Customer Reviews

Failan [VHS]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This movie is so sad withoug even trying. The film makers were very meticulous in photographing the landscapes of the two lead actors' faces that emits such sadness and desperation. Choi Minsik, looking less menacing than in "Shiri" plays a no good gangster who can't seem to do anything right. For some quick cash, he marries a Chinese immigrant lovingly played by Cecelia Cheung. The Minsik character was teasingly urge by his buddy who arranged the deal to see what his new wife looks like, but in true form, he just takes the money and goes along his merry way. I think this is the most pivotal part of the movie, becuase if he would have just taken a second look, he would have seen a face exactly like himself, desperate, kind hearted and just needing someone to care a little bit, it would have touched him and it could have changed the tragic course of his life. Minsik and Cheung, [...]played their part so well, that you can almost put them in the "Most tragic romantic couple" list. These two actors are so crafted in acting out their parts, that this is one of the reasons why this movie is soo endearing. I really loved this movie and my eyes are still a little sore from crying. A little disclaimer: I got this movie from Amazon.cot, so the DVD has no extras, I am sure the Korean version have extras, but I am greatful that at least it wasn't dubbed. For Sad Movie fans, this movie is a must.

The 2001 Korean film won some Asian festival awards but is otherwise little known. It's an interesting story about a young Chinese woman, played by Cecilia Chuung, who wants to make her home in Korea. Her parents have died and she has spent all her money to come to Korea in search of an aunt who has long since moved away. She lovely, she's young and she's penniless.

In the meantime there is a aging low-level gangster, played by Min-sik Cho, who has just come out of jail. He lives in a rough tough world and he seems stuck there. Life is hard for him, he lives in a dump and he is nothing but a pawn for the gang leader who tyrannically rules over him. He'd love to return to the fishing village of his childhood but this does not seem possible as he has agreed to serve time in jail for his boss who has just committed a murder.

In order to stay in Korea the young woman had to marry a Korean and she and the gangster have had a paper marriage for about a year. She's sick though. We see her coughing blood when she goes for a job as a prostitute. It seems a ruse at first, a way of not having to work at the oldest profession, but the audience soon learns that her disease is real. She does get a job though, working as a laundress. The work is hard and backbreaking but she gets into it, even does extra work, and the woman she works for comes to love and respect her.

She's never met the gangster she married, but she's obsessed by him. She writes him letters thanking him for his kindness and even makes a trip to his town to get a glimpse of him. He reads her letters over and over. She's the only one that seems to care for him.

The acting is extraordinary, especially that of the gangster. His face is full of expression and he makes the audience really understand his character. It's a challenging role. And he just shines.

The ending is sad, however. And inevitable.

This film isn't perfect but It gave me a glimpse into a world that is otherwise closed to me. I came away enriched by the experience.

It's two short sad stories of a man and of a woman. Yet, those two merge into a story of hope and love when the two characters are spiritually interconnected.
The man, a pathetic third class gangster in Korea, manages making his life leeching on his likes and the poor. The woman, after the death of her parents comes to Korea to live with her aunt but finds out that she had emigrated to Canada. No place to go back to in China and no means of contacting her ant, she has no choice but to stay in the strange land where people speak in a strange language.
It's hard to write a review without revealing the whole plot of a movie. But I think that about sums it up without making this review a spoiler.
Choi, MinSik who plays the main character is considered one of the top actors by many in Korea, acts up to his fame, and Ceceilia Cheung who plays Failan,this is my first time seeing her in a film, is perfect for the role. I highly recommend this film.
However, I felt the English subtitle was not done properly. I am a native Korean speaker. Whenever I watch a Korean film, I turn English subtitles on, just to see how the translation is done. In this film, Korean dialogues are alot more gritty than the English translation, reflecting the characters as they are without the need to verbally explaining about them. But, unless you speak Korean, what difference does it make anyway, right?
Did I mention I cried? A little....Ok, ok, I cried a little more than a little. After the ending something lingers on in your heart. And that's the sign of a good movie whether it's happy or sad. To me, the ending was a relief, happy ending. Many of you might disagree with me though.

I felt full and complete after watching this movie like I had a fantastic meal or read a great novel. Foreign films such as Failan, without big Hollywood budget, relies totally on the talents of the director and actors for their creativity. I wish there are wider reviews and distribution of foreign films in America. I found about this movie recently by a word of mouth.

This movie is nothing like the "feel good"-"happy ever after" excuses for drama that Hollywood seems to insist upon.
It's a touching story, though Kang-jae is hardly a likeable person for the most part. One would have to be heartless not to empathize with his unknown bride Failan.
Not much that I can add to what other reviewers have said except that I recommend this movie without reservation. If there is anything to complain about-the sub-titles are rather small--but this is a minor complaint--and far better than the sub-titles intruding!
In life we all make choices-for Kang-jae it seems like he always made the wrong ones--until it was too late. Cecilia Chung plays the part of Failan flawlessly,and Choi Min-shik also does a wonderful job as Kang-jae.
Quite a few really good films are coming out of Korea recently--this is one of the best. Buy it, rent it or borrow it--it's a movie well worth watching!

