A Werewolf Boy (2012)

(Read the full review at my review blog, Re(mAAArk)able Reviews! [Link in my profile!])

Song Joong Ki was always a masterful actor, as anyone who has seen anything he's been in can certainly attest. He's got a beautiful face, for one, and a talent for saying little and yet expressing a lot. This works in his favor in playing the wordless Chul-soo. I can't imagine what it was like to play him in the early stages, when he was ravenously stuffing food in his mouth and constantly running around like a crazy person, but Joong Ki embraces the role and plays it just monstrous enough without going overboard. I was extremely impressed with him, and for once not just because he's beautiful. (He's beautiful. Ladies who might be hesitant to watch a werewolf film--he's beautiful. Do it.)

Park Bo-young who plays Suni and Suni's granddaughter (we get a frame narrative of Suni when she's older, but I don't want to say any more than that) is similarly talented, although of course she gets far more lines. The way she embraces training Chul-soo like a puppy is so entertaining, especially when at first she's just pissed her mother has taken the homeless boy in. And at the climax of the film she delivers an incredible performance that is definitely what started the waterworks. I am convinced all the way through by every emotion Bo-young expresses.

The film is also beautifully shot. Since most of the story takes place in the past, there is a kind of soft glow and sepia-toned coloring to the whole film that is just beautiful. Everything feels so nostalgic and warm, despite the obviously dark subject matter. (He is a werewolf, after all.) The countryside landscapes are filmed in such a way as they could be anywhere, not necessarily the Korean countryside, which gives this film a universal feel that I'm not used to with most Korean movies. It just feels like it could be anyone's family story, and I really enjoyed that.

Like I said, there are tears, and I'll never be able to hear "kajima" ("don't go" in Korean) ever again without sobbing like an infant. But I won't spoil any of that for you, because this film is well worth watching, again and again and again, even with all the heartbreak. The performances are flawless, the cinematography dazzles, and the story itself will wiggle its way into your heart and never let go. Definitely an A+.

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It's been a while since I've seen this daebak movie!!

This story was similar yet different. I've always loved supernatural stuff. As I'm currently watching Teen Wolf. Werewolves are amazing!! song joong ki rocked his role. I'm so glad he's finally back from military service, I'm missing him so much!! I'd say this story was quite predictable,

Like I said, SJK is WOW!! How did he manage to perform so well without having to say a single word? When he spoke, it made me cried. How did that happen? It touches u, it hits!! The overall cast is nice.

Music wasn't memorable since I don't remember anything.

I've rewatch this with my cousin and for some reason she did not cry, but I did.

I'm sure that no one will regret watching this. U will regret not watching it. It's not a waste of time, but pleasure, jst PLEASURE to my eyes. It's not sad, but touchy n meaningful in a way. There's no reason to reject it.

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My first time writing a review. I felt the need to write a short review because I need to share with mydramalist how I felt about this film, the film that PLAYS with your feelings.

PLOT- It will infuriate you, sadly I read a spoiler of the film unintentionally so I knew what was going to happen and even so, it still meddled with my feelings because the plot is just too damn good. Some agonizing scenes are a little predictable (it's like the directors/producers/actors purposely make it predictable for you to have a heartache though).

Acting/Cast- Definitely satisfied with the acting in this film and would give a firm 10. Yoo Yeon Seok plays Ji Tae (the antagonist) and plays him superbly well and I'm sure I'm not the only one to be aggravated by his character! Song Joong Ki (Chul Soo) and Park Bo Young (Suni) play excellent main roles, presenting a strong bond between the two to the audience (nothing for me was cliche in their acting!). Song Joong Ki's acting was phenomenal- the development was amazing. Not only Chul Soo who developed but definitely Suni.

Music- Definitely well fitting, straight after finishing the film, I youtubed the OST because it's quite relaxing, calming, very K indie. Also you will love 'My Prince' which is sang by Park Bo Young!

Rewatch Value- Personally, it would be unlikely for me to rewatch it because this film annoyed me so much with the plot and I really don't want to feel emotional pain again. If you enjoy emotional pain, crying, whaling; then this film is for you. Seriously it's a beautiful film (especially the ending) but it's painfully beautiful.

Overall- I'll give it a 10 which might sound a little confusing after reading what I've just wrote. As I stated before, it is 'painfully beautiful' and most things that are painfully beautiful are "truly real". It's one of those films where you don't want it to end how it did however you know in reality it would end like how it did which simply gives a bittersweet ending.

