Over the Rainbow – R

Released in 2002
Directed by Ahn Jin-woo
Overall Rating: A

Main Cast:
Lee Jung-Jae as Jin Soo
Jang Jin-yeong as Yeon Hee
Jeong Chan as Sang-in (Jin Soo’s bestfriend)

Jin Soo is a meteorologist and works as a weather forcaster.  On a rainy night, he spots someone familiar crossing the street from his car.  As memories of who she was enter his mind, on ongoing truck strucks Jin Soo’s car.  He is rushed to the hospital where he is diagnosed with partial amnesia.  As he is getting used to not being able to remember a part of his memory, a single memory continues to show up in his thoughts.  It is an image of a young girl by a window with the sun glowing behind her.  Who could she be?  He later finds a photo of her but the contrast is too high to see her face.  When Jin Soo visits a pschycologist, he tells him that people forget important things to them all the time.  Some people, like Jin Soo, try to remember them by presenting it in dreams or illusion.  So to get to the bottom of this memory, he seeks the help of his past college friends to see if they could remember her.  One of them, Yeon Hee who now works at a lost-and-found center at the train station, tries her best to remember and the two embark on a journey of memories to discover Jin Soo’s past love.

Actor Lee Eon Died

Most of you might remembered him as the gullible but lovable Min Yub in Coffee Prince.  He reportedly died in a motorcycle accident when his motorcycle collided with a guardrail.  My condolence to his family, friends, and fans.  Rest in peace.  For more coverage about the funeral, please visit the site Dramabeans below.

Source: Dramabeans

Il Mare – R

Released in 2000
Directed by Lee Hyun-seung
Means “the sea” in Italian
Overall Rating: A+

Main Cast:
Eun Joo – Jun Ji-hyun
Sung-hyun – Lee Jung-Jae

The time is December of 1999 and the new Millennium is just around the corner.  With Christmas and the anticipation for the new year abound, Eun Joo seems out of place being a loner during this joyous month.  To get a new start, she’s moving out of her old house called “Il Mare” by the sea and into a newly built apartment complex.  Before leaving, however, she leaves behind a Christmas card for the next tenant to remind him or her to forward any mail of hers to her new address.  Strangely, this letter doesn’t reach any “new” tenant at all but instead to the first resident, Sung-hyun, of the home back in 1997.  It seems the mailbox is like a wrinkle in time and thus allowing objects within it to be pass on to another time.  At first, both are bewildered and begin testing the other such as Eun Joo letting Sung-hyun know there’ll be a snow storm in ‘98 and should be careful of a nasty flu virus going around.  When everything turns out to be true and this phenomenon a reality, their correspondence grows.  Love begins to develop between the two and they begin to plan a place to meet.  Eun Joo will meet him in the year 2000 on March 11th at 3pm at Cheju Island.  She reminds him he has 2 years to prepare so he should have no excuse.  However, when the day comes, only Eun Joo is seen at the beach of Cheju Island.  What could’ve happened to Sung-hyun during the past 2 years?

The Drama Antidote

So lately, I haven’t been watching any Asian cinema at all may that be drama, movies, etc., but how can that be?  Well, I seem to have stumbled upon the antidote to drama-addiction: the Olympic.  Seriously, there’s already so much drama going on at the Olympic that regular drama somewhat pales in comparison.  How can anyone not be somewhat excited when athletes from two countries, that have shared an intense rivalry, compete?  It’s great.

However, I am writing up a review right now for Densha Otoko.  It should be out soon.

And so, with the coming of the Olympic also come the end of summer.  I hope everyone had a great break and is ready to hit the books again.  As for me, I will begin a new semester this coming Monday.  Despite that, I will continue in my effort to provide regular (as much as I can anyway) updates on the world of Asian cinema and some of its works.