Fatima
This review may contain spoilers
In times of vulnerability
I usually do not write reviews but on Dramacool someone quoted Melissa Vice's comment from Youtube and it is so beautiful and says it all that I had to add it here as well:
"I remember this movie when it first came out in 2012. I had a different outlook on the bittersweet ending that seemed more bitter at the time than sweet. But now, almost a decade later, seeing this with older eyes and a sense of maturity, this was actually the sweetest approach that Sun-Yi could have done for Chul-Soo. And that was that, she was setting him free at long last.
When it comes to the analysis of the movie, as teenagers, they used one another as a crutch for survival. Sun-Yi to cope with her depression and illness. Chul-Soo dependent on the bestial instinct of loyalty. Realistically, there was no way she could have taken care of herself and also Chul-Soo had he left with them. She would never had gotten to do the things she did. She would never have gotten to live fully on account of her declining health, which turned around for the best for her. And ultimately, she was not in love with Chul-Soo as he was with her. Over the course of time, as the years went on, an important lesson that showed Chul-Soo's humanity was his ability to learn on his own. Learning how to write. To read. And even--as shown in the end--to be able to be on his own and stand for himself.
Sun-Yi gave him his freedom to be his own person by releasing him of the promise she made. I feel like he too needed this circle to come to a close, and only then, he could really move on despite having done so long ago. He kept his promise because it was Sun-Yi and he held his loyalty to the only person who showed him care and affection. Him playing by himself in the snow, building the snowman by himself, is a powerful metaphor of his ability to finally be human now that Sun-Yi has removed the collar and leash. But the most important aspect to gain from this, she was telling him to go and live his life to the fullest as she had done. This was not a romance story, but perhaps more of a "coming of age" of two people who helped one another in their time of vulnerability and loneliness, and pushed one another to become better versions of themselves. Chul-Soo especially. He deserves happiness, and the most Sun-Yi could do within her power was to offer him shelter and security until he found it for himself."
"I remember this movie when it first came out in 2012. I had a different outlook on the bittersweet ending that seemed more bitter at the time than sweet. But now, almost a decade later, seeing this with older eyes and a sense of maturity, this was actually the sweetest approach that Sun-Yi could have done for Chul-Soo. And that was that, she was setting him free at long last.
When it comes to the analysis of the movie, as teenagers, they used one another as a crutch for survival. Sun-Yi to cope with her depression and illness. Chul-Soo dependent on the bestial instinct of loyalty. Realistically, there was no way she could have taken care of herself and also Chul-Soo had he left with them. She would never had gotten to do the things she did. She would never have gotten to live fully on account of her declining health, which turned around for the best for her. And ultimately, she was not in love with Chul-Soo as he was with her. Over the course of time, as the years went on, an important lesson that showed Chul-Soo's humanity was his ability to learn on his own. Learning how to write. To read. And even--as shown in the end--to be able to be on his own and stand for himself.
Sun-Yi gave him his freedom to be his own person by releasing him of the promise she made. I feel like he too needed this circle to come to a close, and only then, he could really move on despite having done so long ago. He kept his promise because it was Sun-Yi and he held his loyalty to the only person who showed him care and affection. Him playing by himself in the snow, building the snowman by himself, is a powerful metaphor of his ability to finally be human now that Sun-Yi has removed the collar and leash. But the most important aspect to gain from this, she was telling him to go and live his life to the fullest as she had done. This was not a romance story, but perhaps more of a "coming of age" of two people who helped one another in their time of vulnerability and loneliness, and pushed one another to become better versions of themselves. Chul-Soo especially. He deserves happiness, and the most Sun-Yi could do within her power was to offer him shelter and security until he found it for himself."
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