sisterhood and coming of age story
okay, i'm so happy and that's why I'm writing this post. haha. finally, I finished all my essays, although once again, I think it was not my best effort, so many things happened during the past few weeks, which made me think time's really something you should really value.
and so is friendship! you definitely should value it, or the moment's just going to pass you by, and you realize you don't keep your friends best at heart.
yep. so after my miserable weeks for doing essays and turning my biological time upside down once again, I finally went out to breathe some fresh air, and a yummy gelato and japanese rice noodle. haha.
but tonite, I wanna write a movie review!! I've just finished watching it half an hour ago, and I LOVE IT! I really DO!
(warning: might contain spoiler!!!)
it's a Korean movie released in 2011, titled SUNNY. it's a tale of sisterhood, mixed with story of coming of age. the movie opens with a graceful forty-something housewife starting her day to do household chore. Na Mi led a happy (in terms of financial) but (sort of) empty life. she devotes her life to a rich husband who values money above anything; thinks he's the best by giving money to his wife and a daughter who shuts her life to her parents and, not surprisingly, values money just like his father. finishing her chore, Na Mi sits peacefully while eating a toast - only to see some high schoolers passing by from her window. the scene then moves from Na Mi house to a hospital where Na Mi visited her mother. when she was about to went home, she passed a room where a woman was screaming painfully - a placard read Han Chun-wa was on the front door.
Na Mi finally re-encountered the friend she hadn't seen for quite a long time (25 years I guess). Chun-wa is Na Mi's best friend in high school. they were reunited just when Chun-wa was suffering from a deadly cancer. she had only 2 months for her life according to the doctor.
then, it all starts from that small reunion. Chun-wa's last request to Na Mi was to find the other 5 members of SUNNY. so this SUNNY was a bad-ass middle high school clique consisted of 7 girls - each with unique personality. Na Mi, the newbie from Jeollado who was initially bullied by some scary girls in her new school because of her shyness, and sudden outburst of Jeollado accent. but, then she was approached by the tough, kind and cool girl whom everyone in school feared (or respected?), Chun-wa. Na Mi eventually become part of SUNNY with the rest of the members: Jang-mi - the girl who was obsessed with double eye-lid and dreamt of doing double eye-lid surgery in the future, Jin-hee - a daughter of a professor whose hobby and strength was cursing, Bok-hee - a bright girl who dreamt of being Miss Korea, Geum-ok - a nerdy but violent girl who wanted to be a writer, and Suji - the most beautiful but mysterious member who smoked and drank alcohol in her teenage days.
with Chun-wa's last wish, Na Mi began to start her journey of finding her old friends. those friends who were once so close to her. but then with a sudden twist of their lives, they were separated, only to be fully reunited at Chun-wa's funeral. but, not only were they reunited, Nami was also reunited with her true self in the midst of her busy but vacant life.
and so is friendship! you definitely should value it, or the moment's just going to pass you by, and you realize you don't keep your friends best at heart.
yep. so after my miserable weeks for doing essays and turning my biological time upside down once again, I finally went out to breathe some fresh air, and a yummy gelato and japanese rice noodle. haha.
but tonite, I wanna write a movie review!! I've just finished watching it half an hour ago, and I LOVE IT! I really DO!
(warning: might contain spoiler!!!)
it's a Korean movie released in 2011, titled SUNNY. it's a tale of sisterhood, mixed with story of coming of age. the movie opens with a graceful forty-something housewife starting her day to do household chore. Na Mi led a happy (in terms of financial) but (sort of) empty life. she devotes her life to a rich husband who values money above anything; thinks he's the best by giving money to his wife and a daughter who shuts her life to her parents and, not surprisingly, values money just like his father. finishing her chore, Na Mi sits peacefully while eating a toast - only to see some high schoolers passing by from her window. the scene then moves from Na Mi house to a hospital where Na Mi visited her mother. when she was about to went home, she passed a room where a woman was screaming painfully - a placard read Han Chun-wa was on the front door.
