Love Impossible: there is nothing impossible about loving someone as hot as Jo In-Sung

[dangermousie]

I spent this morning (yes, still jet-lagged) watching the 2003 Korean romantic comedy Love Impossible (Namnam buknyeo), starring Jo In-Sung and Kim Sa-Rang as the couple in said titular impossible love: he the goof-ball, skirt-chasing son of the head of South Korean version of the FBI and she the stern, dedicated daughter of the head of North Korea's ministry of war.

My sole reason for getting this movie was simple: I wanted to see Jo In-Sung in something where he didn't get to suffer horrendously and where he got to keep the girl in a happily-ever-after (I dare anyone to do a double-bill with Something Happened in Bali and A Dirty Carnival and not feel like slitting your wrists with a rusty spoon).

And while I can't possibly claim this movie was a masterpiece of any sort (it needed proper character development a la a drama. I don't mind JIS turning from dork to angsty male lead, but why and how is a bit fuzzy for me :P), it certainly delivered on my 'I want to see JIS end up happily ever after' front. Set modest goals, don't be disappointed.

Serously though, it wasn't a great movie, but it was enjoyable. Interestingly, I can totally see why JIS switched to heavy dramatic stuff. He is amusing enough as a dopey skirt-chaser but once the movie kicks into serious gear it just works much better and his performance is much more suited for it. I love JIS because in everything I've ever seen him in, he has this certain very high-strung energy thing going. Better at falling apart than enjoying himself. He can be very funny, but it's this off-kilter funniness, if it makes any sense.

I am also amused to to note that this being a Korean movie, especially a Korean movie starring JIS, it manages to cram into its under two-hour running time things like:
* 'having to tell guy you don't love him to save him'
* hurt/comfort
* person with gun threatening hero to go away but hero still fixating on heroine (sorry, hero. Not very smart, IMO)
* kissing in underground tombs
* parental disapproval
* OTP running away and against the world. Literally.
* crying boys
* time jumps
* ending that not only strains credulity but breaks it and then jumps on the remains.

So basically, there is a perfect Bollywood term for this kind of movie: "Timepass."

But hey, we all know I didn't watch it for nuanced take on Two Koreas situation or even brilliant writing.

I watched it for this:



if this is still not convincing, I have the pictorial summary of the movie behind the cut, to either tempt you further or give you all the angst and hotness without having to watch the movie.



Our protagonists lead their very separate lives. She is a happy drinker of North Korea cool-aid:



While our hero is the dorky son of head of South Korean FBI:



While they are digging ancient tombs in China (don't ask) he sees her:





Is smitten and hires Vaguely Amusing Secondary Character to find her:



He manages to get her out for drinks but she drinks him under the table. Those Commie girls are tough!



He attempts to give her flowers, even citing a Kim Jong-Il speech for the occasion, but she turns him down:



But then they get trapped in an underground archeological tomb! And argue about DMZ (hilarious) and she kicks the crap out of him because she is Tough and he is a Wimp and he ends up comforting her because she is upset at suggestion NK dug some infiltration tunnels. So he says maybe it was for subways. LOL:





And he gets her to smile:



Look! Voluntary physical contact!



And he tells her the story of Cinderella which she doesn't know. One way to pass the time when sort of buried in:







And then they get buried in even more, and he offers to tell her about anime characters next :)



And is all 'I like this because I get to hang out with hottie girl who normally won't give me time of day'



Oh, Jo In-Sung, you be so pretty:



'I get to spend time in a small dark place with JIS? Alone? SCORE.' Or at least that is what I'd be thinking.



Pretiness:







With kissing!







We have a typical Korean movie kiss. I.e. the poor actor attempting his best and the poor actress pretending she isn't there at all :)







Found!





So now they go on dates:



Cute dates:











Super-cute dates:





Wherein he woos her with a harmonica:



And they are prettily backlit:



In-between canoodling he manages to find the tomb they were searching for. Perfect date place!





I shall not mention the archeological awfulness of having all these candles next to newly excavated paintings. I don't want to show I have no soul :)



Hair-stroking! YES.



Summary: 'My Mom died of cancer. Also, she would have liked you.' Ahhhh, Korea. You have to stick in cancer somewhere.







AWWWW. She fakes sleep:



So:









'I love you' Awww. Woobie.





But she writes him a farewell note and leaves in the morning because...we need angst.



Make that ANGST.



Hot angst:



North Korean goons do not take kindly to his efforts to see her:







And they kick him, too. Now, that feels more like a Jo In-Sung type story:



While she watches:



And Dangermousie revels:





Mmmm. ANGST. I approve.



She says she doesn't love him and never did. Ahhh, drama cliches, I love you.



'What is this, Something Happened in Bali?'



Am I a bad person? Because he looks hot:



And they have to drag him away:



And she is upset:



Hurt/comfort FTW!













Clutching!



Seriously, I love this scene:



Noble woobiness. Or maybe just a sore jaw.



'Take me away, why can't you say that to me' type stuff. Always a go-getter, our heroine:





And they run from the North Korean goons:









Beaten up and on the run. Could it get any better?







Why, yes it could:







Inevitable end to the little escapade:







TIME JUMP! He is still looking for her though.





