Of Liaisons - Dangerous, and Highly Melodramatic

Filmbrain recently caught up with two Korean films from 2003 that were both smash hits in their native country - Lee Je-yong's Untold Scandal, and Kwak Jae-yong's The Classic.

Untold Scandal is an extremely faithful adaptation of Choderlos de Laclos' 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which has been filmed at least a half-dozen times (Dangerous Liaisons, Valmont, Cruel Intentions, etc.) The spin this time is that it is set amongst the aristocracy of the Chosun dynasty (roughly the same period as when the original novel was written). Though the plot remains true to the novel (save for some slight cultural adjustments), this adaptation has a greater emphasis on the love story and the heartbreak, rather than the ruthless behavior of its characters. Though the drama plays out nicely, we wind up caring for the characters a bit more than was originally intended. The three lead actors are magnificent, especially Jeon Do-yeon as Lady Jeong (the Michelle Pfeiffer role), whose transition from chaste widow to mad, passionate lover is truly remarkable. Director Lee doesn't get carried away with the period setting and (thankfully) keeps the film from turning into an overly flashy costume drama targeted to a foreign audience. Untold Scandal isn't an outstanding film, but with its lively pace, excellent cast, and highly erotic sex scenes, it's one definitely worth seeing. [Available on Region 1 DVD.]

The follow-up to his debut hit My Sassy Girl, Kwak Jae-yong's The Classic is a romance for those that like their melodrama poured on thick. While My Sassy Girl breathed new life into the tired RomCom genre, The Classic is little more than a classic weepie, albeit with a semi-clever plot device. Once again, Kwak revolves his film around a strong, independent female character -- two, in fact. Ji-hae (Son Ye-jin) is a college student who is secretly in love with her best friend's boyfriend. Though determined not to act on her feelings, she gets encouragement in the form of her mother's old love letters that she recently dug out of a box. As she reads the story of her mother's first love, the film jumps back in time to reenact that story, which (oddly enough) parallels her own. Son Ye-jin plays dual roles (as both mother and daughter) and the film continually hops back and forth between eras. The mother's tale is a sad one, though Kwak is slightly guilty of turning up the tear-o-meter to eleven. With several romantic, slo-mo rain scenes (not to mention Pachelbel's Canon in D) The Classic is full of the type of melodrama Kwak satirized so wonderfully in My Sassy Girl. Still, for what it is, it's done extremely well. And though Filmbrain kept asking himself "Why are you watching this?", he couldn't seem to switch it off. If you're in the mood for a long, romantic drama with a dose of schmaltz, you can do far worse than The Classic.