The Beauty Inside

South Korea is no stranger to putting some really good and entertaining movies out there, and "The Beauty Inside" (aka "Byuti insaideu") is definitely a movie that fits into that description. Now, I wasn't familiar with the movie or its storyline prior to happen to come across it by sheer luck, and of course with my love for the Asian cinema I just had to give it a go. And I am very glad that I did, because "The Beauty Inside" turned out to be a rather interesting and beautiful movie. The story in all its simplicity is Woo-Jin who wakes up every day in a different body; a change that spans both gender, nationality and age. One day he may be a Japanese middle aged man, only to wake up as an African teenage girl the next, and so on and so on. He falls in love with a salesperson at a local furniture vendor, and lets her in on the secret of his life, and she falls in love with him in return. The storyline is quite different and unlike anything I have ever seen before, and that really was a great and refreshing change of pace. The storyline in "The Beauty Inside" is nicely paced and really well composed by writers Seon-jeong Kim, Jeong-ye Park and Kyung-hee Noh. And director Jong-Yeol Baek really brought the story to life so well on the screen. "The Beauty Inside" has a very expanded list of actors and actresses, most of which portray the Woo-Jin character. I will say that this diversity was really well handled by the numerous actors and actresses that performed in the movie. While the storyline is beautiful and touching, then I don't see this as a movie that you will be likely to watch more than a single time. It just doesn't have that special quality to it.

Those are three words that I can use to explain this movie. First, pastel tone throughout the movie softens and romanticize audience's feelings. When one describes the love or romance, pastel tone can really maximize those emotions. Yi-soo's emotion roller-coasters as her boyfriend's entire body and face change everyday. However, pastel color and actress' poised acting tones down this drama. Second, the director's use of warm lighting and colors is a great means to bring emotions out from the audience. Orange-yellowish lighting through the Sun, street light, lamp.. even the clothes of actors and wood color of the furniture create warm atmosphere. Visual directing and mise-en-scene constitutes fairy-tale ambiance even though the story is realistic about falling in love and breaking up.

Interesting movie about an even more interesting theme. A guy wakes up every morning in a new body, whether that's a woman, man, child, elder or even foreigner (in which case he has to talk in the language of the body's nationality). He tries to make the best out of his situation, when he falls in love with a girl who sales furniture. But his strange condition makes it nearly impossible to date her, let alone make her fall for him, as he changes faces every day. The theme, as I said, it's interesting and entertaining. Though, I couldn't help it but await for the guy's condition to eventually (miraculously) change. But, as the hero says (short of), love can change things but can make things difficult as well. The girl was amazing in her performance, as she displayed perfect chemistry with each actor that played her partner. Plus, some of the actors were really good (exapmle, the girl who performed the scene where the mother confesses her secret to her son). Still, however, it felt like it needed something more, maybe some twist or something more powerful. But all in all, a nice love story, so 7 out of 10.

The concept of the movie is very new, yet I would only give it a 7 - 8. It's beautiful and decent. No drama. No third wheelers. Just two people meeting, falling, struggling then learning to embrace their happiness. However, I still give it a 10. Partly, because Han Hyojoo smoothly transformed into her character. It's not a difficult role, but she's my favorite actress so I guess I can be quite biased. But the main reason why I give it a 10 is due to the cinematography. Shots are taken in the angles that can capture the perfect light and perfect scenes, giving it a dreamy, heaven-like feels, sometimes even very picturesque. The color of the film is of a vintage beige tone that matches my type perfectly.