`More Than Blue' Is Poetic, Luminous

"More Than Blue"
Directed by Lee Won-tae
Starring Kwon Sang-woo, Lee Bo-young, Lee Bum-soo

슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기
(솔지히 그렇게 슬프진 않다. 하지만 매우 유치했을 내용을 재미있고 아름답게 그린 시인 이원태의 노력이 빛난다. 그리고 이범수가 나오는데 어찌 아니 볼 수 있는가??)

Romanic poet Lee Won-tae makes his directorial debut with a classic romance, ``More Than Blue.’’ Though featuring typical elements of the South Korean melodrama, ``Blue’’ does not attempt to squeeze out tears from viewers. Rather, the director crafts a film that is poetically sparse, and also witty and hilarious as much as it is heartbreaking.

Hallyu star Kwon Sang-woo, the heartbreaker from the tearjerker TV soap ``Stairway to Heaven,’’ plays the tragic male protagonist ``K,’’ yet another faithful one-woman man involved in a pitiful love triangle. To top it all off, he has cancer. With the little time he has left to live, he plays Cupid to marry off the woman he loves, ``Cream’’ (Lee Bo-young), to an eligible bachelor, Ju-hwan (Lee Bum-soo), so he can rest in peace.

``Blue’’ however feels more classic than clichéd and the undying fidelity of the love-struck characters nostalgically evokes old romances. The talented actors also bring freshness to their parts, making them very believable and worthy of every ounce of one’s empathy.

The story begins in high school. Cream appears before K out of the blue, hypnotizing him in a fashion reminiscent of Gwenyth Paltrow’s over-the-water fountain-kiss in ``The Great Expectations.’’ (One drawback is that the 32-year-old’s posing as a high school student, despite his flawless skin, is rather awkward, particularly since many moviegoers may remember the exquisite rendition of a teenaged Brad Pitt in ``The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’’).

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One of the movie’s strengths is that it contextualizes the dramatic romance within a convincing reality, and in addition to having the women wear the pants (the director told The Korea Times that it’s because he himself is a ``doting husband’’), funnyman Lee Han-wie keeps things light as a kowtowing celebrity manager. Singer Lee Seung-chul also makes a memorable appearance, particularly as he tries to sport an unctuous, post-Captain Jack Sparrow-Johnny Depp-look.

As expected of a movie by a poet, it teems with imagery of time hanging still in the air and things are left simple. Even though the film’s Korean title ``A Story Sadder Than Sadness’’ is perhaps an overstatement, it allows the viewer to peruse not so much the abstract meaning of love but what it means to be in love and to care for someone.

In theaters March 11. 105 minutes. 15 and over. Distributed by Showbox/Mediaplex.