야수와 미녀 / Ya-soo-wa Mi-nyeo

Beast and the Beauty



2006 Korean movie about a guy not so gorgeous who semi-stalks and then ends up befriending a blind girl who just happens to be really pretty.

It's a funny movie as Korean standards dictate, but it also had a few moments that lagged, which in no way detracted from this film.

While she's still unable to see, Shin Mi na's character falls in love with the homely but doting man who first pretended to be a taxi driver until she figured it out, but by then she liked him and expected that he continue with the charade.

Ryu Seung beom plays the doting man with less-than-average (by Korean cinema standards) looks who first freaks out and then becomes manic once he realizes the girl is about to gain back her sight through a cornea transplant.

He contemplates plastic surgery, and the visit to the doc is hilariously memorable.

He begs for help from a friend and co-worker, who doles out optimistic advice that falls on deaf ears.

Then, our newly sighted heroine sees (blurrily) a man standing across the street in front of a car, and he's waving frantically, so she runs toward him, thinking it is her boyfriend whom she hasn't seen yet but is anxious to finally come face-to-face with now that she has new eyes.

The man she 'thinks' is her love is actually Kim Kang woo starring as a police detective waving down his comrades so that they can pursue a gang of thugs.

Seated on the passenger side, Shin Mi na is taken on a fast-pace ride through the city streets while the cop and his backseat comrades are trying to figure out what she is doing there.

Turns out Kang woo's character was 'Mr. Popular' back in high school, and that Seung beom tried but failed to compete with the charismatic charmer who always stole his thunder.

Being who he is, Seung beom's character almost immediately concedes defeat, but not quite - and a member of the gang the cops rounded up who managed to escape is always behind our unlikely hero offering useless advice, too.

Korean's have a terrific sense of humor, and this movie proved that point on a number of occasions, but I can't say it was the most hilarious thing I've seen from them - and I won't say it was the worst, either.

Give it a go if you have the time, and I think you'll see what I mean.