April Snow (Wae Chul) - Screen Daily Review

[dleedlee]

April Snow (Wae Chul)

Dan Fainaru in Toronto 21 September 2005

Dir: Hur Jin-ho. S Kor. 2005. 105mins.

Coming after Christmas In August and One Fine Spring Day, April Snow shows Hur Jin-ho be as gentle and romantic as ever - and as likely to enjoy successful box office.

Once again he concentrates on strong emotions, showing as slow, deliberate and sensitive a touch as he has done before, and well supported by two good looking leads.

Formulaic to a fault, April Snow uses a common ploy that Hollywood has played more than once before – see, for example, Addicted To Love - but this should hardly matter to predominantly female audiences who will embrace it enthusiastically in sympathetic markets.

In Japan it has taken $2.8m in its opening weekend from 413 screens - a new record for a Korean film in the Japanese market. Distributor UIP predicts a total take between $22.5m (Y2.5bn) and $27.0m, which would make April Snow the highest grossing Korean film ever released in Japan, in part down to Bae’s star power.

In-su (Bae), who works on lighting for pop shows, is called to hospital one night and told that his wife is unconscious after a car crash. There he meets Seo Young (Son), wife of a man – also injured - in the car with his spouse. Soon, each separately realises that their respective other halves were lovers.

Confused, resentful and hurt, both stay in the same motel near to the hospital and gradually begin to compare notes, then eating together before joking that possibly they should themselves have an affair by means of revenge.

Time passes in a blur of medical reports, as each watches over their respective unconscious spouse, sometimes wishing, in secret, that they were dead.

Eventually they drive together to a remote village to offer their condolences to the parents of a child killed in the accident but meet with hostility. The inevitable happens and they eventually fall heavily for each other, unable to control their feelings despite a strong sense of guilt.

Sweepingly romantic, April Snow has everything in place to touch the strings of sensitive hearts. Great looking performers, soft lights, sweet music, unhurried pace and few distractions all create a soft rosy cocoon of a story whose conclusion everyone can easily guess, but which is still a joy when it finally arrives - even if it is as impossible as the April Snow of the title.

This may sound like jeering. It’s not. Inside this smoothly concocted genre picture, Hur manages to introduce a degree of sensitivity and allows the story to develop with such tender grace that it is difficult not to be touched.

The love scenes are tasteful and the two stars have such a kindly sincere demeanour that it is hard not to root for them. Bae, who played the seducer in Untold Scandal, the recent Korean version of Dangerous Liaisons, and Son, one of the beauties decorating the life of painter Jang Seun-up in the award winning Chihwaseon, both look so good that the only problem is believing anyone married to them would look elsewhere.

All technical credits are of the highest order.

Production companies
Blue Storm Co

International sales
ShowEast

Executive producers
Kim Dong-joo
Bae Yong-kook

Producer
Kang Bong-rae

Screenplay
Shin Joon-ho
Lee Won-sik
Seo Yeo-min
Lee il
Hur Jin-ho

Cinematography
Lee Mo-gae

Editor
Lee Eun-soo

Production design
Park Sang-hun

Music
Cho Sung-woo

Main cast
Bae Yong-joon
Son Ye-jin
Chun Kook-huan
Lim Sang-hyo

[Brian Thibodeau]

This is one of several Korean films I'd hoped to see at this year's festival, but missed due to their absolutely rotten online ordering system the first day! The others were SYMPATHY FOR LADY VENGEANCE, DUELIST and PRESIDENT'S LAST BANG.

Guess it's DVD for the lot of them.

Oh well, at least there were still seats at THE MYTH (not surprisingly) and the phenomenal SPL.

[dleedlee]

This first half of the plot summary reminds me of WKW's In The Mood For Love!

I need to pick up The President's Last Bang, too. Let me know how you like if you catch it at the festival.

[Brian Thibodeau]

Unfortunately, the fest is over for this year, so I'm afraid I'm waiting for these on DVD now.

Nonetheless, I can't recommend SPL, which I did see, highly enough.

[dleedlee]

SPL: I'm pleasantly surprised at all the good mentions the film has received. Definitely will be in one of my carts when it comes out on DVD

[Brian Thibodeau]

Same here. For once, the good word-of-mouth about fight choreography in a recent Hong Kong movie is more than justified. The alley fight in this film represents the apex of everything Donnie Yen has ever done, and his final battle with the still-agile Sammo is just more frosting on the cake!

Of course, there are many reasons to like SPL beyond the battles.

Oh, and my apologies for hijacking a thread about a mushy Korean love drama! The two couldn't be more diametrical.