I've had this DVD on my shelf for a long time, but I hadn't watched it until last night. This was an excellent look at a normal, happy family that faces losing everything after the father loses his job as a trader because he won't manipulate stocks, then finds out that the loan he co-signed for his best friend has come due because his "best friend" has skipped town. When they find out that the family has fallen on hard times, friends disappear and others offer money for "favors".The movie was slow-paced but gentle and often very sad. The acting was excellent. Lee Mi-Suk (in addition to being incredibly hot), her husband (Jeon Kwang Ryeol) and the children were wonderful. The other characters in the movie were all believeable and important in fleshing out the story.
I understand that this movie didn't do well in Korea, and I can understand why. It is a realistic and often uncomfortable look at Korean society. I liked the movie because the director didn't over dramatize the story, and he didn't cop out and take the easy way out at the end as so many directors do. There were no tricky artistic camera shots. It was just a good, thoughtful story.
The movie title is a little odd, but it is named after the coffee shop where the husband and wife first met. Besame Mucho is Spanish and comes from a Mexican song that seems to have been covered by just about everyone (The Beatles, Dean Martin, Diana Krall, Elvis Presley, Nat "King" Cole...)
It was interesting to see that parts of the movie were shot on the old Chamsu Bridge.
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