Return of the Masterpiece that Moved the Continent, Reborn with Korean Sentiment The recently released film If We Were is a remake of the romance film Us and Them, which swept the Chinese box office. The original work was more than just a love story between a man and a woman; it achieved tremendous success by dealing with the cross-section of Chinese society during its rapid economic growth and the joys and sorrows of youth drifting within it. As it is already considered a "life melodrama" by domestic fans through Netflix, the news of the Korean remake brought both expectations and concerns simultaneously. The biggest key was how to melt the unique sentiment and vast narrative of the original into a running time of about two hours, and specifically, how to adapt it to the Korean situation. As a result, If We Were made the smart choice of taking the framework of the original but bringing out the delicate texture unique to Korean cinema.
Removing the Macro-Discourse of the Era, Focusing on the Micro-Discourse of Love If the original dealt with the rough texture of youth struggling to survive in the megalopolis of Beijing and the "Chunyun" (Spring Festival travel rush), the Korean version of If We Were boldly reduced this social and historical background. This is because the specific background of China's high-growth period is somewhat disparate from Korea's present. Instead, the movie puts a microscope on the emotional lines of the two main characters, Eun-ho (played by Koo Kyo-hwan) and Jung-won (played by Moon Ga-young). Rather than a fierce survival story, it focuses entirely on the uncertain future of people in their 20s that anyone might have experienced, the love that bloomed within it, and the process of crumbling in front of the wall of reality. This choice completed the film as a more universal melodrama and had the effect of making the audience project their own past loves onto the screen.
Time Spoken Through Color, "Only the Time with You Was in Color" The most striking directorial feature of this movie is the contrast of 'color'. Unlike ordinary movies that use black and white or faded tones when recalling the past and express the present clearly, If We Were chose the exact opposite method of speech. The past, where the two were together and shared love, is depicted in blindingly beautiful technicolor, but the present, where they live their own lives after breaking up, is expressed in cold achromatic colors (black and white). This visually delivers the metaphorical message strongly: "My world without you has no color." The contrast between the dry life of the present turned into gray and the past where everything sparkled because they had each other makes us feel keenly how great a loss their separation was, even without wordy lines.
Rediscovery of Moon Ga-young, From 'Bubbly Fairy' to 'Queen of Melodrama' The moment the movie starts and we face the first scene where Moon Ga-young is sitting by the bus window, the audience intuitively realizes, "This is not the Moon Ga-young we knew." Until now, Moon Ga-young has mainly taken on roles of bright, cheerful, or urban and glamorous beauties across dramas and movies. However, in If We Were, she removed her makeup and equipped herself with dry eyes stained with the fatigue of life. In her appearance turning her head indifferently while receiving the sunlight pouring through the bus window, a deep melancholy and maturity that could not be seen in her previous works seep out. She dominates the screen by becoming the character Jung-won herself, to the extent that the question "Why did she show this face only now?" arises.
Waves of Restrained Emotion, A Turning Point in Moon Ga-young's Acting Career This work is, without exaggeration, the highlight of Moon Ga-young's acting career. She seamlessly digests a wide range of timelines, from the fresh excitement of a college student in her 20s to the exhaustion of a social novice frustrated at the employment front, and the appearance of a matured woman after a breakup. In particular, her restrained acting, swallowing and suppressing emotions rather than exploding them, makes the viewers' hearts ache even more. The subtle trembling at the moment when even love feels like a luxury crushed by the weight of reality, and the crying acting collapsing without being able to hold onto the leaving lover, prove that she has been reborn as a true character actor beyond simply a pretty actor. I welcome the expansion of her spectrum, capable of digesting authentic melodrama beyond light romantic comedies.
Koo Kyo-hwan, Erasing Idiosyncrasy and Wearing the Universal Face of Youth Her co-star Koo Kyo-hwan also shows a surprising transformation. It was a fresh challenge in itself for him, who was imprinted on the public with a unique tone and strong individualistic characters, to play a very ordinary and introverted male protagonist of a melodrama film. And he succeeded ostentatiously. Koo Kyo-hwan delicately portrayed the innocence and pettiness (in a realistic way) of the character Eun-ho, and the sense of shame of wanting to make the woman he loves happy but lacking the ability to do so. He reduced his unique witty acting and showed the standard of melodrama with serious and deep eyes. To the extent that the saying "If Koo Kyo-hwan cries, the audience cries too" comes out, his sorrowful emotional acting was the number one contributor to increasing the immersion of the movie.
Bus and Restaurant, The Beginning That Was Most Special Because It Was Most Ordinary The connection between the two begins on a bus heading to their hometown for the Lunar New Year. The small commonality of being from the same neighborhood becomes a great comfort to each other living in a strange land. In particular, the process of opening their hearts while eating together at the small restaurant run by Eun-ho's father makes us ruminate on the meaning of the Korean sentiments of 'Jeong' (affection) and 'Rice' (meals). The movie shows that those simple times of sharing a warm meal and filling each other's empty glasses, not flashy dates or special events, were the perfect temperature for love to sprout. The crude but sincere table set by the father becomes a medium connecting the two and remains as the most nostalgic memory later.
Sincerity Missed Due to Clumsiness, From Friends to Lovers Eun-ho falls in love the moment he first sees Jung-won, but he cannot approach her rashly due to his introverted personality. He just hovers around her, carrying her luggage, and silently staying by her side when she goes through hard times. Jung-won also feels affection for Eun-ho, but realistic worries and a lack of certainty hold her back from crossing the line beyond friends. The appearance of the two missing each other due to clumsy expression methods despite having big hearts for each other reminds us of everyone's 20s when we were clumsy at love. However, the moment they finally confirm each other's sincerity and start a full-blown relationship, the screen is dyed in the most colorful technicolor, visually blessing how brilliant their love was.
"Can We Live on Love Alone?" The High Wall Called Reality The movie does not end with "They loved and were happy." Rather, it shows the wretchedness of reality that strikes after love begins without adding or subtracting. A cramped rented room, opaque employment, repeated failures. The promise "I'll make a lot of money and treat you like a queen" becomes an empty check that cannot be kept, and the harsh reality makes both of them sensitive. The love of the 20s is beautiful because of its recklessness, but at the same time, reality is too cruel to protect that love. The mind that doesn't want to infect the other person with my misfortune even though they love each other so much, or the moments when love feels like a burden in a reality that is hard even for oneself to handle. The movie convincingly depicts why youthful love has no choice but to shake and break through this painful process.
If We Were... Brilliant Memories Comforting the Grey Present The movie title If We Were implies numerous subjunctive moods. "If I had held onto you then," "If we had endured until the end," "If we hadn't broken up then." However, the movie does not stop at regretting past choices but admits and comforts that those days were beautiful because they had each other despite everything. Although they are walking different paths now and the world has turned achromatic, they gain the strength to live on just with that one memory of loving each other to death. An ending that might have been different if someone had endured or been a little more courageous, but a portrait of youth that is even more affectionate and beautiful because it remains incomplete. I deeply recommend this movie to those who want to reminisce about past love this autumn.
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