Well, the crying part is nothing new when I watch romantic movies, but the two recent movies I watched felt like those stories where one just can't not imagine themselves in the protagonist's shoes and cry on their behalf.
I had been exposed to South Korean cinema much before Parasite was a phenomenon, through films like Train to Busan and Snowpiercer. But then I saw a few YouTube videos regarding the recently released movie called 'Past lives'. It is a romantic drama, showing the journey of two childhood friends, where the girl emigrates from Seoul to Canada to then New York. Without giving much spoilers, I'll just describe the parts I think made the plot very relatable. The girl, Nora, falls in love with the guy, Hae Sung, on Skype, 12 years after she had left him due to her emigration. But here's the problem, Nora is ambitious. She thinks she's being held back in her New York Journey, chasing a Pulitzer, by this old stupid love of hers. Selfishly, she decides not to talk to him for some time, cuts him off her life, and starts focusing on her journey. The last phase of the movie is when she is married to an American writer, living an ordinary life in New York City, and Hae Sung comes to visit her, simply to get the closure that he wants. Over the two days, they had immense fun; he even met her husband, and admitted that he didn't know why so much love existed inside him for her. Eventually, of course, there has to be a goodbye. Here's where the movie is at its peak. Two childhood friends turned lovers, who weren't destined to be together, standing on a New York City pavement, waiting for an Uber. They hugged, and that was the only mutual moment of physical intimacy they had, probably in their entire lives. While Hae Sung was clear that he loved her, and was there just to let her go, Nora probably didn't even realise it until she hugged him. Hae Sung leaves, and Nora returns to her apartment crying. One small line that Hae Sung said struck me the most. Here's the line:
In the end, love does become an act of letting go, doesn't it?
That's what brings me to the second movie - On your wedding day, another South Korean romantic comedy. It was an extremely interesting and funny movie, showing how an adolescent school romance drives a boy to end up in the same university as his talented girlfriend, only to find she's dating someone else. Eventually, when they do get close again, he saves her from an accident but gets injured himself. What does he lose? His physical education finals, so he has to repeat a year. What does he gain? Her.
Initially, he was happy. Those few scenes that showed their blossoming love were among the happiest scenes I have watched on a screen for a very long time, but the guy Hwang woo-yeon, doesn't pass his finals with the grade required to become a teacher, his dream. Soon, his job search turns into a struggle, and the girl, Hwan Seung-hee overhears him ranting to one of his friends that he might regret ever running into her again in college in case his life turns into a failure. There was no going back for them, Hwan Seung-hee was too hurt to stay, and she left to chase her dream in Belgium. Much later, she visits him at a school where he's teaching (yes, he succeeded), to inform him of her wedding. Hwang woo-yeon is obviously hurt, but asks her to send a wedding invite. When the invite comes, he is absolutely shattered, and decides not to attend it, until he finds this:
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