Windstruck

Kyung-jin, a rookie police officer, and Myung-woo, a teacher, meet by chance during an operation. The first half tells the story of a relationship that begins with a comic chase. In the second half the film changes direction abruptly and what is left is grief. It is not interested in romantic comedy. It is interested in going on after a loss: she blames herself, and the film opens a kind of fantastical interval so that she can forgive herself. The form splits in two: high-tempo comedy first, melodrama second. That sharp turn was a habit of Korean romantic cinema at the time and is the most criticised thing about the film. Kwak Jae-yong directed. He had already had a large success with My Sassy Girl, and this was constructed as though it took place in the same universe: Gianna Jun plays a similar character and the film was read in the shadow of the earlier one. Jang Hyuk is the male lead. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean romantic melodrama and endings that make them cry. Who it is not for: anyone wanting tonal consistency. The film changes genre entirely halfway through and pushes the emotional pressure to the limit.