Anna
Two people who make pit stops, in this journey called life, right next to each other.
Josée is a mysterious, pretty woman who is helped up onto her wheelchair by an engineering student, Lee Young-seok. She offers him free meals every time he goes by their house and he helps her out, closing the distance between them little by little.The movie is shot mostly from a third person's perspective thus lessening the probability of forming a real connection with the characters. Much like we're looking into their lives through the hole in the wall that Josée uses to look outside.
To be perfectly honest, I expected there to be waterworks because this pairing brought us one of the most heartbreaking dramas, Light in your eyes. But I gradually came to realise that this movie isn't supposed to make you cry. It is meant to bring you to tears, to leave them dangling for their lives right at the waterline. It needs you to think which then brings in this feeling of knowing, of understanding the characters and why they did what they did and why they brought in conflict when it didn't seem necessary. We don't really see how the characters feel but rather how they express it. The movie captures you not because of the characters individually but how they interact in a closed space. The feeling is so surreal and something I have never experienced before.
There are just a handful of characters and it is extremely aesthetic. While it seems like a vague and open ending to most, I really saw finality in it. There is great beauty in Josée and her white lies. A great beauty in their little world. A world built on loneliness and helplessness but one that blossomed into independence.
Do I recommend this movie? Yes but only in a specific kind of mood. Like I said it won't give you a good cry, you are just left sitting and staring at the void as the credits roll in and a beautiful song plays. However, it gives you an immense sense of empathy, of understanding without hearing. So, if you're in the mood for a slow-burning, introspective movie filled with beautiful cinematography and exceptionally acting especially from Nam Joo-hyuk, then yes.
I give Josée an 9/10.
(PS: I see so much of kind-hearted Nam Do-san in Young-seok. These two were also engineers, so it made me smile, all nostalgic. And Han Ji-min is just wow, but I don't think I've to say that specifically.)
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A rare masterpiece in psychological thriller genre.
When you watch a psychological thriller there are certain things you expect. There'll be one killer at least, it will be full of plot twists, focused on characters' psyche and the killer's grand reveal in the last ep. And that's what I expected from BE but boy did it prove me wrong.When I think of BE the immediate things that come to my mind are trust and family. BE breaks and constructs many layers of this concept while keeping the plot moving.
What does Beyond Evil mean? I think Dong shik answers it for us when Ji hwa confronts him about his lies. He tells her what she already knows that there existed no law that could judge the sinners and bring justice to the victims. Law is written by man and conducted by the ones who studied it. Humans are inherently flawed because we are social beings, we rely on a community and so everything is subjective.
But evil wasn't created by man. It was born through life but birthed out of nothingness and co-existed with the good because there is no good without evil and no evil without good. So when our law proves useless it should be the "creator" who rules.
See the killer is revealed fairly early in the drama and the bad guys are pretty much known, the intricacy of BE lies in how the characters react when the killer is right in front of them.
Many times both Dong shik and Ju won are faced with a decision, to kill or not to. They are handed that power but the inherent good in him fights back the urge.
How can a person keep taking lives? How is it that immense guilt and fear don't drown them? Evil can't be controlled by humans, hence it is beyond human comprehension. It is simply beyond evil.
At least that's what BE told me, I wonder what it will tell you. You just have to watch it for yourself then. :')
(PS: One of the best OST ever. There is something truly special in pairing strong, intense scenes with an acoustic guitar. The music fills you with that anticipation and the acting brings in the dread. Spectacular.)
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Navillera, 12 hours of a perfectly written metamorphosis story.
A little boy sees a man wearing makeup and a funny little dress, his eyes shine with curiosity and he peers into the hall. The man twirls like the spinning top he plays with at home. His hands make delicate movements. Every single swish is with purpose, his eyes seem to follow a trail of fireflies as they form a halo around him, the audience stares in silence and the little boy can't hear his heartbeat over the music that had hypnotized his body. But his mesmerized self is brought to reality as his father yanks him away. The little guy asks his father, "What is that?" "Ballet. But you don't have to pay attention to it." Replies the father. A little boy knows nothing except what he feels and his soul left a piece with the dancing man.Every single character in this drama is written with so much conviction and reason. It's like a game of chess where every single piece advanced. Whether they took two steps forward or circled the board twice, each piece broke out from the rules set by society and the hush of all the neighbors, to experiment with life.
I am going to miss the duo so much. I began every week knowing that I would cry my eyes out but also leave comforted. Navillera brought a warm hug and a bag full of chocolates. Ones I could savour because it brought the snow with it and so it wouldn't melt.
It touched my heart in so many ways and fulfilled me completely. There was not a single loophole, no overdoing, no dramatisation. This is a story about two men who learnt to let go of their fears and doubts and take flight. But the best thing was that they influenced the people around them and impacted their lives significantly.
Navillera will definitely strike a chord in you so why not do yourselves a favour and watch uri Halabeoji and Chae rok grow fond of each other and take a piece of your soul with them too. ✨
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