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| Release Date: | September 9th, 2000 (Korea) |
| Runtime: | 105 minutes |
| Rated: | NR (US/UK) |
| Genres: | Romance |
| Directed by: | Hyun-seung Lee |
| Written by: | Hyun-seung Lee |
| Starring: | Jung-Jae Lee, Ji-hyun Jun |
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 Il Mare is set in a very strange house next to the sea. When Sung-hyun, the first occupant in the newly built house in 1997 finds a note from the previous occupier, Eun-ju from 1999, in his mail box, he gets a little confused! He tries to contact the girl, only to find the apartment she has as her address doesn?t yet exist! Sung-hyun decides the only thing that could be causing this phenomena is the actual mail box itself. The two start a correspondence through the magical mailbox.
This is a slow paced, but beautifully shot Korean romance, from the director Hyun-seung Lee. Regardless of what could be an overly sentimental, sickly film, I thought it was a very stylish and understated love story, and if you don?t feel the need to gag whenever romance is mentioned, you?ll probably find the film thoroughly enjoyable and captivating. However, a word of warning, if you see this film, you will desperately want to visit the Korean coast. The backdrop for the film is utterly stunning! The soundtrack is rarely intrusive, however, it does on occasion sound very stereotypically romance-film-like. This doesn?t take anything away from the film, and the soundtrack does have some utterly delightful moments.
The chemistry between the characters is utterly amazing, especially as they are two years apart throughout the film! There are some very original and clever ideas, such as how to get two people on a date together, but on different days?!
The ending of the film has been altered, because the original ending was deemed too sad by Korean audiences, therefore to some it may seem a little bit strange, and difficult to follow. The romantics amongst you will probably, like me, thoroughly enjoy the film regardless of the ending.
If you enjoy slow moving, but very clever romance films, then this is probably a must for you to add to your DVD collection. It is in a similar vein to the Japanese film Love Letter in it?s slow and gentle approach to romance, and also it?s cinematography. Even if you don?t class yourself as a romance film enthusiast, this is probably one of the most charming romance films I?ve seen to date and it?s unlikely many people could resist it?s charm. |
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Rachel Hunter
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