This movie really shows that love lingers on even after decades later.

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For Song Joong Ki fans, you shouldn't miss this. And for the others, this movie will leave you the question, "When being skeptic, what would you choose: have faith on what you believe in and take the risks of the consequences OR go with the flow and avoid dealing and gambling with the future risks?"

Overall - It was efficiently directed in showing the attitude of people whose doubts were easily controlled by fear.

Story - It is not unique in sense BUT the core point had been delivered greatly. The figurative interpretation on how people deal with other people whom are different from them (e.g. rich vs. poor, straight vs. homosexual) had been well presented through the characters of humans versus a mythical creature.

Acting/Actor - The casts made an outstanding portrayal of the characters. Each of them had been effectively convincing in their roles. The main leads had been able to substantially showcase the adjustments and development between the characters which have different origins, cultures and behavior.

Music - It was the timing, when the music/sound effects were played, made the movie better.

Rewatch Value - In times of dealing with the story's moral issue, it is deemed good to rewatch this movie.

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After a while I'm going to write a new review.

I had already read a lot about the movie actually and everyone was praising it, so my expectation were really high and gladly I wasn't dissapointed. When the movie started I was immediately hooked. I couldn't pause it, not even for a second.
Though I guess the story isn't something we haven't seen before the acting is just really outstanding.
Song Joong Ki did such an amazing job as the werewolf boy. You'd totally buy that he was raised by wolves as a kid actually.
It has a lot of cute and funny moments since the werewolf boy has to learn to live with other humans but be prepared: In the end you'll be crying.

Worth watching a hundert times, I'll never regret rewatching this movie. Really outstanding acting and a very lovely developing of a relationship. ^^

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"A Werewolf Boy"- to me at least, gives me very conflicted feelings. I loved most of the beginning, but the ending made me think I gave the movie too much credit to begin with. On one hand, I love the *idea* of the ending, the fact that it opens up so many doors about love and loss in general, but I hate how it made you question Suni's and Cheol-Su's relationship. I would love to say more about my thoughts on the ending, but I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone else.
Story: When you think about it, this movie borrows ideas from a lot of classics. You have a little bit of "Tarzan", some "Little Mermaid"- pretty much any fish-out-of-water movie out there. So you can very obviously tell the general trajectory of this story. Halfway through, the writers infused the "witch hunt" story line, in which the townspeople are afraid of what they do not know and attempt to kill anything that poses a danger to them (because, y'know, we're all murderers at heart). Let's not mention the fact that we have the typical rich a-hole as the second lead who believes all woman have to do is cook. But I really did love how there were some very golden moments in this movie. It was really interesting watching Suni's and Cheol-Su's relationship grow, as well as watching Cheol-Su's transformation. Of course, the ending killed whatever love I had for the two's relationship, but everything before the three-quarters mark was pure gold.
Acting: Song Joong-Ki. End of story. He's a brilliant actor, and was amazing in his portrayal of Cheol-Su. Park Bo-Young was cute and fit her role well, and she also had cute chemistry with her costar. Of course, it wasn't the sizzling chemistry Song-Joong-Ki and Moon Chae-Won had in "Nice Guy" (To be honest, the only reason I was so hesitant to watch this movie was because I still can;t get over my ChaeKi ship. Even though it'll never happen. Excuse me while I sob in the corner.), but the movie wasn't going for that sort of romance. It was going for the nostalgia and innocence of first love. Also, I really loved Yoo Yeon Sook. He was pretty awesome- even though his character was a jerk.
Music: The music was perfect. It was used well and was really great in highlighting the mood of certain scenes.
Rewatch Value: For me? Definitely not. Even though I loved the first three-quarters, I still won't watch it. The ending just sort of contaminated everything. It's not that the ending was bad, it just didn't *fit* the rest of the story. The writers built up this perfect, amazing relationship only to tear it down at the end.
Overall: Beautifully directed, heartwarming and filled with amazing an amazing cast. When it comes to recommendations, I would probably avoid bringing up "A Werewolf Boy" altogether. I don't want anyone else to suffer the frustration of this movie, but at the same time I don't want to badmouth it either. I loved certain parts of it, but I just can't bring myself to say that I loved *all* of it.

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