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 A Prejudice Breaker: A Moment to Remember
I don't know why, but when Far East cinema is mentioned, I generally think of ninjas or warriors. Maybe Jackie Chan planted that idea with his enormous popularity - by the alternative, or acrobatic, fighting style he uses in his action movies. Now, I'm not the kind of person who likes romantic movies very much. So, when I heard about the film, "A Moment to Remember," which is both South Korean and a romantic drama, I wasn't really eager to watch, but gave it a chance anyway. It started out fairly appealing and I was intrigued enough to find out what would happen, so I continued to watch. Without giving too much away, one of my favorite scenes - involving cola - made me laugh pretty hard. After that, the movie turned into a pure romantic comedy. The story was pretty ordinary - a rich girl and a poor guy - but the way it was presented was fantastic, with great attention paid to little details. Then, after loading up its audience with romanticism, the movie changed its path extraordinarily.
Why this movie is so special for me is a bit of a mystery - it's just the way it goes. The characters and events seemed very natural. I felt as if I were watching a biography. Love is not the focus of the film so much as the redefinition of ones lifestyle that results from it. As the couple makes their future plan, you can easily observe how an arrogant man turns into a thoughtful person, while a free young lady learns how to be both a housewife and a businesswoman at the same time. This "evolution" occurs without being forced; it is a natural change that happens in their lives. They start to work in harmony with each other, and learn to cope with their struggles by using their love. At first, they take this as a new game, but as the game becomes more challenging, one side chooses to withdraw for the sake of the other - the choice to get hurt instead of hurting the other.
This film is a tear jerker, but not because of pity, but because of the strength of love it portrays. It also has an underlying message that can make you rethink your relationships with the special people in your own life. I know that the film completely made me rethink my view of Asian Cinema, and that is why I call it a "Prejudice Breaker."
I want to finish with a quote that that impressed me a lot. Roughly translated into English from Korean, it is, "Forgiving means that you are giving a smaller room in your heart for your anger."
Hope you all have smaller rooms for your anger.
Özlem Erdem (IE/IV)
oerdem@ug.bilkent.edu.tr
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