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Cast:
Jun Ji-Hyun
Jang Hyuk
Kim Su-Ro
Lee Ki-Woo
Kim Chang-Wan
Cha
Tae-Hyun (cameo)
Writer:
Kwak
Jae-Young
Producer:
William
Kong
Choi
Su-Yeong
Jung
Hoon-Tak
Director:
Kwak Jae-Young
Score:
 
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WINDSTRUCK
AKA:
I Got You Babe ||
Wind Struck
Year:
2004 Reviewer: Andrew
Saroch
How
do you follow up one of the most successful and most imitated
Asian rom-coms in recent years? The two options are to a) try
to replicate it's success with a sequel or a carbon-copy of
the original and b) attempt to explore pastures new.
Kwak Jae-Young, to his credit, made two films before deciding to resort
to option 'a'. 'Windstruck' is quirky, comical and tragic in
much the same way that 'My
Sassy Girl' was, even going as far as recalling
Jun Ji-Hyun as another sassy girl.
While
doing his duty as an honest citizen and chasing a bag
snatcher, physics teacher Myung-woo (Jang Hyuk) is mistakenly
arrested by temperamental police woman Kyung-jin (Jun Ji-Hyun)
and subjected to a rather aggressive interrogation at the
local police station by her. After she is eventually convinced
that Myung-woo is innocent, but adamant that she should not
say sorry, Kyung-jin decides to apologise by making her
feelings known in front of the teacher's all-girl class. What
follows is an unusual relationship that gradually develops
into a tender romance when Myung-woo begins to discover why
his new friend is the ways she is. However, the hot-headed
police woman is constantly putting herself in dangerous
situations in her bid to prove herself to her superiors, while
long-suffering Myung-woo faithfully puts himself in danger to
help out. Then, one such situation spawns an incident that
proves to be a major turning point in the lives of the young
lovers.
If
you didn't like 'My Sassy Girl', it's unlikely you'll want to
watch 'Windstruck'. Even if you did like the
Kwak Jae-Young hit, you may initially feel slightly resentful when it appears
that 'Windstruck' is exploring identical themes. Nonetheless,
this is the kind of film that rewards the patient viewer,
taking the strengths of 'My Sassy Girl' and using them as a
catalyst to explore other avenues. This amounts to an even
more implosive odyssey through the emotional mangle - the
Asian cinematic skill of juggling comedy, romance and tragedy
is never as extreme as it is here.
'Windstruck'
could initially be seen as 'My Sassy Girl 2', so similar is
its set-up and execution. Director
Kwak Jae-Young seems to use
the old 'if it 'aint broke, don't fix it' edict, refusing to
tamper with a winning formula and quite content to let
beautiful, yet brooding Jun Ji-Hyun dominate the proceedings
once again. However, after thirty episodic, but thoroughly
enjoyable minutes, Kwak ups the ante and takes 'Windstruck' to
a very different plain. Without resorting to spoilers, 'Windstruck'
turns from the gentle trappings of the rom-com sub-genre into
full blown drama, a transition that is far more powerful than
'My Sassy Girl' and even more melodramatic.
With
the scope for drama increased, 'Windstruck' becomes an
appropriate platform for the thespian skills of its leading
lady. Kyung-jin begins as a carbon copy of the infamous 'Sassy
Girl', but
Kwak Jae-Young stretches her as the film
progresses, throwing her into gruelling situations in order to
achieve his goal. By the time the film reaches its
soul-stirring denouement, Kyung-Jin is a rounded character and
not just an outlandish cartoon character full of idiosyncrasies. Jun
Ji-Hyun is exceptional in this draining role and shows a
remarkable range, swinging from ill-tempered to distraught
sometimes within the same scene. She sparks up the same
rapport with love interest Jang Hyuk (who is equally capable
as the quixotic Myung-Woo) that she achieved with Cha Tae-Hyun
in 'My Sassy Girl', but 'Windstruck' affords her a greater
opportunity to test her acting talents.
As
with 'My Sassy Girl', 'Windstruck' is an extravagant two hours
in length, a fact that eventually becomes its undoing. The
aforementioned acting is first-rate, the characters appealing
and the twisting plot engrossing, but
Kwak Jae-Young truly
needs to utilise the talents of a good editor. While the
director crams the narrative with incident, he occasionally
repeats earlier sentiments in wasted scenes and therefore lets
the pace ebb away. 'Windstruck' copes with an epic running
time better than many of its contemporaries would've done -
largely thanks to the power it exerts over the viewer
throughout - but it still smacks of self-indulgence.
Though
'Windstruck' stumbles in the same areas as 'My Sassy Girl'
did, it thankfully succeeds in a similar way. It takes an
innocent everyman, someone who viewers can warm to, and lands
him in the frenzied world of his erratic 'girlfriend'. Though
such an idea is no longer original, the comedy still works
well and the subsequent drama is given greater resonance
because of it.
Kwak Jae-Young also concludes the film with a
very playful, highly controversial ending that cements the
connections to 'My Sassy Girl' once and for all. While some
have commented that this twist degrades 'Windstruck', turning
it into a wannabe sequel, this reviewer found it to be a
welcome link to past glories and a cheeky way of linking two
different cinematic worlds. In the end, the interpretation is
left to each individual viewer.
From
surreal comedy to heart-wrenching drama, 'Windstruck' is the
kind of sprightly amalgamation of themes that would have to be
severely diluted to get an expected Hollywood makeover. It's
fresh despite its obvious allusions to 'My Sassy Girl' and has
that unashamed attempt to stir the viewer that only Asian
cinema seems to have mastered. Melodramatic, beautiful, witty,
hilarious, tragic, heavy-handed, overlong... 'Windstruck' is
an enjoyable enigma that has enough virtues to make even a
stoic critic a little more forgiving.
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