April Snow
DIR Hur Jin-ho| South Korea | 2005 | 105min
In Korean with English subtitles.
SHOWTIMES:
Sat. Oct. 1 | 4:00pm | Vogue Theatre
Mon. Oct. 10 | 9:30pm | Vogue Theatre
Wed. Oct. 12 | 7:00pm | Vogue Theatre
Reviewed by Yu Gu
You and I have probably both seen Korean TV serials – family or romantic melodrama at its best, infused with a strong Confucian core and plenty of good-looking stars for eyecandy. April Snow is one of these romantic dramas trying to be more, but not completely succeeding.
The film follows the stories of a pair of lovers, In-Su and Seo-Young, that meet by accident, well, literally by accident. Their respective spouses are involved in a car accident that throws them both into comas. Through the remains of their tell-tale belongings (such as a condom), it is revealed that they were having a hot love affair. The lead male, In-Su, is played by TV serial superstar Bae Yong-Jun (Winter Rhapsody). In-Su and Seo-Yeong’s relationship begins to grow and blossom after they discover their shared pain through embarassing encounters.
Unlike Wong Kar-Wai’s In the Mood for Love that supplements character development with tone, art direction and music, April Snow seems to be grounded in a realism that depends on poetry to take it to another level. One example of this poetic kinesis are the poignant love scenes where desire and loss are inherent in the process of shedding clothes or fingers touching flesh.
However, the two characters are repressed and bound by their duty to their spouses and the film seems to be similarly repressed in its drama – everything from Bae’s acting to the storyline. Although on the whole, April Snow subtlely veers away from Confucian values of marriage, and in an interesting way, applauds sudden moments of miraculous abandon.