Failan (2001)

Failan: Directed by Hae-sung Song. With Choi Min-sik, Cecilia Cheung, Dae-Hoon Jeong, Hyeong-jin Kong. A marriage of convenience between a petty gangster and an illegal immigrant he has never met has unforeseen consequences for them both.

“Iu0026#39;ve never cried because of a movie. I always sympathize with characters, yet I never empathize. I can never feel the true emotion. Sure, u0026quot;Schindleru0026#39;s Listu0026quot; had amazing worksmanship, but it didnu0026#39;t do anything for me, and u0026quot;Grave of the Firefliesu0026quot; is equally as good, but neither, as well as pretty much any other film Iu0026#39;ve seen, has made me cry.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enBut u0026quot;Failanu0026quot; made me come pretty close.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAt first, I was skeptical of the film. Korean films have come a long way, yet I trust their action and flashy stylish movies more then their dramas. u0026quot;JSAu0026quot; and u0026quot;Shiriu0026quot; are great, u0026quot;Jakartau0026#39;su0026quot; a lot of fun, and u0026quot;Nowhere to Hideu0026quot; is stylistical live manga if Iu0026#39;ve ever seen it.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eBut u0026quot;Failanu0026quot; comes out of nowhere, and makes me wonder why this didnu0026#39;t make it out of Korea. Itu0026#39;s hands down one of the best films of the last year. Storywise, it avoids cliche, and other traps of romantic/tragic films, and comes out on its own.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story is simple. A wretched bum Kang Jae(Min-Sik Choi of Shiri fame) who sells pornography and is involved in the organized crime syndicate in Inchon marries Failan (Cecilia Cheung in an amazing performance,) a young Chinese girl abandoned and alone in the world in a marriage of convenience; she gets to stay in Korea and work, and he gets some cash for it. The two never meet, yet Failan is eternally grateful.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe thing is though, Failan is not even mentioned until 45 minutes into the story. Until that point, youu0026#39;re following the life of Kang Jae. But as you soon discover, both are tragic characters. Failan, is one of the most beautiful characters put onto film; not just in terms of outer aesthetics, but in terms of inner beauty. She is the sweetest character Iu0026#39;ve seen in a film, and that fact makes it even harder to watch.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe film borders on drama and melodrama, but thankfully, most of it is not melodramatic. Oh sure, thereu0026#39;s some parts where the audience scoffs, but there are other parts when what is happening is so tragically beautiful, that you canu0026#39;t help but get involved emotionally. Thankfully, most of it is subtle and not slam in your face u0026quot;Pay it Forwardu0026quot; style. What affected me was when Kang Jae was reading the letter from Failan thanking him for being the kindest person sheu0026#39;s met. Whatu0026#39;s said isnu0026#39;t long prose, and if youu0026#39;re familiar with the Korean language, the sentence structure is very simple. However, the way in which the Failanu0026#39;s voice-over reads it is so innocent, so sweet, and so full of emotion that I choked up at that point.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003enThe rest of the film is equally as wonderful. The group I saw it with, 2 girls and 3 guys all in college, were all equally affected. It surprises me that Shiri, conceivably a Hollywood-esque film (albeit very well done) gets a release in the U.S but this one doesnu0026#39;t.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eIf you get a chance to see this film, do not hesitate. It took me a while to get into it, as the first 45 minutes seem to have little bearing on the story, but they actually do. Beautiful acting, cinematography, and a story. Highly Recommended.”