The Classic is a Korean film released in 2003 and directed by Kwak Jae-yong from South Korea. The film is originally a melodrama but also combines different genres in an apparent attempt to attract a wider audience. And while the title may suggest it’s a musical film or something of that sort, it is actually two love stories in one. The first love story takes us back to the 60s, whereas the second brings us to 2003. While the film has some stunning cinematography, good acting and classical music score, the storyline on the other hand takes unusual twists towards the end and tends to drag before its final resolution. Away from recapping the events of the film which I recommend for others to watch, this review will focus more on the film’s technicalities.
One thing the audience will notice instantly is the amazing landscapes and the South Korean panoramas that are scattered around the film. The focus on extreme to wide shots and the extensive use of dolly and crane shots through out the film gives it more cinematic weight and more emotional value. Accompanied almost all the time with an original redistributed classical music piece of the Baroque period - Canon in D which was written by a German composer in 1600s - the film gradually turns into a melodramatic love story involving two different generations.
While the story is mainly a love triangle that involves three people in the sixties and later jumps to 2003 through the narration to reveal another love triangle, many comic scenes especially at the beginning and the middle of the film were apparently included to make the audience laugh. The inclusion of such comic shots in different situations in the film takes away from the emotional essence of the romantic story which is not by any level a romantic comedy. However, as the film runs for over two hours, the usage of such comic clichés could be justified as necessary to keep the audience in their seats at times.
Beside the inclusion of such comic scenes, the film boosts a different genre added to its storyline. The seven minutes war scene which could be described as a modified copy of one of Forrest Gump’s war scenes does not contribute with anything important to the general atmosphere of the film as intended. If this high budget scene was intended originally to portray the passage of time or how the protagonist lost his eyesight risking his life by going behind the enemy lines to get back his lover’s necklace, it would have been better to compress the scene or turn it into a montage of overlapping war shots with the right kind of music similar to the short demonstration scene.
As an editor, I’m always on the lookout for what I call “time bridge” techniques. The Classic used one of these editing techniques to connect the past with the present as the camera dollies in or zooms in on a black and white picture which turns gradually into colour and becomes alive, taking the audience back to that certain period of time. The editing in this film was simple at times involving cuts and dissolves, but tended to use very short medium shots between over the shoulder shots that were irritable and confusing.
One of the noticeable scenes in the film involves a walk on the wooden bridge at night where the old lovers encounter fireflies at the climax of the film. The use of the crane in that shot added to the general beauty of the place and stressed the purity of the two lovers. The scene was so intense yet simple that it was repeated once again but this time with the other couple in a different time. The repetition of that particular scene symbolically completes the love circle that was left broken in the past.
The film in its entirety may be a series of clichés, but the combined elements of emotional acting and cinematography plus the usage of irrelevant comic situations and war fighting makes it suitable for social consumption and a winning horse at the box office especially among romantic students of moviegoers. After all who would resist watching a three in one movie?!
Written by Sam Meddaka as film review for 417 digital media class.
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| The Classic Poster |
While the story is mainly a love triangle that involves three people in the sixties and later jumps to 2003 through the narration to reveal another love triangle, many comic scenes especially at the beginning and the middle of the film were apparently included to make the audience laugh. The inclusion of such comic shots in different situations in the film takes away from the emotional essence of the romantic story which is not by any level a romantic comedy. However, as the film runs for over two hours, the usage of such comic clichés could be justified as necessary to keep the audience in their seats at times.
Beside the inclusion of such comic scenes, the film boosts a different genre added to its storyline. The seven minutes war scene which could be described as a modified copy of one of Forrest Gump’s war scenes does not contribute with anything important to the general atmosphere of the film as intended. If this high budget scene was intended originally to portray the passage of time or how the protagonist lost his eyesight risking his life by going behind the enemy lines to get back his lover’s necklace, it would have been better to compress the scene or turn it into a montage of overlapping war shots with the right kind of music similar to the short demonstration scene.
As an editor, I’m always on the lookout for what I call “time bridge” techniques. The Classic used one of these editing techniques to connect the past with the present as the camera dollies in or zooms in on a black and white picture which turns gradually into colour and becomes alive, taking the audience back to that certain period of time. The editing in this film was simple at times involving cuts and dissolves, but tended to use very short medium shots between over the shoulder shots that were irritable and confusing.
One of the noticeable scenes in the film involves a walk on the wooden bridge at night where the old lovers encounter fireflies at the climax of the film. The use of the crane in that shot added to the general beauty of the place and stressed the purity of the two lovers. The scene was so intense yet simple that it was repeated once again but this time with the other couple in a different time. The repetition of that particular scene symbolically completes the love circle that was left broken in the past.
The film in its entirety may be a series of clichés, but the combined elements of emotional acting and cinematography plus the usage of irrelevant comic situations and war fighting makes it suitable for social consumption and a winning horse at the box office especially among romantic students of moviegoers. After all who would resist watching a three in one movie?!
Written by Sam Meddaka as film review for 417 digital media class.
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