Han Hyo Joo 한효주 - [FIN: Happiness (2021) || NEXT: ThePirates: Goblin Flag (Jan 2022)]

[solaire]

It's been a while since I've last logged in. Been patiently waiting to hear news of her confirming her next work, but sadly there's hasn't been any. Actually, I don't mind if she continues to lay low for a while and makes a comeback next year. I was thinking it'll be nice if her next project is with one of the oppas returning from military service like LMH or KSH since they're around the same age group. Anyway, I read PSH is going to start filming her next film soon and from what I've read it's centered on the women instead of the men. It reminded me that's what I want for Hyo, a film in which women are the main center of attention.

[Guest kaz11]

42 minutes ago, solaire said:

Anyway, I read PSH is going to start filming her next film soon and from what I've read it's centered on the women instead of the men. It reminded me that's what I want for Hyo, a film in which women are the main center of attention.

 

Shinhye? It's nice to hear that a popular K-actress is given more opportunities to shine in female-centric films. I am also starting to watch Kim Taeri's work lately. Anyway, I hope Hyo finds something good. I actually think she should choose something that's not mainstream. But I don't expect that to happen lol. Otherwise, return to drama again, since her last 3 films were a b.o. failure. Whatever it is the most important thing is to impress everybody with her acting.

[frozentundra]

Whatever the genre, I think she shines best in bringing out the human element in a character. Sometimes I feel a little let down when I see a drama or movie when it seems the actress could just as well be an interchangeable fencepost. It's just not very satisfying if the script/writer/director doesn't both much with developing the character, and the casting is just because of how she looks, but not because the character herself has three dimensional strength. I feel like HJ's characters tend to be well rounded and feel solid and REAL. But there is only so much you can do when it's just not there in the script, you know? So I don't care what genre it is, I just hope she can find something that plays to this unique strength she has. She can make the viewers really care a lot and feel for her character. Not for shallow reasons of being pretty (although she is very beautiful, it's true), but because she can show a complex, layered character well. She has the power to really sock viewers in the heart. I hope she can find something that will match her strengths.

[Guest kaz11]

37 minutes ago, frozentundra said:

It's just not very satisfying if the script/writer/director doesn't both much with developing the character, and the casting is just because of how she looks, but not because the character herself has three dimensional strength.

 

Film-making/drama-taping is a collaborative effort. While it's true that all the elements need to be there in order for a character to shine, I believe that a talented actor will always make a role work regardless of what's given to her. I've seen female characters that are 'meh' on paper be actually good depending on the portrayal. I don't want her to be the kind of actor that will only deliver depending on the director or the role... I think she needs to explore outside her comfort zone more. Like I said before, play unexpected, 'ugly' characters.

[frozentundra]

Sorry, I think I'm not being clear. Yes, I agree with you, it's an actor's job to take what's on the page and make something of it. I think she DOES do that. It's why I enjoy her performances so much. It's not good to compare, but sometimes when I'm watching something, I can't help but think, Hyo Joo would make this character so much more alive if she were in this role. So yes, of course, the actress has a certain responsibility for character creation. At the same time, though, she can't carry the whole thing. And if you have a choice between a script with a strong, interesting character, and one that is rather reined in, then of course you'd want the stronger character one. That's what I want for her. The best possible showcase for her abilities, without limits.

 

I think she certainly has the capability for unexpected, ugly characters, but I dunno, right now for her career, it might be good for her to play a character that the public in general can really fall in love with. The projects people even now still talk about with love include Dong Yi, Brilliant Legacy, W, Cold Eyes, and Beauty Inside--years later, people STILL cannot get them out of their minds. I think those kind of anchors give you the stability to then go and do experimental projects outside your comfort zone. In an artistic career, there's the art aspect, yes, but there's the hard, cold bankability aspect, too. The powers that be are more willing to throw money your way for something unexpected and different when you're riding off of a popular project. So whatever role she has next, I hope it's with a project that catches people's minds and hearts, and does well.

 

(This is of course just one way of looking at the situation; I certainly don't mean this is the only possible answer. I mean, I could also see her doing well in some gritty film with a stronger focus on the women in it. Something where she wins big awards and the critics love her. Luckily she is versatile. I just hope that whatever her next project is, that it does well, and leaves her feeling strong, happy, and confident.)

[frozentundra]

So I finally saw Illang. I thought it was well done in many ways, and should have done better at the box office than it did. (I feel that preconceived prejudice played a large role there, as a lot of people who gave 0-1 star reviews online freely admitted they hadn't seen it. Which was ironic, since one theme of the movie seemed to be about people wearing anonymous masks to band together and commit violence. Perhaps it isn't shooting people, but banding together to persecute others under the anonymity of the internet is quite similar in principle...) So there were  strengths, but that said, there were some weaknesses that made it hard for people to connect with the film, too. I'll put some of my thoughts under a cut since there's no way for me to mention some things without spoilers.

