Secret: Untold Melody

A pianist has not been able to play for a long time. He was gifted, his way was open, and at some point he stopped; he cannot quite say why himself. One day he hears music. The person playing is a young woman and the piece is not familiar; it is not recorded anywhere. He tries to find her. The two meet and begin playing together. Her story opens as the narrative proceeds, and it becomes clear why the music he heard exists nowhere. Seo You-min directs. Doh Kyung-soo takes the lead; Won Jin-ah and Shin Ye-eun are in the cast. It is a Korean production. Doh Kyung-soo is known as a musician and has worked steadily as an actor in recent years. The idea it carries is the relation of music to memory, and the narrative builds that directly as a mystery. The piano scenes are at the centre and separate work was done for the performances. The form proceeds in the known shape of Korean romantic drama and the emotional peaks fall where expected. Its limit is the script; the solution to the mystery can be guessed early and the last section runs long. The photography is soft and the colour warm; the narrative is visually consistent. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean romantic drama and narratives grounded in music. Who it is not for: it is predictable, the emotional register high, and the pace slow.