and they sit together coherently and happily enough, and to an extent he comes close to achieving his aim, at least for fans of the form.

For the most part, Lee is happy enough to simply define his characters by their romantic pursuits, and none of them are ever really fleshed out or made believable. Indeed, the film frequently resembles a soap opera, being filled with flashbacks and fondly remembered scenes of first meetings. The cast do help to make this not too much of a problem, mainly since they all seem to be wearing permanent smiles and seem to be having a genuinely good time. Although the film doesn’t really require too much of them in terms of dramatic substance, they all radiate amorousness throughout, with Gam Woo Sung and Choi Gang Hyee impressing in particular, mainly since their characters have the most depth, though given the context this may well be damning with faint praise.

Lee’s direction is solid by genre standards, and he keeps things moving along at a brisk and bouncy pace. The film is filled with colourful and bright imagery, as well as a number of cute and cartoony touches, all of which add to the overwhelmingly upbeat feel. Certainly, nothing bad ever really happens, and the film as a whole is relentlessly eager to please and charm, with Lee seeming convinced that a non-stop barrage of melodrama and sweetness is the key to success.

Ultimately, whether or not viewers enjoy “My Love” depends not so much upon predilection for the romantic comedy as it does upon how much of a cynic they are. Those able to accept the film’s unflagging, dreamy positivity and in your face cuteness will likely see past the clichés and embrace its open and honest heart, finding it a moving and possibly even illuminating experience. However, anyone even just a touch jaded or with an aversion to an overabundance of saccharine might be advised to look elsewhere and for something with a little more substance and a head not quite so lost in the clouds.

Han Lee (director) / Han Lee, Dong-ik Shin (screenplay)
CAST: Woo-seong Kam … Se-jin
Kang-hie Choi … Ju-won
Tae-woong Eom … Jin-man
Il-wu Jeong … Ji-wu
Yeon-hee Lee … So-hyeon
Jeong-eun Lim … Soo-jeong
Chang-ik Park … Ba-da