 

Things I liked: the visuals were quite stunning. Very nice camerawork, and also just a lot of great visual details--you knew that any time someone went around in a red jacket, they were part of the Sect.

Spoiler

(Which is why I sorta wanted to poke Lim and say, uhh...WHY are you blindly trusting this girl and going to visit her quiet bookshop in the off hours? Do you want to die? Maybe she's wearing a green jacket, but she has RED SHOES ON. Her sister just tried to BLOW YOU UP. Use your head, dude!! Also, the brother in the red jacket at the end... I kept wondering what was in his backpack...)

The exhibit at Namsan during that scene was all about the Berlin Wall (divided Germany/divided Korea). I really liked the animation (gruesome as it was) of Little Red Riding Hood, and HJ's voiceover was lovely. She really does have a beautiful voice. 

 

I also really liked the ending. To me, the main plot of the film seemed to be an inner conflict between humanity/individual free will, and being a tool in a larger controlling group. Will I be a wolf or a human? Will I be used, or will I make my own choices? Both characters faced that. To me it was logical and satisfying for them to both decide which way they wanted to go. I think they could/should have emphasized that plotline a lot more (and deleted ummm....a LOT of the gunfire. Action scenes without plot drag the tension, and I think that was one thing that the audience had a problem with, going by the responses I saw on Naver and Daum and DC.)

Spoiler

But I liked that he let her go, and that she got her brother and got out of there. As I felt that this movie was not a romance (as a friend commented, they were two people who met in the lowest point of their lives, and how could they ever truly trust each other?), the fact that they survived without actually being together in the end was like opening a door to new opportunities and hope and new chances. To me it was much more logical and satisfying than the original ending. I don't like *illogical* happy endings, but as long as they are logical, I prefer them. It's ok if someone else here prefers a tragedy, there isn't one single right answer, but the change was logical to me, and it worked.

 

I thought HJ did a great job with the character. Yoon Hee was someone who was extremely conflicted, pushed back into a corner by those who wanted to use her as a pawn. She did what she had to in order to survive and to protect others

Spoiler

(but honestly I did not understand why at one point she said she had no ties anywhere and just wanted to leave--hello, brother in hospital?? It was like the script momentarily forgot about him.)

Her character felt very high strung due to the situation, as if she was always walking on a very thin wire that could explode at any time. I thought she played this extremely well. I have zero complaints about her acting (although I do have complaints about Scenes That Should Have Been Written In But Weren't. You can control your acting, but as an actor, you can't make up whole scenes and plot points.) Her character showed a lot more feeling than some of the others, and I appreciated that humanness. 

 

The love line. As I said, I don't feel this movie was a romance at all.

Spoiler

First, they were both trying to trick each other, and how can you logically build a romance on that? Second, even though there was a kind of confession at the end, there was literally nothing in the plot to support it in the middle. They met a couple of times and they did a lot of looking at each other. But more than that...it just didn't exist in the storyline. So I am very much okay with them removing the kissing scene from the Netflix version. I did see it online, and I know where it was, and I think that would have been SO jarring and illogical. So, good call on that edit. You can sense some interest and a bit of romantic tension, but for the context, it's much more logical to leave out the kissing. (However, if they had actually had plot EVENTS in the love line to develop it, then that little quasi-confession at the end would have carried a lot more weight.) 

 

Related to the love line was the connection between Lim and the wolf-turned-government guy.

Spoiler

Unfortunately, the middle of that storyline was also nonexistent, which weakened that ultimate face-off as well.

You can be the most spectacular actor ever, but there still need to be whole scenes and plot events in the middle to give later scenes meaning.

 

The biggest weakness to me was in the pacing and just basic storytelling, and how they chose to edit it. Which scenes to include, which things they either didn't include, or didn't even write/film. The characters' plot arcs/struggles needed to come out stronger to give key scenes more weight, and they seriously should have edited out at LEAST 45 minutes of gunfighting. One person at my house walked by while I was watching it with someone else. Person 1, hearing the shooting: wow, that must be some action scene! Person 2 (who was actually watching the movie): *yawn* NOTHING IS HAPPENING. To me, that's the biggest weakness of the film, and not one that the actors or camerapeople could do much about. Too much time spent in scenes where the plot doesn't move, and not enough emphasis on actual escalating plot points. Mostly I think they could simply cut some parts and that alone would make other areas that already exist to just shine more.

