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SCMP Reporter

Starring: Jun Do-yeon,  Hwang Jung-min

Director: Park Jin-pyo

Category: IIB (Korean)

A South Korean romance that abides by  all the rules of melodrama, You are My Sunshine is the kind of film that will touch  a chord  with everyone, thanks to its all-conquering theme: unconditional love.

Veteran actress Jun Do-yeon (Happy End) plays Eun-ha, a prostitute with a tragic past. Hwang Jung-min plays Suk-jung, a rancher who falls for Eun-ha at first sight. They marry against all odds and have a great time together, until Eun-ha's former husband shows up, demanding sex with  her and  money from Suk-jung.

If that's not  enough for the lovers, Eun-ha  contracts HIV. The guilt-ridden  woman leaves  and sells herself to a prostitution ring to repay Suk-jung, who searches for her to no avail until she's arrested.

Love in movies is usually so twisted nowadays that any portrayal of sincerity and devotion  is considered cheap and melodramatic. But  well-crafted melodrama answers to something embedded in human nature, which is why You are My Sunshine - adapted to the screen by  Park Jin-pyo and based on a newspaper article - transcends ordinary pop romances and is emotionally affecting as a powerful essay on love.

The brilliant love-at-first-sight sequence, in which Suk-jung sees Eun-ha riding by  on a scooter and then follows her like a man possessed, is a beautiful passage for  its simplicity of style and purity of emotion. And even though other scenes - such as the lovers sharing a bathtub or strolling under the trees at night with cherry blossoms raining on  them - are recycled romantic cliches, they're executed with such a deft touch that they're still able to mesmerise  the audience.

As the movie evolves into a full-bodied tragedy, Jun increasingly stands out as an actress. The camera loves her face, which is a constant source of intense drama. The close-ups of her eyes, from icy to welling with tears, are so heart-wrenching that you  hope you never have to watch them again.

You are My Sunshine may not be a film for everyone. It's a tearjerker contrived  to make you feel touched and uplifted.  But it's hard to leave the cinema without feeling both.

You are My Sunshine opens today



You are My Sunshine