On my previous post, Methodology in Working pt.3, I was mentioning about how a background can affect a frame, and also a story. This is a scene from a Korean movie called A Moment to Remember (2004). Just a personal statement about this movie, its the very movie that sparks my interest in Korean cinema and got me obsessed of exploring what South Korean movies have to offer. Some other great ones would be The Host (2007), Old Boy (2003), My Sassy Girl (2001), I Saw The Devil (2010), Miracle In Cell No.7 (2013), The Thieves (2012), and many more. I believe a setting is something that creates the theme of the movie. For instance, Miracle In Cell No.7 is a story about a mentally ill father who was mistakenly involved in a murder and rape of a child and the love of his adorable little daughter. The story mainly takes place in one setting; the jail or anything related to criminology such as in a court.
Other than that, settings can create emotions, such as this movie, A Moment to Remember. It is basically about this young lady suffers from Alzheimer’s disease and has a hard time remembering anything even what is important to her such as her family and friends. This is the scene where she finally remembers after a long struggle and all because she was guided into a place where she first meets her husband. The can of coke is also another subject that triggers her memory. This also involves their first meeting because when she first meets her husband, she mistakenly took his coke instead of the one she bought. I shall not spoil this but this is all you should know. In short, it involves the can of coke, and the wiping gesture before opening it and a cashier taking out a wallet. Fundamentally, repetition of scene. Same settings and props is capable of triggering audiences emotion. Another thing I would like to expand would be the weather. Their first meeting was at night. It has this feeling of darkness and mystery. It feels cold and does not seem romantic at all. However in this scene, same props, same settings but a different tone of environment of weather. A warm tone to warm the viewers heart and bright background lightens up everything, everything in her head.
P.s – Its a very good movie overall although it is quite slow in the introduction. But this is truly a masterpiece. I really hope Hollywood does not remake this..