One day, Ji-hwan begins to receive letters from an unidentified person. The letters, containing black-and-white photos of happy children playing, remind Ji-hwan of his old two friends.
Five years earlier, while Ji-hwan is taking pictures with his camera, two girls, Soo-in and Gyung-hee, walk into the frame. Ji-hwan falls in love with Soo-in at first sight. He then musters up enough courage to confess his love to her, but she refuses him very politely. Even so, Ji-hwan doesn't give up and tells them that he wants to be friends the next time they meet. Ever since then, the three of them start a wonderful friendship. They spend time each other always, and consider it the most precious moments of their lives. But they become confused between love and friendship and, finally, Gyung-hee and Soo-in leave him without a trace.
The random letters inspire Ji-hwan to depart anxiously on a long journey to find his old friends, but while looking for Soo-in and Gyung-hee, he confronts a beautiful yet sad secret.
A cleverly scripted emotional triangle that explores the overlapping territory Between love and friendship, "Lovers' Concerto" reps a style of filmmaking that's an almost impossible sell to western auds beyond Asian-themed events but has remake potential as a mainstream romance with the right cast. First feature by writer-director Lee Han, a former assistant to veteran Bae Chang-ho, logged up a cosy 1.6 million admissions on Korean release this fall, partly due to the casting of actor Cha Tae-hyeon, male lead in B.O. hit "My Sassy Girl", that's currently being remade at DreamWorks.
Theme is a growing one in South Korean cinema, and has already surfaced in different forms in Kim Yong-gyun's "Wanee and Junah" and Kim Dae-seung's "Bungee jumping of their own" (both 2001). With its complex plot, switching back and forth Between several time frames, pic requires considerable attention, and in its final reels takes on an almost abstract, "scenes from" quality as the story takes on a remembered aspect.
Film opens with Lee Ji-hwan (Cha) receiving a series of photos in the mail that are signed by a mysterious female correspondent. Story then flashbacks five years to when Ji-hwan met two teenage girls, the virginal Shim Su-in (Son Ye-jin) and her outgoing friend, Kim Gyeong-heui (Lee Eun-joo), in a coffee shop. After falling for but being stonewalled by Su-in, Ji-hwan settles for friendship, accompanying the pair on a get-away Holiday by the sea.
However, as they spend time with each other, it's clear that more is going on beneath the surface that any of the parties will admit to, and when Su-in falls sick Ji-hwan and Gyeong-heui are thrown together. Each of the three seems unwilling to declare feelings, which would capsize hard-won friendships.
The extensive back story is cross-cut with the present, during which Ji-hwan tries to track down the sender of the photos and reminisces with his now-married friend, Cheol-hyeon (Park Yong-woo), about how the trio drifted apart. As he investigates the girls' background, Ji-hwan also untangles their complicated, hidden relationship.
Cha shows surprising breadth after his put-upon, mop-haired turn in "Sassy Girl", though it's the lively Lee ("Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors", "Bungee Jumping") who lights up the movie whenever she's on screen. Though too obviously playing much younger than her real age in the early scenes, Lee comes through later on as the more complex character of the three. Among the supports, Mun Geun-yeong contribs a likable portrait as Ji-hwan's comically lovelorn younger sis.
Production values are tip-top, from the good-looking lensing of the various time frames to the simple chamber score that doesn't overdo the melodrama. Original title simply means "Love Story".
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