A Man and a Woman (2016) (Blu-ray) (Hong Kong Version) Blu-ray Region A

Jeon Do-yeon plays Sang Min, who travels to Finland to enrol her autistic son in a special school for treatment and education. One day after being denied permission to accompany him on a camping trip, she runs into architect Gi Hong (Gong Yoo), who has a daughter at the school suffering from depression. Despite both being married, the two end up spending the night together when taking shelter from a snowstorm, though the next day decide to part without even telling each other their names. However, after a series of further encounters back in Korea, they draw closer to one other and carry on their affair, resulting in complications and trouble for their families.

The familiar sounding story of A Man and a Woman suggests a tearjerker of a melodrama, and that's exactly what Lee Yoon-ki serves up, aiming for a melancholic feel throughout and recalling the likes of April Snow and others of the type. Thankfully this is combined with a mature and intelligent script bolstered by strong character work, which helps to distract from the general lack of originality and to hold the interest. The film is emotional and moving in a fairly reserved and sedate way, as might be expected, with much being left unsaid, and the characters often expressing their feelings silently or through somewhat obtuse actions rather than soap opera hysterics.

Deliberately-paced and thoughtful, the film is about loneliness, grief and responsibility almost as much as it is about love or romance, and Lee earns points for going to some lengths to really try and get under his characters' skins. Also dealing with a variety of social issues, the film does have a reasonable amount of depth, and this again helps to make it at least a little more substantial than the usual kind of simple sob story. Powerful performances from the two leads also give the material a boost, Jeon Do-yeon in particular being on impressive form as the more complicated Sang Min. The relationship which develops between her and Gi Hong is believable, often painfully so, and the script does at least throw in a few unexpected (and generally depressing) twists to its progress, making the film more affecting than it might otherwise have been.

Lee makes great use of the Finland location, the snowy countryside and forests making for a suitably chilly atmosphere which reflects the film's themes without being too obvious or heavy-handed. Blessed with solid production values, the film is generally quite visually appealing and artistic, at the same time eschewing any kind of needless stylistics in favour of a more controlled and down to earth approach. This aside, things do get a touch slow in places, and this coupled with the stretches of silence is likely to divide viewers, some of whom may find this an effective and captivating approach, while others, not without good reason, may find it a little dull and ponderous.

This isn't really a criticism as such, since this is clearly Lee Yoon-ki's intention as both writer and director, and A Man and a Woman is a superior example of the kind of sombre melodrama that Korean cinema does so well (and so often). Well-made and acted, and benefiting from its far-flung and evocative shooting location, the film certainly delivers in terms of moody romance and existential contemplation, and should go down well with fans of the form.

by James Mudge - EasternKicks.com