I am surprised to see she is not shot or is in a camp.



She burns his pic:



And so does he:





Crying, harmonica-playing boys. Oh, Korea.





Another time jump! Of hotness.





He is giving a lecture in North Korea because he is now a famous archeologist. We also enter the ending part of the movie which broke my brain. I shall overlook the fact that she should be shot and not in Pyongyang and that N. Koreans would never let him into the country (he is lucky he isn't rotting away in S. Korean prison or is dead). Why am I overlooking it? Because JIS is wearing wire-rimmed glasses.



She is in the audience:



And he says he is looking for her. At this point, the guards should drag him away but not thinking about the implausibility because...suit:



He has excavated her shoe! That she lost when they were trapped! Thus tying it to Cinderella!









Kneeling is pretty damn awesome:



He asks the Great Leader's permission to marry her. This is officially the biggest WTF ending ever.



But who the hell cares:



Not she, definitely:











And not me:











THE END



So, in summary: Jo In-Sung is much too good for this movie, but this fangirl is happy he made it.

I leave you with the kissing scene:

Comments

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Wow. Not all the pics showed up in my comp since there are so many. I probably need to refresh or something :D But the kissing scenes? So totally got me. I'm watching this definitely! Kim Sa Rang - the girl I wanted to strangle from ALTK right? She's pretty. And I also recognise Vaguely Amusing Secondary Character as the secondary OTP from Dal Ja's Spring ^^

PS. Non-related. I watched Kim Rae Won's Mr. Socrates (very hot!) last night and it seems that the TPTB of The Legend decided to use like, 3 of the actors from Mr. Socrates as main actors. The one playing Guh Mool elder (Oh Kwang Rok), Jumuchi, and Ho Gae! I was like "Hang on... is this a Legend cast reunion or something?" but then I checked that this movie was released in 2005 which means that it was probably done before The Legend even started. How funny :D Too bad they missed out on Kim Rae Won (very hot but maybe not just cut out for a period piece, LOL).

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooh, what is Mr. Socrates about? I love KRW!

She might be, I wondered why she looked familiar. The kissing was pretty yummy. JIS seems to be a good on-screen kisser from this and ADC and Bali.

[miss-dian.livejournal.com]

Oh, Mr. Socrates has Kim Rae Won all tough and bloody and drool-worthy. He gets trained in a "school" by a mafia gang so that he can enter the police and become their mole. It's a bit like Infernal Affairs except with way, way less angst and plot but more fighting and Kim Rae Won looking hot. Not excellent but if you need a babe fest, this is it :D Only thing is that this film doesn't have any romance. No girl at all, I swear.

A very eloquent review can be found here: http://www.beyondhollywood.com/mr-socrates-2005-movie-review/

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Oooooh, thanks for the link.

With hot boys, I don't need a girl :)

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Mmm... sounds angsty and yet 'wait-what?'y. May I ask where you found it? I've been looking for it.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

I couldn't find it anywhere for download so I bought it on ebay for under $5 plus shipping costs. The DVD is good quality and the subs are excellent (dual Cantonese/Korean audiot and Chinese/English subs).

I have to warn that the first half an hour or so is pure silly comedy that isn't really my thing. It's only after that where is gets mushy and the last half that's angsty. Being me, I focused on those parts :)

It's not a great movie at all, and largely works as well as it does because JIS is incredibly good, but I was entertained by it. And certainly, it's hotness-fest.

[walkwithheroes.livejournal.com]

Thanks for letting me know. If I ever see it for cheap, I might pick it up - if only to see JIS angst then get a happy ending.

[shinystory.livejournal.com]

Oh my gosh. I couldn't get past the "Jo In-sung looks good with the gun" phase. :)

Thanks for sharing!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

That movie really was good for my shallow side :)

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

I like JIS in Bali so I would probably watch this :) Have you watched "The Classic"? It's a really good movie, plus JIS is there but he's not the lead :)

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

No, haven't seen it. What is it about?

[prettierdanpink.livejournal.com]

Here's a short review of the classic: *click* :)

Also, this is an MV for the movie. :D

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

Wow...he's hot (especially with those glasses...). That's all I can really say. Thanks for the picspam.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Awesome icon.

Really, this movie wasn't that great or anything, but hormonally? Right on the money :)

[wistfulmemory.livejournal.com]

Thanks. I think it's appropriate for posts like this one. :)

Well, I appreciate seeing the pictures as I'm not one for angsty, slit-your-wrists dramas, so this is probably the only way I'll ever see JIS.

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

He was in Shoot for the Star and Spring Days both of which had happy endings but I haven't seen it yet.

Bali is totally excellent though. Like a way darker Hanadan.

[kitkat-cat.livejournal.com]

At first, I was put off by the pic...then i read 'goof-ball of korean FBI' quickly followed by 'stern daughter...north korean...ministry of war' and i am sold!

Will hop over to crunchyroll to investigate further!

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

It's goofy in the first half and emo in the second. Sort of bipolar :)

[dissuade.livejournal.com]

Oh it sounds so wtf but angsty&loveable at the same time. Haha. Is that even possible? :D

I'll probably go check this out when I need a little chick flick for myself ;D

[dangermousie.livejournal.com]

Yeah, it's basically mindless fun.