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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Couples": Destined Love for Better or Worse...

Now, I am not usually the type to gorge myself on such things, but when I came across Jeong Yong-ki's 2011 film "Couples" I just had to see what he had in store in the romantic comedy department. I am happy to report that I enjoyed Yong-ki's offering and it is definitely worth a watch for anyone looking for a light-romantic comedy that, while still playing on a tried and tested structure, manages to feel fresh and enduring. With Valentines Day just around the corner, this might just be the romantically inclined cinematic candy to mark the occasion.

"Couples" is actually a Korean remake of Kenji Uchida's 2005 film "A Stranger of Mine". Having not seen this Japanese original I can't speculate on how the film converted but, considering the light-heartedness of the film, I feel that such comparisons would be unnecessary and provide nothing useful outside of, perhaps, how the notion of couples are represented in each country. That being said, "Couples" is an entertaining film that tracks various couples and their personal struggles love and destiny. The film starts off with a reality style interview of the couples as they explain how the meet. From these we get a glimpse of what the couples have come to be, with the promise of learning how they got together in the first place. Each couples' story is layered upon the next, it's a sound technique that works well within the overall tone and pacing of the film. After the first story line is set, the film then launches into a tapestry of narratives that are, in some way or another, linked or overlap with comical, and serendipitous, consequences.

What caused the bus to suddenly come to a grinding halt? Where did that basketball come from that caused the crash? Questions like these seem irrelevant when watching but, through its interlinked narrative, Jeong Yong-ki has managed to add a great deal of depth to events that adds a sentimental dimension of destiny and fate to the romances. It's a great technique and that fact that it ahs been used before does not diminish its affect here. When the point in the film comes where you realise that events are going to be overlapped, you begin to be more observant in the hopes that you might flag something that might come up later. This is not so much as to 'figure out' events, but rather just to take note of and remember potential plot points for later consideration. This is where the story itself has to be carefully constructed. An over-lapping narrative is tricky to make watertight but "Couples" pulls it off without seeming too artificial or staged.

"Couples" contains a number of great actors and actresses and their combined performances made for an amusing and captivating ride. Kim Joo-hyuk plays the lead (Tea shop owner Yoo-Suk) and his story acts as the anchor around which the others intersect and pivot on. His wife to be (played by Lee Si-young) has mysteriously disappeared and in her absences he serendipitously nurtures a romance with an adorable traffic cop (Lee Yoon-ji). Yoo-suk's wife sudden reappearance throws a spanner in the works and soon her scandalous behaviours catch up with her and, inadvertently, everyone else. The film also stars Oh Jung-se as Lee's best friend/private detective and Gong Hyung-jin as a love-struck mobster of sorts. Both of which are great additions to the humorous spectacle and add a different flavour of comedic relief outside the roles of the main actors and actresses.

"Couples" is obviously not original, but I wouldn't hold that against it. It's a quirky and relatively clever film that doesn't overcomplicate its message of destined and unpredictable romance. The narrative is pieced together with a palatable simplicity that you wouldn't expect to find in such a film. Each perspective adds a welcomed and comical new dimension to the events that came before and after it. With its likeable cast and good laughs, "Couples" just might be the film to celebrate Valentine's Day this week.

- C.J. Wheeler (Chriscjw@gmail.com)

 

Available on DVD from YESASIA

DVD 2-Disc (First Press Limited Edition) (En Sub)

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