If only Hollywood could make movies like this!

Stay away from this movie. It's the heart-wrenching kind so unless you're okay with feeling blue after the movie, avoid this bittersweet tale of sorrow and regret.

Failan is about a down and out gangster whose miserable life just got more so when he learns of the death of his wife - a young woman by the name of Failan whom he has never met. As he goes through the process of identifying the body and other last rites, he slowly learns more and more about the person who was his wife only on paper. The journey of discovery is told with such grace that one can't help but feel for the both of them.

Initially, the only thing I didn't like about the movie was its tempo, but in retrospect, it was masterfully paced. However, this realization took a lot of patience because the first 40 minutes of the movie was almost soley about the man. Now, I know it's important to engage the audience by following the subject for a while but I think 40 minutes is a bit too long. That said, I wonder if that might have been one of the keys to the movie's surprising ability to touch you during the final scenes. You feel a bit more compassionate towards him because you understood where he's coming from. That he, unlike his boss, was a good person at heart.

Once in a great while, a movie comes along and is able to significantly affect your perception of the human condition. This is one of them. Don't miss it.

Failan is not your typical love story and definitely not a "chick flick".
Choi Min Shik portrays a pathetic gangster who enters into a marriage with an immigrant woman, played by Cecilia Cheung, whom he never meets. His life in shambles and seeing no way out of his miserable existence, he decides to take the fall for his crime boss. Rather than finding himself confessing to the murder when he's summoned to the police, he's notified that his wife has died.
The scene at the end where Choi Min Shik breaks down and mourns the death of his wife is just heart-wrenching. My friend wondered why he was so devestated when he didn't even know this person. I told her it's because he had no idea he had someone who dearly loved him even though he was a pathetic loser. He peddled pornographic tapes, threatened old store owners for money (he was even beaten off by one) and was about to give up 10 years of his life so he can buy a fishing boat. It just broke his heart and mine to see that happiness and love was just around the corner, yet they were gone by the time he realized.
I was reminded of Marlon Brando's eulogy scene in Last Tango in Paris.
This is one movie that's hard to watch and forever grabs your heart.

This movie touched me profoundly. The central theme is whether a man and a woman of totally different background can deeply fall in love without having met each other. The story is based on a screen adaptation of the Japanese novel Love Letter written by Jiro Asada.

Cecilia Cheung is wonderful as the title character, Failan, who comes to Korea to live with her aunt after her mother died in China. Unfortunately, her aunt emigrated to Canada and Failan is left all alone penniless in a stange land. At a local employment agency, she is involuntarily connected to a gang group, which concocts a fake marriage with a third-rate ganster Kang-Jae played by Choi Min-Shik of Shiri (she can't work with her tourist visa) so that they can sell her to a brothel. Fortunately, she ends up working at a cleaner and finds comfort in the red scarf given to her by Kang-Jae and the smiling face of Kang-Jae's picture whenever she is forlorn and melancholy.

His reason for giving her the red scarf? He didn't look good in it. He doesn't even bother to meet his bride at the employment agency. He just fills out the paperwork and forgets her completely after that day.

One year later, he decides to take a fall for his mob boss. To his surprise, he is soon visited by a police officer and when hs is about to confess to the murder he didn't commit, the police officer informs him that his wife passed away recently and that he has to claim her body.

Then the movie explains poignantly with quiet subtlety and mesmerizing imagery how Failan fell in love with him and how he gradually falls in love with his deceased wife that he has never met. We can feel the anguish that Failan and Kang-Jae experience through their superb acting and unforgettable seaside cinematography. There is some foul language, but it adds to the movie.

I have to say that this is the most heart-breaking and beautiful love story I've ever seen.

Well, I realize there was a lot of good reviews and bad reviews. I guess this is a type of movie that would depend on the type of person you are. If you really enjoy watching movies about the hardship and reality of life then this would be a great movie for you. It shows that life can never be the way you plan it to be and things can often go wrong. It is a very sad movie and I am surprise I had so much sorrow for these two actors.
But if you like action movies a lot more than this might not be the movie for you because it's more focus on real life situations that goes on around the world.
I thought it was great...and Cecilia always knows how to play her roles well. =)

I am not a fan of sad movies, but this movie is different. There is only 1 or 2 scenes which made me cry from the bottom of the heart. This movie is just about our lives. One of the gentlely but deeply touching movies ever produced. Superb, A+.