Almost There

This post was originally going to be a list of films that I consider to be the best of 2009. However, there is at least one film left that I have yet to see that may change my list. So, I'm going to hold off on my best of list post for about a week so I can see the film. Until then, enjoy my thoughts on two South Korean films about hopeful athletes.



Take Off -(Director's Cut)
Directed by Kim Yong-hwa, starring Ha Jung-woo, Sung Dong-il, Kim Ji-suk, Kim Dong-wook, Choi Jae-hwan, and Lee Jae-eung.

An immensely enjoyable, fictionalized account of the formation of South Korea's ski jump team, and their efforts to enter the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.



Forever the Moment
Directed by Lim Soon-rye, starring Kim Jung-eun, Moon So-ri, and Uhm Tae-woong.

I'm too lazy to re-review this film, so please enjoy the following thoughts, which I posted last March:

"Following the completion of the regular season of Women's Handball in South Korea, a group of veteran players are forced to evalute their lives. Though they won the league championship, their team has been disbanded, and there are hard feelings amongst the women, as some have been selected to play for the national team in the Summer Games, while most have not. And, for some, handball must take a back seat to the trials and tribulations of life.

Once those selected arrive at training camp, they have to deal with a seemingly unkind and uncaring coach. Having played with her players on previous national teams, the coach is seen as unworthy, and is treated as such. However, she soon wins the players over with her kindness and strength, only to be replaced as coach by another former player, who is also her ex-fiance.

With the encouragement of her former players, she joins the team as a playe herself, and they all help each other sort out personal affairs in preparation for the Summer Games. Unfortunately, being mentally ready and in good physical shape may not be enough, as the new coach has a chip on his shoulder, and a strong distaste for the veteran players. Facing the start of the Summer Games, the players and the coach must come to believe in themselves, and each other, in order to compete for gold.

Based on true events, Forever the Moment tells the filmic tale of the South Korean Women's Handball Team's preparation for, and participation in, the 2004 Summer Games. There's drama, determination, sweat, and, you guessed it, handball. While cinematic depictions of sports teams overcoming adversity are hardly a rarity, Forever the Moment does manage to go beyond standard fare, eschewing over-the-top high-impact action-oriented scenes for touches of drama and, dare I say, humanity. Suffice it to say, Forever the Moment is very good."