[Herald Review] 'The Magician’ lays thick on teen romance
Yoo Seung-ho is the heart-fluttering guilty pleasure teen girls have been looking for all yearStill from “The Magician” (Lotte Entertainment)
This has not been a kind year for romance movies at the Korean box office. There is not a single romance film -- Korean or foreign -- that has made it into the top 20 box-office hits. In fact, “The Beauty Inside,” the star-studded high-profile romance film of the year, came in at No. 30.
Kim Dai-seung’s new period feature “The Magician” hopes to change this trend at the very end of the year with spectacular visuals, a story that follows the typical tormented love narrative, with two fail-proof teen romance stars cast in the lead roles.
“When you watch the film, you’ll feel that love which changes destinies is the true magic,” director Kim told press at a prerelease press conference.
The story opens with the introduction of a handsome magician living in the Joseon Era named Hwan-hui (Yoo Seung-ho). Charming and talented, Hwan-hui packs his theater Mullangnu (whose name means “place with no light”) every night. Yet he is deeply unhappy and wastes his days away with drinks, drugs and women, trying to find meaning in his life.
Still from “The Magician” (Lotte Entertainment) |
The two tragic lovers’ stories intertwine when Cheong-myeong’s entourage makes a pit stop in the town where Hwan-hui performs. It’s love at first sight, and they must hurtle through various obstacles to find their everlasting bliss. Following the tween-geared romance framework, there are a few surprises and plenty of near-kisses and tense silences that will keep young female viewers holding their breath.
The romance of the film works; Yoo and Go are both easy on the eyes and their on-screen chemistry works well. However, it is difficult to shake the feeling that Yoo and Go’s interactions seem isolated from the rest of the film. They keep up light and casual banter when they are alone -- a little too casual when compared with the overall tone of the rest of the cast, which includes Chungmuro heavyweights like Lee Gyoung-young, Cho Youn-hee and Kwak Do-won. Their conversations also rarely connect to their individual storylines -- much of the dialogue could have been between any two young lovebirds, without having to be between a lowly magician and a princess hiding her royal status, and certainly without having to have taken place in the Joseon Era.
Still from “The Magician” (Lotte Entertainment) |
By Won Ho-jung (hjwon@heraldcorp.com)