HopeDiamond
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An era where the Sexual Revolution collided with the Vietnam War---and the world was never the same.
Not sure how or why I missed this movie for so long, but this is the astrological time when many aspects of our lives in this incarnation are appearing for maybe another layer of lessons or a deeper awareness of what was happening at the original timing of events. As a point of clarification...when a movie/drama appears in my feed via multiple paths...I will watch it. I stopped trying to make sense of these synchronicities years ago. Their appearance is always an unexpected set of knowings.
I came of age in the Vietnam era....it was a socially explosive time as thousands of baby boomers across 3.5 decades of birth headed to universities at higher rates than ever before in history. It was also the end of an era in the US of mandatory military service. Thanks to what some would see as unexpected partnerships between tens of thousands of college students and the wives of POWs applying political pressure to the Washington decision-makers. The political power of those two groups, along with an outraged citizenry sick of seeing hundreds of body bags arriving in the cargo holds of aircraft daily on the 5 o'clock news. In the 60s, 70s, 80s, everyone had different triggers, but for many of us, it was selfish...we just wanted our classmates and friends, who were drafted, forced into fighting for one of the many wars for profit, being used as pawns in the "no intent to win" war.
Understanding the context of the time is a layering of understanding of the many possible definitions you could assign to the word "obsession". The scriptwriting was a blend of simple human reactions/actions and the accompanying physical/psychological aspects that drive each of us into our own obsessions that drive us. The script is simple with the selection of dialogue well chosen, moving throughout the roller coaster ride of the relationship between the Colonel and the Captain's wife, relationships within the military ranks, and ultimately the final choices that leave a lasting impact in your memory. Sometimes doing what is right is not the optimal choice, but few of us realize it at the time. There is an element of inspiration in the relationship between the leads that reflects the same desperation of the Vietnam era.
The ensemble of actors was authentically believable. As each scene unfolded, many of them reminded me of people, I knew in those times who were doing, thinking, and behaving as depicted. When the "letter arrived", my reaction was visceral. I knew so many families who received similar letters. The "love" scenes were realistic and were an intersection point between the sexual revolution of the era melding into military duty/risk/destruction to lives.
Song Seung-heon as Colonel Kim Jin-pyeong ; Lim Ji-yeon as Jong Ga-heun---their characters were far enough apart in age and life experience yet despite their differences, their similarity of thoughts converged in their dialogue. I rarely watch Kdrama/movies....which could be an error on my part as a Gold Star daughter whose father gave his all for South Korean freedom...they are sometimes quite difficult to watch. That was not the case with this drama.
Our life journey has many phases and twists...this movie brought many of the events back into the conscious framework of my reflection. Sometimes a movie is a better book....but in this movie...the acting, direction, and visuals bring depth to the story even when the Colonel was sitting in the meeting remembering his "experience" with the Captain's wife in the front seat of his car... no, it was not his memory I found interesting (although---) it was his posture in the meeting as he gave the appearance of attention to the war discussion while mentally being at a place of personal ecstasy that was having a secret window into his thoughts...a private secret between the character and the audience. This is not a movie for everyone (as shown in the other write-ups), but I knew as the ending credits were rolling, I would not only re-watch this but purchase it for my own movie library. Happy Watching....Hope.
I came of age in the Vietnam era....it was a socially explosive time as thousands of baby boomers across 3.5 decades of birth headed to universities at higher rates than ever before in history. It was also the end of an era in the US of mandatory military service. Thanks to what some would see as unexpected partnerships between tens of thousands of college students and the wives of POWs applying political pressure to the Washington decision-makers. The political power of those two groups, along with an outraged citizenry sick of seeing hundreds of body bags arriving in the cargo holds of aircraft daily on the 5 o'clock news. In the 60s, 70s, 80s, everyone had different triggers, but for many of us, it was selfish...we just wanted our classmates and friends, who were drafted, forced into fighting for one of the many wars for profit, being used as pawns in the "no intent to win" war.
Understanding the context of the time is a layering of understanding of the many possible definitions you could assign to the word "obsession". The scriptwriting was a blend of simple human reactions/actions and the accompanying physical/psychological aspects that drive each of us into our own obsessions that drive us. The script is simple with the selection of dialogue well chosen, moving throughout the roller coaster ride of the relationship between the Colonel and the Captain's wife, relationships within the military ranks, and ultimately the final choices that leave a lasting impact in your memory. Sometimes doing what is right is not the optimal choice, but few of us realize it at the time. There is an element of inspiration in the relationship between the leads that reflects the same desperation of the Vietnam era.
The ensemble of actors was authentically believable. As each scene unfolded, many of them reminded me of people, I knew in those times who were doing, thinking, and behaving as depicted. When the "letter arrived", my reaction was visceral. I knew so many families who received similar letters. The "love" scenes were realistic and were an intersection point between the sexual revolution of the era melding into military duty/risk/destruction to lives.
Song Seung-heon as Colonel Kim Jin-pyeong ; Lim Ji-yeon as Jong Ga-heun---their characters were far enough apart in age and life experience yet despite their differences, their similarity of thoughts converged in their dialogue. I rarely watch Kdrama/movies....which could be an error on my part as a Gold Star daughter whose father gave his all for South Korean freedom...they are sometimes quite difficult to watch. That was not the case with this drama.
Our life journey has many phases and twists...this movie brought many of the events back into the conscious framework of my reflection. Sometimes a movie is a better book....but in this movie...the acting, direction, and visuals bring depth to the story even when the Colonel was sitting in the meeting remembering his "experience" with the Captain's wife in the front seat of his car... no, it was not his memory I found interesting (although---) it was his posture in the meeting as he gave the appearance of attention to the war discussion while mentally being at a place of personal ecstasy that was having a secret window into his thoughts...a private secret between the character and the audience. This is not a movie for everyone (as shown in the other write-ups), but I knew as the ending credits were rolling, I would not only re-watch this but purchase it for my own movie library. Happy Watching....Hope.
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