Beautiful Sunday (Blu-ray) (English Subtitled) (Taiwan Version) Blu-ray Region A

Quickly though it became obvious that the concept of "fun" does not have a place in the lives of these main characters. The beginning shows detective Kang and Min-Woo making terrible mistakes, and the rest of the film is spent having them pay for it. Their two storylines are intercut but not intertwined, so we switch between characters even though they're not exactly part of the same story. By the time they finally meet, both mad with guilt and stress, they have lots to discuss about each others' failings. These people may live in a bright and slick-looking universe but their existence is tortured, dark and leaden.

Instead of going for entertainment, this film tries to tell you an Important Message. It's about guilt over an unforgivable crime and the impossibility of redemption, no matter how good a person you'll be the rest of your life. Unfortunately it tries to do so using a combination of relentless melodrama and cartoonish stereotype which harms the film in no small way. The double-crossed gangsters are evil, evil, EVIL! Which makes it all the stranger that nobody seemingly expects any retaliation from these thugs, and we as viewers are expected to be shocked when it happens. Why? There's no need to make them so over-the-top vile as I think double-crossed drug dealers would retaliate anyway, exceptionally evil or not. The fact that a distinction is made between evil gangsters and not-so-evil gangsters is a doubtful one in any case, but if you do use it, at least make the double-crossed guys the good ones. That wouldn't have harmed the story, unlike this bunch of looneys.

As for melodrama, expect the worst possible thing to happen in any dramatic situation and the movie suddenly becomes very predictable. You expect director Jin Kwang-Gyo to start playing with these cliches a bit, but he doesn't: he just uses them. No doubt the good intentions are there but because of the cliches the end result comes closer to Daisy than to Oldboy.

This doesn't mean there is nothing to like in Beautiful Sunday. As said, there is nothing wrong with the production values as it looks like Jin Kwang-Gyo was given a big bag of money to play with. The film also features quite a nice and haunting music score, so you often have something to listen to. What little action there is, is filmed well, and the finale when the two men meet is a joy to watch even though it is a bit too slow at the start. The good part lasts very long and builds up tension, all the while explaining plot points in both storylines, and it brings out some stellar acting from both of the leads.

Also, I was especially impressed with the rape scene in the beginning. It will leave exploitation fans disappointed for not showing anything at all, yet leaves no mistake about the emotional devastation involved for both participants. The build-up to that even comes dangerously close to explaining why Min-Woo rapes the girl, showing the mix of lust, awkwardness, anger and the realisation that this is probably the closest he'll ever be to her. No woman deserves to be raped of course but in this case she already acts as a rape victim when nothing has happened yet, and this plays some part in turning it into a self-fulfilling prophecy. But, and this is very much stressed by the film, that doesn't exonerate Min-Woo in any way and he fully realises that afterwards. This part could have so easily gone wrong but Jin Kwang-Gyo and both actors all score points here with a difficult scene done very well.

On the subject of acting, it's mostly good throughout the movie but still a mixed bag. Some supporting characters are paper cutouts and are played as such, but the main characters all have more difficult roles and mostly manage to pull it off. Min Ji-Hye as Su-Yeon acts human enough to avoid becoming too angelic. Park Yong-Woo plays "stressed out", "tough" and "dead tired" really well, but all at the same time becomes a bit much in one or two points. It doesn't help that the script gives him a couple of very awkward moments. Nam Gung-Min is very impressive though as Min-Woo, shifting when needed between innocent, creepy and dangerous seemingly without effort. Unlike his counterpart he gets untarnished through the most melodramatic parts of the script, no small feat I assure you. As said earlier, the finale gives both leads moments to shine and they fully use it. Shame it gets a bit spoiled by an epilogue which is so over-the-top über-dramatic that it almost becomes funny.

Watching Beautiful Sunday, you get the impression that Jin Kwang-Gyo desperately wants to be Park Chan-Wook. And let's be fair, you could take a worse example. But the total absence of any levity, coupled with shallow patches in the characterisation, makes this movie too heavy for it's own good. It obviously wants to hit its mark badly, but for that to happen you need to make the audience care a bit more than happens in the film. That doesn't mean this film is a total failure: as a first effort, it's certainly a fine achievement. It's just that its flaws make it fall short of true greatness, which is a shame as you feel that with a slightly better script, it could easily have reached it.

DVD
KD-Media has released this film as a two-disc Limited Edition, in a standard Amaray with a nice iridescent slipcover. The discs themselves are nicely loaded with extras, so I shouldn't complain too much barring the usual: no English subs on the extras.

Disc one contains the movie, with an unsubbed commentary by the director and his three leads (yes, Min Ji-Hye counts). It also contains an after commentary. Video is sharp and features none of the excessive tinkering which messed Paradise Murdered up a bit. This film features a nice soundtrack and the Dolby 5.1 fully demonstrates it. Subs contain quite a bit of errors, but nothing that makes the movie incomprehensible. Disc two is loaded with a nice set of extras. Some are fun, some interesting and some fluff, but fans of the movie should be satisfied with this solid release.

by Aardvark - Twitchfilm.net