Il Mare (2000)
Directed by Lee Hyun Seung
Written by Yeo-Ji-na, Kim Eun Jung, Kim Mi-Yeong, Won Tae-yeon
Starring Jun Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-Jae
Release Date September 9th, 2000
Published 2004
This summer Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock reunite, for the first time since Speed, for a sci-fi romance called The Lake House. I say it is a sci fi romance but in fact it's not typical sci fi. The Lake House is a remake of a 2000 film made in Korea called Il Mare and it's a time spanning romance that matches two lost souls through the fabric of time. I have not seen The Lake House, which does not come out until June, but I can tell you that Il Mare is a fascinating, delicate and beautifully told romance that if well adapted seems a surefire romantic hit.
Kim (Ji Sung Hyun) is moving out of her beautiful home by the sea. Leaving a forwarding message in the mailbox for the home's next tenant, Kim hopes for a letter to arrive from a former lover who has moved to America.
Kim returns to the house, it's called Il Mare (The Sea) because of its location, to find a letter but not the one she has hoped for. The letter she finds is from Han (Jung Jae Li) who claims to have no idea who she is or why she would leave such a strange message in his mailbox.
Why is the message strange? According to Han no one has lived in Il Mare before he moved in and that her letter is posted two years ahead in time. Thinking Han is messing with her Kim begins corresponding with him. Early jokes turn to serious discussion as Kim and Han slowly come to realize that they are indeed separated by two years in time and the mailbox is somehow connecting them.
Il Mare has a few nearly fatal flaws in it's sci fi setup. For instance, one of the characters decision not to search for the other is a contrivance of the plot, and only a contrivance. The decision is made nakedly to prolong the movie. There are other little touches that don't work but they are offset, a little, by what does work. For all the plot contrivances, Il Mare still manages to be hypnotic, romantic and enchanting. Both actors are expressive and committed to this unusual romance and their connection and chemistry, communicated often in split screen scenes, is palpable.
Hopefully when The Lake House is released this summer the writer, director and producers can work out the story's logic problems because if they do there is a chance this could be one of those great movie romances, even if it does star Keanu Reeves. Il Mare demonstrates the wondrous possibility of the story and the storytelling.
