Shoot Me in the Heart

Movie: Shoot Me in the Heart (literal)
Hangul: 내 심장을 쏴라
Novel: Nae Simjangeul Sswara by Jung Yoo jung
Genre: Mental Illness, Human Interest
Release Date: Jan, 2015
Runtime: 102 min.
Distributor: Little Big Pictures

Cast

Plot

Set at a psychiatric hospital. Soo myung's guilt over his mother's suicide causes him to suffer from schizophrenia. He meets Seung min, who is forcibly hospitalized by his wealthy family's inheritance fight. Dreaming of getting out of the hospital, Seung min constantly tries to escape, and Soo myung begins to follow. ~ AsiaWiki (with changes)

Review

This was a good one.

Simple yet elegant in its portrayal of two patients at a psychiatric hospital reminiscent of 1950's America, which gave the backdrop a little bit of a chilly, Cuckoo's Nest feeling.

But, this wasn't about psychiatry from the Seoul perspective and didn't go into analytical details about the system or its current plight.

What it did do was tell us a story about two young men caught in dire circumstances who end up in a psychiatric hospital for two separate reasons.

We are introduced to a lot of fellow inmates and learn a few of their sad stories, and the supporting cast were marvelous.

Still, the two male leads are the main focus throughout, which is much appreciated by the viewer.

Funny, terrifying, and thought provoking scenes littered this tale, but none of it detracted from the premise, which is to discover why these two are there and how or if they plan to break free.

The soundtrack was wonderful.

Looks like Lee Min ki is out of the military now, and while he appeared beefed up and masculine in the 2013 movie, Monster, in this one he appears to be a tad on the gaunt side, but no less sexy.

Yeo Jin goo did a great job portraying a young man lost inside his own world of self-doubt and horror after discovering his mother's lifeless body at a tender age.

He's got a sexy voice, and I adored him with his long hairstyle, but in the end, it is replaced with a modern shave.

As someone on the outside looking in, I find it incredibly difficult to understand how Korean movies can be this far removed from their drama counterparts.

Perhaps their cable and local channels never run movies, and therefore it is safer to show real life, reality-based themes, and sexual content in a movie?

The two are like night and day content-wise, and I often wonder why they never at least mix it up a bit and add some spice to their dramas or a little cutesy to their movies.

Since I started watching their stuff back in early 2000, I've liked both but will easily tire of the drama fluff and so switch over to their movies for a time -- just to get some balance and perspective on what is real and what is make-believe over there.

I still prefer their dramas but adore their movies and wish our Hollywood was more like this and then I might be more interested in going to the theater.