Yeopgijeogin geunyeo (My Sassy Girl)

Background
Movies from Hong Kong became popular in the late 80's here in Sweden. Japanese and Chinese films have become increasingly popular in the last five or so years. And now a new Asian country is beginning to make a name for itself all over the world - South Korea. We have already seen the success of the Pang brothers, with films like "The Eye," "Bangkok Haunted" and "Abnormal Beauty" - but Korea can do more than horror. To prove my point, I present to you "My Sassy Girl", written and directed by the talented Jae-young Kwak. It is based on a true story, though you'd probably never guess it.

Story
Kyun-woo is a bored engineering student who one evening is on his way to his aunt’s house to meet a girl she thinks he will like. He’s not exactly thrilled about it.

As he stands there, waiting for his train, he sees a girl, obviously very drunk, wobbling at the edge of the platform. Just as she’s about to fall in front of the train, Kyun-woo pulls her back. She says nothing, but gets on the same train as him. On the train, she is loud and obnoxious, and eventually throws up - on a passenger, nonetheless, and passes out - and as she does so, she looks at Kyun-Woo and blurts out "honey". Kyun-woo is thus mistaken for her boyfriend, and is forced to take care of her. With her unconscious body on his back, he gets off the train to look for a place to get rid of her. He thinks about leaving her on a bench at the station, but he is after all a good guy, so he returns and picks her up again. Still carrying her, he ends up in a motel, where he is eventually tear-gassed by the police, who think that he is a rapist, and ends up in a prison cell.

Well, eventually Kyun-woo and the girl - whose name we never learn - become boyfriend and girlfriend or something similar; their relationship is weird, to say the least, and so is the girl, who bosses poor Kyun-Woo - and just about everyone else - around, much to his embarrasment. Her favorite phrase - which she uses a lot - is "do you wanna die?" She says it when poor Kyun-Woo orders anything but coffee to drink, when he not immediately wants to read the wacky movie scripts she's written, and so forth. Still, underneath the rough exterior you can tell that she has genuine affection for Kyun-Woo, but is unable to express it. They end up in weird situation after weird situation - nearly drowning, being held at gunpoint in a closed amusement park as soldiers look for a deserter - and there is rarely a dull moment.

Yet between all the wacky escapades, there are moments that are just romantic and very, very sweet, and most of them are in the second part of the film, where we really begin to understand that the girl's rough exterior exists to hide her vulnerability. This is where the movie switches gears and really shines.

Verdict
This is a wacky but yet very warm romantic comedy. The greatest thing about it is that director Gwak Jae-Yong has managed to create a film that in a heartbeat can transform itself from a wacky comedy to a serious drama, and back again just as quickly. It is one of the best, if not the very best, Korean films I've ever seen.

I really can’t praise “My Sassy Girl” enough. Not being a huge fan of romantic comedies, this was indeed a breath of fresh air into a genre that much too often stagnates and finds itself going back to the same old Hollywood-clichés over and over again. Director Jae-Yong wisely decided to put all the melodramatic scenes towards the end of the film. This gives the viewer a chance to get to know the characters, to get to like them and actually care about them. And if I had to pick just one reason why you should give "My Sassy Girl" a chance, I wouldn't hesitate. Ji-hyun Jun, who plays The Girl, is the star of this movie. In fact, she so impressed the director with her performance that he wrote an entire script just for her, resulting in "Windstruck", which will be reviewed here some time in the future, hopefully.

I really can't recommend this film enough. It will put a smile on your face and a tear in your eye. Guaranteed.

By the way. "My Sassy Girl" is now being re-made, probably for the American market, by Gurinder Chadha, the director of "Bend It Like Beckham" and "Bride & Prejudice". I'll give you 10 to 1 that it will be inferior to the point of being unwatchable if you've seen the original. Remember where you read it first.