Im Sang-hyo (임상효)

Heavy 'Snow' Makes for Good Drama

2005/09/08 | Source | Permalink |

By Joon Soh
Culture Editor

Given all the hype surrounding Bae Yong-joon, it would be easy to assume that the new movie "April Snow" would be nothing more than a lightweight cinematic vehicle for the mega-popular actor. After all, Bae even sports the shaggy-haircut-and-glasses look that's suspiciously similar to his fashion sensibilities in "Winter Sonata," the TV melodrama that made housewives all over Asia swoon and propelled the actor into superstardom.

But once one looks past the (probably intentional) evidences of Bae's commercial appeal, he or she will find a film that's surprisingly complex and vastly different from the cardboard sentimentality of "Winter Sonata." Within the first half hour, it becomes plain that it's director Hur Jin-ho, not Bae, who is setting the tone for "Snow."

With films like "Christmas in August" and "One Fine Spring Day," Hur has become one of the masters of the drama genre, and he certainly doesn't disappoint here. Known for weaving tightly c...| More

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'April Snow' sticks to Yonsama's image

2005/08/25 | Source | Permalink |

Love, betrayal and guilt are some of the feelings movies are particularly adept at conjuring, but things get tricky when the three elements are lumped together solely for one big star. How do you evoke the inner life of a deeply troubled man and his equally distressed, secret lover when what the audiences want is just an innocent smile of the star actor?

"April Snow", directed by Heo Jin-ho, adopts the same melodrama formula of "Winter Sonata", a runaway television hit series that touched off the boom for Korean pop culture, and, more importantly, catapulted actor Bae Yong-joon into almost mythical fame in Asia.

The original Korean title of the movie is "Oechul", roughly translating into "Outing". Its English title "April Snow", however, is much more closely related to the movie's core idea. In Korea, it's quite rare to see snow falling in April, so the title suggests a hopeful message that something miraculous might soothe an ill-fated couple and consummate their forbidden love....| More

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