 

In short, I think HJ was awesome. She showed a character walking a knife edge, able to shoot fire from her eyes, hurt but reining it in do to the things she had to do, and I absolutely think she did an excellent job. And I'm sad that some other elements of the film (and also some netizen bullying) make it hard for people to see this. 

 

These are only my opinions, and of course I don't expect or demand anyone else to share them. But I'm interested in the thoughts others had, what stood out to you, what you liked and what made you scratch your head and go, huh?

[Guest kaz11]

just woke up and now watching illang on netflix ;p

 

be back...

[frozentundra]

On DC people are saying it's getting quite a positive reception in Japan, which is nice to hear.

[Guest kaz11]

just about halfway through the film and i think it's not as bad as i initially thought it would be... i suddenly have to go out, my thoughts:

 

the first part (about 30 minutes or so) was interesting. and then romance was introduced, which slowed things down. Enya’s music (or i think it is) was distracting tbh and Yeonhee telling the story of little red riding hood was a tad melodramatic. early in the film i thought Kim Muyeol’s going to be the standout. KDW is good in action but i wanted him to be more expressive, my favourite part so far is when they were training. Hyojoo, i think was initially wooden but perhaps it’s because i think she’s not in character just yet... then she had this scene with KMY and the part of her walking away after being slapped is another favourite scene so far... i can’t wait to see the introduction of Han Yeri’s character. will continue with posting my thoughts after watching the rest of the film. 

[Guest kaz11]

Illang, second half, final thoughts:

 

film's beautifully shot and the atmosphere for a near-future is solid (although I expected more from the wardrobe department). But, action. I want to highlight this as the strength of the film and the director. As an example, Han Yeri and Minho's confrontation is so good that I wished HJ could've done one as well. And KDW is great in action. In fact, I only felt tension whenever there's an action scene... which brings me to the film's weaknesses: first, characterization. The characters are all basic and flat. And it did not help that other than KMY who is the standout and JWS to a lesser degree, acting's rather uninspired despite the charisma onscreen, another weakness of the film. I was not able to really connect emotionally with these characters. And unfortunately, I find Hyo's acting stilted... it was bad. I have always thought she can be a nuanced actor and this is the role that required her to be just that but I did not see it. Yunhee was especially obvious in the tower (actually, it looked as if the director did not know what to do with his actors in the tower). It is a shame because her character surprisingly had considerable weight. Romance between the leads was not established well and is another wasted potential. Yes, the film's too long and it's ridiculous that the public safety people even thought of using guns to take down a 'wolf'. My rating is 2.5/5.

 

I wonder if my assessment's going to be different if I watch the original theatrical version. I want to re-watch Cold Eyes now.  

[adamag]

Am done watching inrang and i think d only difference the netflix version has with the theater one is just mainly the kiss scene which is a nice removal coz dat kiss scene was an eye sore. The movie was better than i expected...i thought it would be completely terrible but it wasnt. The love line was weak...the action was great but honestly acting wise, none of d main actors struck me in any special way. I thot hyo joo was fine but not anything spectacular....i do think tho that i have never seen her pour out raw emotions like this before n it was nice to see something new but i just wish it would have been spectacular. I have a bit of a problem with kdw’s stiff acting cuz i think he was aiming for micro expressions instead of just zero emotions in the first main parts of the movie. He was good at action but honestly action doesn’t hype me anymore. 

[frozentundra]

Agree with kaz that the action scenes were well done, much more of a strength of the director than character development. I and the person I watched it with both agree with adamag about kdw's stiff acting. Maybe it was on purpose, I don't know, but he felt sort of wooden to me. Everything that was done, was done in high quality, but the pacing or basic storytelling or something just felt weak to me, especially in the last 45 minutes or so. I never saw the original, so I don't know what points they were deliberately trying to replicate, but as a standalone project, it just seemed to take a long time to get to the point towards the end, where I think you should have felt things pick up and get more exciting. The scenes themselves were exciting and well done, but at times they just went on too long in relation to the plot development. Even if you didn't change anything else, but just really cut everything through to the bone, I think it would strengthen all of the elements that people mentioned as being lacking. I'm nitpicking here, because I really wanted to understand what the Korean objection was. I also wanted to understand what the director's intention was. I think it was to show that power can be dangerous, that if you hire someone to do your dirty work, the blood is still on your hands, and don't be surprised if they turn on you. And most of all, perhaps the danger of an individual being swallowed by an organization; free will versus being controlled by the group, etc. 

 

So I'm being picky here, but overall, I still think there are many things that was done in very high quality. And I really think it should have done better in Korea than it did. When I was browsing DC yesterday, people were saying that it's been well received in Japan. And I read a really positive review in English yesterday, too. Yes, they hit on the pacing, etc. But they saw good things in it as well. So I hope for the sake of all who worked on it, they get some love from international viewers. 

