[HanCinema's Hall of Fame Review] "My Sassy Girl": Flinching and Falling in Love

Published on 2013/08/10

In the Spotlight this Week: "My Sassy Girl" (2001) by Kwak Jae-yong

If Park Chan-wook's "Oldboy" is Korea's flagship revenge thriller, then "My Sassy Girl" is a strong contender in the romantic comedy category. Inspired by a series of real world blog posts, "My Sassy Girl" is contemporary Korean love story with a truly universal spirit threaded through it.

This charming tale follows Kyeon-woo (Cha Tae-hyun), a mild-mannered and kind-hearted college student who falls hopelessly in love with an intense extrovert with a mean right hook. The two meet serendipitously on the subway when Kyeon-woo encounters this horribly drunk, yet desperately alluring, young woman. 'The girl' (Jun Ji-hyun) turns out to be a raging and abusive torrent of trouble, but that does not stop Kyeon-woo from stumbling around love and loss in her wake.

The film proved so popular that at the time is was the highest grossing Korean comedy, collecting 4.8 million admissions at the local box office. It was then adapted into four other films from other countries, including the U.S., Bollywood, China, and even Tollywood. Japan decided to be a little different in its adaptation and crafted an eleven-episode drama series from the story. The film's core conflicts and character chemistry speaks to a collective truth, one that is open to being retold in different cultural forms and flavours. Kwak's beloved piece also won a string of awards from festivals in Korea, Japan, and Hong Kong. Actress Jun Ji-hyeon's amazing performance won Best Actress at the 2002 Grand Bell Awards, and her co-star Tae-hyeon scooped up his equivalent at the Blue Dragon Awards that same year. Even the film's soundtrack was a fan favourite!

"My Sassy Girl" has some classic moments that fans will be able to easily and willingly recall. Personally, it was the subway scenes in particular that spring to mind. Having this passive Kyeon-woo in a small and confined space with Ji-hyeon's explosive character made for some strangely pleasing dramatic tension. The subway rides themselves were obviously smooth, but watching these two made those scenes feel like an underground rollercoaster, one that could derail itself and burst through the screen at any moment and shake back to reality. Watch "My Sassy Girl" simply to witness the cinematic equivalent of what happens when an unstopable force serendipitously collides with an immovable object.

- C.J. Wheeler (@KoreaOnTheCouch)

Available on DVD from YESASIA and Amazon