In the first 32 minutes of the film the protagonist Sang-Min behaves with two radically opposite personalities. While visiting Finland, she impulsively takes a car trip with a complete stranger, then has consensual sex with him without a twinge of conscience toward her husband. This reckless, amoral adventure with a quiet man gives her a sense of calm for the first time in years.
Back home in Seoul, together with her supportive husband she is selflessly devoted to their their son who suffers from severe autism, and she is CEO-manager of a large boutique. Beneath her well-ordered surface, this wonder woman suppresses a colossal burden of pent-up anxiety, in part because she refuses professional help for her very difficult son.
The film traces her struggle for calm and self-fulfillment. She gradually falls under the spell of a lover who takes her outside her hectic family and professional life. When they are together her sense of self is nourished within their private cocoon of warmth and tranquility. Soon she takes a huge risk against her better judgment, leaving her family to be with him. Her vacillating prince immediately abandons her in favor of his family. She is left entirely alone, no lover, no family, no dream.
This film warns of the potential folly in abandoning a salvageable relationship. It is tragic that an accomplished and thoughtful woman with a loving family could impulsively sacrifice everything she holds dear, in reckless pursuit of a dead-end escapist fantasy with an unstable, depressed stranger. Such was the depth of her need to recover her neglected self and live in peace. The ending suggests she will find her way back to husband and son, hopefully wiser, stronger and better able to integrate all that she is.
This film is a character study. A simple plot about motivations and consequences of adultery is elevated to a higher level through psychological detail. Jeon Do-yeon is at her considerable best as she sensitively portrays the plight of a mother whose all-consuming devotion to her son has robbed her of herself. She enlightens and moves us with well-tempered expressions of feeling. Technically the film is fine. One weakness is that we learn almost nothing of her relationship with her husband. Another weakness is music. We hear minor variations of the love melody repeated endlessly, it becomes a distraction that often misses the mark. The great strength of this film is the resonance of its message: contentment depends on integrating all that one is, so that life can be full and satisfying. This film helps us ponder that truth.
Back home in Seoul, together with her supportive husband she is selflessly devoted to their their son who suffers from severe autism, and she is CEO-manager of a large boutique. Beneath her well-ordered surface, this wonder woman suppresses a colossal burden of pent-up anxiety, in part because she refuses professional help for her very difficult son.
The film traces her struggle for calm and self-fulfillment. She gradually falls under the spell of a lover who takes her outside her hectic family and professional life. When they are together her sense of self is nourished within their private cocoon of warmth and tranquility. Soon she takes a huge risk against her better judgment, leaving her family to be with him. Her vacillating prince immediately abandons her in favor of his family. She is left entirely alone, no lover, no family, no dream.
This film warns of the potential folly in abandoning a salvageable relationship. It is tragic that an accomplished and thoughtful woman with a loving family could impulsively sacrifice everything she holds dear, in reckless pursuit of a dead-end escapist fantasy with an unstable, depressed stranger. Such was the depth of her need to recover her neglected self and live in peace. The ending suggests she will find her way back to husband and son, hopefully wiser, stronger and better able to integrate all that she is.
This film is a character study. A simple plot about motivations and consequences of adultery is elevated to a higher level through psychological detail. Jeon Do-yeon is at her considerable best as she sensitively portrays the plight of a mother whose all-consuming devotion to her son has robbed her of herself. She enlightens and moves us with well-tempered expressions of feeling. Technically the film is fine. One weakness is that we learn almost nothing of her relationship with her husband. Another weakness is music. We hear minor variations of the love melody repeated endlessly, it becomes a distraction that often misses the mark. The great strength of this film is the resonance of its message: contentment depends on integrating all that one is, so that life can be full and satisfying. This film helps us ponder that truth.