Horse Film
Published on | Source
by Ji-Young Chae
"When I first saw you, you were a little girl wearing a violet in your hair…"
As this lyric of "Violet" sung by Cho Dong-jin goes, a horse saw a girl and the girl saw the horse. The horse was the other self of the girl. They grew up together. "Lump of Sugar", which will be released on August 10, is the first Korean movie to show the friendship between a human and a horse. The movie is a Korean-style horse movie, which is typically Hollywood material.
Si-eun (Lim Soo-jung) who was born at a ranch in Jeju Island, had a special friendship with a horse named Janggun (or "General" in English). Janggun died when she gave birth to Cheondung (or "Thunder" in English), who grows up with Si-eun like real brother and sister. Lump of Sugar is the horse's favorite snack and a special medium of love between them. Since Cheondung is sold abroad, they are separated. Two years later, Si-eun, who hopes to become a jockey, meets Cheondung again.
Anyone can predict how the story will unfold afterwards.
Like a movie line, "What makes the horse move is not the whip but the jockey's heart", this movie is about a beautiful story with the good girl who always says right words. This is a movie made honestly without playing tricks, but at the same time, it has a self-evident and hackneyed plot. There are villains who bully the heroine, but she adamantly fights against all challenges, dismissing the rule of the game that says, "To dismount competitors is the way to survive".
The story shows a clear good-and-evil contrast and follows clear-cut distress and troubles, which leaves the moviegoers little to think about. Even though its simplicity does not draw favor from every audience, it will force them into weeping eventually. For example, when Si-eun and Cheondung reunite, the coincidence comes as ridiculous to the audience who will end up shedding tears at the scene when they look desperately for each other. Yet, it fails to touch the deepest part of the heart.
The beautiful scenery of Jeju Island is the gift of the film. The screen is full of green and soil colors. When Si-eun leans against the horse, falling asleep with the sea as background, or when she avoids rain under the horse, the scene is quite a picture. Breakneck speed at the horse track against the backdrop of a still landscape also stands out, which makes the efforts made by the movie team who made special trailer and shot just one meter away from a sprinting horse worthwhile. This gave focus to the film, which feels slow overall.
Im Su-jeong acted smoothly a courageous and bright Si-eun. Critics say it is a "one-top" movie, depending solely on an actress, but in fact the movie is "two-top", since the horse is a hero of the movie as well. Cheondung is expert at facial acting, proving his talent as a winner that beat 1,000 competitors. In fact, five similar-looking horses divided the scenes involving Cheondung in the movie. Of course, the horse has slim and shiny long legs, which draws exclamations from people who see them, but the overwhelming part is his always watery eyes.
The last scene of the movie, which shows a close-up of the horse' wet eyes shining like a star reflected by bright lights of the racing track, makes the audience react. Those eyes will never lie. As Si-eun reproaches her competitor who broke the rules, saying, "You are worse than an animal horse", this movie seems to teach us that animals are better than humans too often. Rated for ages 12 and up.
"When I first saw you, you were a little girl wearing a violet in your hair…"
As this lyric of "Violet" sung by Cho Dong-jin goes, a horse saw a girl and the girl saw the horse. The horse was the other self of the girl. They grew up together. "Lump of Sugar", which will be released on August 10, is the first Korean movie to show the friendship between a human and a horse. The movie is a Korean-style horse movie, which is typically Hollywood material.
Si-eun (Lim Soo-jung) who was born at a ranch in Jeju Island, had a special friendship with a horse named Janggun (or "General" in English). Janggun died when she gave birth to Cheondung (or "Thunder" in English), who grows up with Si-eun like real brother and sister. Lump of Sugar is the horse's favorite snack and a special medium of love between them. Since Cheondung is sold abroad, they are separated. Two years later, Si-eun, who hopes to become a jockey, meets Cheondung again.
Anyone can predict how the story will unfold afterwards.
Like a movie line, "What makes the horse move is not the whip but the jockey's heart", this movie is about a beautiful story with the good girl who always says right words. This is a movie made honestly without playing tricks, but at the same time, it has a self-evident and hackneyed plot. There are villains who bully the heroine, but she adamantly fights against all challenges, dismissing the rule of the game that says, "To dismount competitors is the way to survive".
The story shows a clear good-and-evil contrast and follows clear-cut distress and troubles, which leaves the moviegoers little to think about. Even though its simplicity does not draw favor from every audience, it will force them into weeping eventually. For example, when Si-eun and Cheondung reunite, the coincidence comes as ridiculous to the audience who will end up shedding tears at the scene when they look desperately for each other. Yet, it fails to touch the deepest part of the heart.
The beautiful scenery of Jeju Island is the gift of the film. The screen is full of green and soil colors. When Si-eun leans against the horse, falling asleep with the sea as background, or when she avoids rain under the horse, the scene is quite a picture. Breakneck speed at the horse track against the backdrop of a still landscape also stands out, which makes the efforts made by the movie team who made special trailer and shot just one meter away from a sprinting horse worthwhile. This gave focus to the film, which feels slow overall.
Im Su-jeong acted smoothly a courageous and bright Si-eun. Critics say it is a "one-top" movie, depending solely on an actress, but in fact the movie is "two-top", since the horse is a hero of the movie as well. Cheondung is expert at facial acting, proving his talent as a winner that beat 1,000 competitors. In fact, five similar-looking horses divided the scenes involving Cheondung in the movie. Of course, the horse has slim and shiny long legs, which draws exclamations from people who see them, but the overwhelming part is his always watery eyes.
The last scene of the movie, which shows a close-up of the horse' wet eyes shining like a star reflected by bright lights of the racing track, makes the audience react. Those eyes will never lie. As Si-eun reproaches her competitor who broke the rules, saying, "You are worse than an animal horse", this movie seems to teach us that animals are better than humans too often. Rated for ages 12 and up.
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