[movie 2000] La Belle 미인

La Belle 미인 (2000)

Starring: Oh Ji-Ho, Lee Ji-Hyeon

Director: Yeo Gyun-Dong

Genre: Romance, Erotic

Runtime: 90mins

Production: KiHweck Shidae

Distribution: Cineclick Asia

Language: Korean

Country: South Korea

On one gloomy rainy night, a writer encounters an unexpected visit paid by a woman of his past. Seeking solitude from her ex-lover, she finds solace in this gentleman; and from that day on, they cherish every inch of each other's body and indulge in ecstacy until her forbidden past is gradually revealed.

On one gloomy night a writer encounters an unexpected paid visit by a woman of his past. From that day on, they cherish each other's body and divulge in ecstasy, although the man finds himself becoming slowly obsessed with her with every minute they spend in his room. But whenever the woman receives a phone call no matter the hour, she always bolts out of the door leaving the man behind utterly confused. While having no clue as to what she does outside, the man patiently waits and jots down his growing feelings for her in his journal. As this continues on day after day, their erotic relationship becomes threatened one day when he discovers that the mysterious phone call turns out to be her ex-lover who constantly abuses her whenever they meet. Set out to keep their obsessive relationship in tact, he recklessly goes out to seek revenge for his beautiful lover.

Adapted from the director's own novel, "Body", La Belle's captivating expressions remind us of Roland Barthes with phrases like "I'm in pain with her". A single subject and an object, or existence and absence...

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Wow this cover so hot!! maybe this movie so very romantic

^ Not really. I read somewhere that this movie is X Rated with steaming hot love making scenes.

man anyone have any links for this to dl?

it has a lot of naked scenes.. but nothing too graphic. its more artsy than erotic actually.

(saw it accidentaly on TV one night) i didn't really understand what it's about. there were a lot of silent moments.

Hmm..can only say this is a beautiful tastefully done artsy flick. Oh JiHo at his sexiest form..

Oh Ji Ho is damn sexy. I am wondering whether each sex scene is real because it seems real but the distance between their body is quite a bit. So how can they do it when the thing not in touch?

what's the name of the song she plays in his apartment...?

Found this very nice article of La Belle by harusame from http://www.gotterdammerung.org/film/reviews/l/la-belle.html

La Belle (Mi in, 2000)

Yeo Kyun-Dong

Korea 91 min, color, Korean (English subtitles) Review © 2001 Branislav L. Slantchev

This is an odd one. It is tempting to classify La Belle as an artsy soft-core outing. Certainly, the plethora of glimpses of the two leads' naked bodies, together and separately, would qualify it as such. The artsy feel comes from the meticulous photography, all nicely done and in good taste. On the other hand, I could not help but feel that the film offers more than the rancid tale of the two star-crossed lovers. On the surface, the story is simple enough. A woman (Lee Ji-Hyun) literally drops into the life of a reclusive writer (Oh Ji-Ho). She seduces him and he gradually begins falling in love with her until his feelings develop into an obsession with her but especially her body. As he craves her love, she continues to meet with her old boyfriend, whom she claims to love but who abuses her. But was that the entire story?

La Belle is a film about waiting. The first establishing shots of the film open with a slow camera movement toward a small desk with a writer's notebook open in the middle. As the camera peers at the pages, the door bell rings, and she returns. We are not told where she has been or why she has left. We are told that she has returned. Ji-Ho does not say much but lets her in, letting her take over his life with her constant appetite for attention and his love. Yet she gives little in return. Oh, she is willing enough to have sex with him, but one can sense the lack of emotional closeness. Ji-Ho is aware of this and it tears him apart yet he cannot resist the closeness of Ji-Huyn's body, and he falls a helpless victim to her alluring charms. He hates himself for being weak, however, on the single occasion that he does voice his torment, he begins regretting it instantaneously. He is more afraid of losing her presence than "sharing" her affections. He contents himself with having her through the day and sometimes night, and so he endures her leaves in silent pain. In one great scene, she has just returned from a tryst with her ex, and cuddles in Ji-Ho's arms. All he can bring himself to do is shout a silent scream. The story is then about the journey toward freedom from his weakness. Maybe he can persuade her to stay if the rival is eliminated? Or maybe this freedom is unattainable while she exists?

On the other hand, Ji-Hyun also waits. She is waiting for the other to love her and accept her. She in unhappy in her sordid love affair with the writer, she frequently contemplates suicide. She tries to repulse him, his weakness is revolting to her. Yet, she cannot help but return, frequently drunk, sometimes badly beaten, to him, her surrogate lover. She makes love to him with abandon trying to forget who he is and where she is. She cannot and she is reduced to wait for her cell phone to ring and for the other to call her. In that, she is simply treated as a call-girl, except she pays for it with emotional distress. She seeks validation in his gaze but his meek love cannot give her what she cannot have with the other.

In this coupling, both sides are weak, dependent, and unhappy. Her refuge is in his arms, his shelter is in his imagination. He frequently dreams of another girl, her look-alike, but very much unlike her. He waits for her to change, afraid that she might not return one day. Slowly but surely his strength wears down, leaving him more exposed to her distance, and more vulnerable after each time she returns wasted. He kills the other and for a while it appears that the two might have a happy existence together. She seems to have forgotten about her ex and for the first time the two appear genuinely happy. Yet when she learns about the death, she is distraught, she walks into the ocean (does not drown), and then leaves him again. And then she returns... Maybe it is not about the other, it has never been about the other?

In the final scene, the camera slowly pulls away from the notebook, returning to its initial position. The door bell rings. Has she returned? Is he free?

In some sense, we a re never sure whether the entire story is not just in the writer's mind. It is entirely possible that he has imagined it after hearing the bell. In that case, what will he do? Will he open the door knowing full well what will happen next? Or follow his own reasoning and, knowing the unhappy end, commit suicide right away? In the end the film seems more about the ability of two people to destroy each other's capacity to love than about their passions.

The Spectrum DVD has a great video transfer and although there were some "scratches" in the audio, it was nicely balanced (important for such sparsely tracked film). The Korean DVDs usually boast high quality AV, and this one is no exception. There are some extras --- trailer, highlights, a music video, and cast bios (in Korean only) --- and the overal impression from the disc would have been excellent if it were not for the bad English translation. This was a surprise for me since Korean DVDs are usually well subtitled. This one had spelling mistakes and atrocious grammar. I could not help but feel that this somehow made the film more confusing and less compelling than it might have been. Pity. September 28, 2001

Content updated Thu, Oct 22, 2009 and copyrighted © 2001-2009 by harusame

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I haven't tried it but see if u can download the movie via these links:

http://rapidlibrary.com/index.php?q=oh+ji+ho+la+belle

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/3582289/%5..._La_Belle_(2000)

http://www.btmon.com/Video/Movies/Korean_L...00.torrent.html

wow very good review...when i first watched it i thought the pictures was really good...but it felt so dark like a kim ki duk movie...

wow very good review...when i first watched it i thought the pictures was really good...but it felt so dark like a kim ki duk movie...

Ya, I watched it more than once before feeling comfortable with the story/ending. The lovemaking scenes are very artistic and it doesn't feel like a dirty Cat III rated movie at all.

yeah...I actually really love this movie...the overall pace like watching a dying love story...I started liking oh ji ho after watching this...he really should be oe of the actors up in popularity...

I never heard of kim ji hyeon which is strange...

More beautiful photos of LaBelle: