I usually watch K-drama TV series. But I found a Korean drama movie to watch called “Love, Lies” (2016).
WARNING!! DO NOT watch this movie if you don’t want to be bummed out!
I got addicted to Korean drama 5+ years ago. So I know K-dramas always have a love triangle. It’s expected. However, this is the saddest, most painful, most sorrowful, and most tragic love triangle I have ever seen IN MY LIFE! (And I have watched a lot of sad love stories over the years.)
The story takes place in Seoul, 1940s, during the Japanese occupation of Korea (or Joseon).
THE LOVE TRIANGLE?
- Two young Korean girls ~ Jung So-yul (played by Han Hyo-joo), and Seo Yeon-hee (played by Chun Woo-hee) ~ who have beautful voices were raised to be “artists”. (That’s what they were told. One of them found out later that they were just beautified to be “artful prostitutes” for the Japanese men.)
- One young Korean man ~ Kim Yoon-woo (played by Yoo Yeon-seok0 ~ who is a song-writer. But he writes popular songs for the common people ~ “Joseon’s Heart”. Not the traditional music (jeongga, or classical Korean songs) the girls have been trained to sing for the upper class Korean society and the Japanese occupiers.
Kim Yoon-woo says he is in love with one girl but then he meets her best friend. You might want to call the guy “a jive turkey”. But as the relationships develop, you almost feel like … he didn’t really do anything wrong.
WHY? I always say that if you are in a relationship, it is best that you find out BEFORE you get married that you don’t want to be in that relationship. No matter how much it may hurt the other person, you really should not marry somebody that you don’t love. Because that means two (2) people will be miserable in the relationship. Break it off before you marry so that the other person can … maybe … find someone else to be happy with.
I won’t tell you details of how this story unfolds but it was so so so so so so so so so so so so … painful!!
Half of the time I was watching the movie, one part of my mind kept telling me … Look away! You don’t want to see The End. The other part of my mind was saying … Look! You gotta know what happens in The End.
I watched it until The End and my heart was breaking for all three of them!
The cruelty that resulted from a woman’s bitterness, anger, and jealousy …?? I searched for one word to describe the things she did to get her revenge. But I came up with two words. INSANELY VICIOUS!!
By the end of the movie, I was totally shattered.
Many reviewers praised the movie; and I wholeheartedly agree with those reviews. I thought the acting was superb! In addition to the stellar acting by the three (3) main characters, this movie also gets my 5 star rating for: the music, the scenery, and the costumes. Especially, the traditional Hanbok clothing and the modern westernized clothing that both ladies wore. In every outfit, they were both gorgeous and extremely stylish. Their hairstyles whether long hair or short hair were beautiful!!
Also, I really liked the album covers. Both ladies released an album with them singing and the artwork for both album covers is incredible! I wouldn’t mind buying an art print.
In fact, that’s how the movie begins. Some people found an old record album and wanted to know the whole story behind it. (Kind of like that popular American movie “Titanic” (1997) where they found that art portrait and wanted to know who the woman was.)
The majority of reviewers gave this movie 4.8 stars out of 5. I agree.
NOTE: There is one thing I am curious about in this movie. Maybe my readers can enlighten me. The red and blue parasols given to the artists when they completed their training? Is that historical fact or historical fiction?