[Guest kaz11]

12 hours ago, adamag said:

Am done watching inrang and i think d only difference the netflix version has with the theater one is just mainly the kiss scene which is a nice removal coz dat kiss scene was an eye sore. 

 

Thank you for this bit of info lol. So I guess I won’t be watching it again. I thought dongwon got better in the second half. I thought he could be more expressive, too, sometimes he had an ambiguous look on his face. Other than his action scenes he also had a couple of good moments, one’s when he was lying next to her with his back to her and the other’s when he was driving near the end of the film. I guess I’m more severe on hyojoo because I’ve seen how good she can be sometimes lol. She had two good moments, one I mentioned in a post above and the other one’s in a flashback (I think after she killed people). Her acting was just stilted... I don’t know y’all. I wished the director gave her more action scenes than melodramatic scenes. Everyone was good in their action scenes.

 

eta: I want to see that kissing scene. Will a kind soul give me a link? Lol. 

[adamag]

Yh.. dongwon got more expressive in the second half but it felt so sudden because he was so wooden before that it took a while to process lol. And in most of the falling in love scenes at the beginning...honestly...i could not see d attraction in his emotion...it was blank n i think that made me disbelieve the love line more idk hehe. 

 

In the theater version, the kiss happens after she finishes telling him d red riding hood story.. @kaz11 here’s d one i could find.

 

[Guest kaz11]

@adamag thanks! so it's been around for weeks (with more than 20k views) and nobody thought to share it here? haha kidding. yeah. good thing netflix edited that out. but it looks incomplete. but anyway,  i find the ending, with him on the platform and watching her and her brother leave, kinda bittersweet -- this is my only positive reaction to the romance that is why i stated that theirs is a wasted potential.

[adamag]

Yeah...i couldnt find a complete copy, sorry. We were operating on the no spoiler zone lol. I liked the ending too romance wise, like you said it was bitter sweet and had a nice tone to it.  I havent been fully able to watch that kiss scene with my eyes wide open throughout. I dont know what is wrong with me haha. Maybe its because there’s a possibility they are a real life couple nd i feel like an intruder lmao or maybe its because i think that scene is out of place. I just cant seem to watch it..god help me lmao.

[adamag]

Now hyo joo needs to pick a great project....i am wondeing how big of an impact her unsuccessful project will have on her career? I dont think golden slumber had an impact after since she had a pretty small role n love lies was a melo that was probbaly not gonna do well anyway but i wonder abt inrang’s. Kdw still seems to be doing fine considering he’s got a new offer to star in the sequel of train to busan which is highly expected n a big film. But then again k industry is not equally fair to both men n women. I hope she’s been getting good offers n is just taking her time to consider it.

[Guest kaz11]

haha let's tag @ohnoitscindy girl where are you?? lmao

 

any news on the tuna-whale? 

 

... i am worried tbh. like you said, k-ent is not as kind to actresses. it's just that... because of her image she has somehow boxed herself in, limited her opportunities to variety of roles. i cannot imagine her being offered roles that they would offer to actresses like jung yumi or chun woohee. look at most of her projects -- mostly romances or she played a love interest. but i am more worried about her performances in her last projects. i honestly have not been impressed since love lies. more than box office success and ratings i think it's much more important to come back with a great performance. there are more than a few popular actresses that have considerable clout and can perform just as well if not outperform her.

[adamag]

Honestly, i have only seen a few number of actors who have managed to not box themselves in. Even those that seem diverse are boxed in in a certain sense. Its something that hard to avoid but i think hyo joo is making an effort to get herself out of that box n i hope its not too late. I have been reading different korean actresses interviews and these days, they speak about how society and directors expect women to hold a certain image n not go outside of it because its too risky. 

 

I just hope she meets the project that will soon up her value. I’m pretty worried abt wat she picks next and am also hoping she does not push herself too hard. If u ask me, i think a cable drama is a good logical next step.

 

 

i havent heard anything abt tuna-whale haha.....hyo has been mia going on a vacation around europe n kdw is busy attending film festivals lol abroad

[Guest kaz11]

16 minutes ago, adamag said:

am also hoping she does not push herself too hard. If u ask me, i think a cable drama is a good logical next step.

 

i hope she finds something she really wants to do and not agonize over it -- we've discussed this about her. drama gods give her one.

 

"i havent heard anything abt tuna-whale haha.....hyo has been mia going on a vacation around europe n kdw is busy attending film festivals lol abroad" -- 

 

you think they had time to meet up abroad again for meals? ;p