Na Mi finally re-encountered the friend she hadn't seen for quite a long time (25 years I guess). Chun-wa is Na Mi's best friend in high school. they were reunited just when Chun-wa was suffering from a deadly cancer. she had only 2 months for her life according to the doctor.
then, it all starts from that small reunion. Chun-wa's last request to Na Mi was to find the other 5 members of SUNNY. so this SUNNY was a bad-ass middle high school clique consisted of 7 girls - each with unique personality. Na Mi, the newbie from Jeollado who was initially bullied by some scary girls in her new school because of her shyness, and sudden outburst of Jeollado accent. but, then she was approached by the tough, kind and cool girl whom everyone in school feared (or respected?), Chun-wa. Na Mi eventually become part of SUNNY with the rest of the members: Jang-mi - the girl who was obsessed with double eye-lid and dreamt of doing double eye-lid surgery in the future, Jin-hee - a daughter of a professor whose hobby and strength was cursing, Bok-hee - a bright girl who dreamt of being Miss Korea, Geum-ok - a nerdy but violent girl who wanted to be a writer, and Suji - the most beautiful but mysterious member who smoked and drank alcohol in her teenage days.
with Chun-wa's last wish, Na Mi began to start her journey of finding her old friends. those friends who were once so close to her. but then with a sudden twist of their lives, they were separated, only to be fully reunited at Chun-wa's funeral. but, not only were they reunited, Nami was also reunited with her true self in the midst of her busy but vacant life.
highlight of the movie
okay, I'll tell you why I love this movie.
first of all, it's a Korean movie -- haha, not that I love all Korean movie, but I enjoy watching Korean movie. however, I feel that Korean movie hold some kind of formula, which might not resemble Hollywood one, but still makes me slightly bored. that's why, I don't watch Korean films nowadays (Korean reality show instead). you know that formula when a clumsy and not so pretty (said the movie, but actually the actresses are almost always pretty) girl meets a handsome (but sometimes arrogant and bad-boy type of) guy. sometimes they go through the journey of love and hate, but eventually fall in love with each other, and live happily by the end of the film. well, not all of Korean films are like that, but it's just that it happens a lot.
but this movie is not so cliché. so when I watched this, I was immersed in the story. it's not about romance. it's a kind of drama and comedy film. it tells you what youth go through: the happy go lucky lifestyle, take care of your appearance (what shoes brand you should wear to fit in for example), and mostly story about how you meet friends to whom you promise to be best friend until forever. it's also about bullying - well, this is basically a story about this naughty girl gang. about the desire to rebel - smoke, inhale glue, or drink alcohol. it's also about first love, which doesn't always turn out very well. I love the diversity of things this film bring to its plot.
second, I like how the film moves back and forth from the past to the present moment of the characters. I guess some other films already did this before (which I can't recall any titles which apply the same editing technique), but let me just say: I enjoy it, very much! the director knows well when to go back and go forth with the life of the characters. and it certainly knows when to change from being funny to being serious.
third, I think it does well in picturing how South Korean in the 80s looked like. the American brands, the cheerful colours, the songs (yeah, Cindy Lauper's "time after time", ppl). to be honest, I don't really have the knowledge of South Korean history back then, but it just feels right (hahha - better do some research first before I say this). it also shows the labour movement which happened during that time, although only as a kind of background.
fourth, the mockery. I don't know if it's the director's real intention. but I kind of feel that it says a lot about the current condition of South Korean society with their adoration to beauty (the double eye lids obsession, Suji's being attacked in the face, or perm hair obsession) and idols. for example: the scene where SUNNY confronted with the other girl gang from other school. this other gang pretended to be cool, with empty head, and they took the name of SNSD (or Girl Generation, which I assume you know is one of the most popular group in South Korea nowadays). aside from that, there's some sudden moment of girl group name's outburst such as FIN.KL and Wonder Girls. the film also brings some comedic feel into South Korean military, for example: in the demonstration scene, when the army threw tear gas (or bomb, was it?) to the labour movement group, the gas was backfired accidentally because of SUNNY. it also depicts a labour movement activist in the form of Na Mi's big brother - who was sort of a hypocrite (esp. the scene where he forbids Na Mi to eat breakfast because labours are now starving, yet he's the one who's eating breakfast).
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| when the girls confronted SNSD, lol |
fifth, the actresses. okay, I must say that the first thing that brought me to this movie was a Korean variety show called We Got Married. it's basically a weird show where a 'fake' couple are shown in a made-to-believe marriage life. Initially, I only watch their first season (aired in 2008) because the newest one has (according to some ppl) too much idols and lack of sincerity in it (haha, I guess I'm mad - I'll make another post abt this post someday). however, I stumbled upon one couple from the newest season which's still aired until now - Leeteuk and Sora couple. Leeteuk is Super Junior's leader, while Kang Sora is a young new actress. In that show, Sora is this feminine, shy and awkward sometimes. knowing that she starred in Sunny, I wondered what the movie was about, and decided that today was the right time to watch it. and it was WOW. she was my favorite character in the movie. I personally think she acts quite well, as the cool-headed, charismatic, bright and fun leader of SUNNY - Chun wa. seeing her in this movie is definitely a different experience from seeing her in "real life situation" of We Got Married. but what I love the most is, when I see the old version of Chun-wa's first appearance in the movie, and then Sora's version as the teenager, I can definitely tell they're the same person before they mentioned their names. the two actresses really act like one person who matured through time, yet still have their young soul at heart. apart from Sora and Jin Hee-kyung (who acted as the older Chun-wa), the actress who played Na Mi's teen version (Shim Eun-kyung) also acts pretty well. she's my third favourite, she really seems like this clumsy, random but brave at time girl. my favourite Na Mi's moment was when she smiled awkwardly, for example during her first encounter with Suji. but, all in all, the actresses's ensemble play is awesome!
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| Na Mi's awkward smile |
finally, sisterhood rocks! haha. as I liked movie about friendship, this film lives up my expectation about how film about friendship should be like. ^^ although the ending is a bit too bright for my taste (what happen if none of your best friends is a millionaire, would you still be that bright meeting each other? or what happen if Na Mi was not diagnosed with a terminal illness?), I appreciate this movie a lot. at one point in your life, you meet a couple or few or one friend that you enjoy so much to be with. your young, carefree, and happy-go-lucky life seems complete with the presence of these people. but, life is not only about that. then you move on with your life, go to college, try to live your dream, stumble a little (or a lot), feel at lost for not being able to make that dream come true, marry a guy (or a girl) and have a life and forget what it is that makes your life full. you realize that life is sometimes harsh, sometimes cruel like what happens with these film's characters. and you realize that for so long, you also forget your school mates or whoever your best friend is: the people you once share your days and dreams with.
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| SUNNY - adult version |
my favourite scenes and quotes of the movie:
one of my favourite scene in the movie is when Na Mi opened a video from Chun-wa - the video contains messages from each SUNNY's member to their future selves, as a reminder of their dreams. the scene is really heart-warming, and should I warn you first, it might makes you burst to tears! kekekeke.
another one is when young Chun-wa helped her members in the chaotic demonstration scene, and then gather them to run to their lives.
more: the scene when young Na Mi met her first love in the bar, looked for him across the glass aquarium and got surprised by someone placing a headphone in her ears, and then a song played. cheesy scene, but I think it's funny.
last one: when the older and younger version of Na Mi sort of met up in the end of their journey of finding their first love. it's supposed to be sad, but at the same time it shows the way Na Mi reconciled with her past, especially her unrequited first love.
my favourite quote, all from Chun-wa's character:
Getting expelled from school is not the end of SUNNY. We'll meet again, bring Suji with us, and dance what we couldn't dance today. Understand? We'll meet again. If you ignore us because your life is too good, we'll go and punish you. If you hide because your life sucks, we'll go and make it better. I don't know who will die first among us, but until that day comes ... no, beyond that day, we SUNNY never breaks up.
Im Nami/ Yeah? / Is there anything you want to do in life?/ I'm too old to have dreams/ Don't live without dreams, life is too short without dreams
You're the protagonist of your own life
wow, this has been a long rant. but I just want to say that I really recommend this film.
it will surely bring you laughter, sadness, and memory of your own high school friends to whom you promise to be with each other forever - a promise that's difficult to keep with as once you grow older, you move on to your own path and forget about each other. isn't that something you can relate to?
if you want to watch, visit here.
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