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The Harmonium in My Memory
Average Customer Rating:  
List Price:
$19.95
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$17.99
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Manufacturer: Tai Seng
Starring: Do-yeon Jeon, Jae-in Kim, Byung-hun Lee, Mi-yeon Lee, Hye-rin Seo
Directed By: Young-jae Lee
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: Unrated
Binding: DVD
EAN: 6016417172432
Format: Color
Label: Tai Seng
Manufacturer: Tai Seng
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: Tai Seng
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2006-02-28
Running Time: 116
Studio: Tai Seng
Theatrical Release Date: 1999
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Seemed a little pandering to me
Comment: I love Do-yeon Jeon and what I love about her is that she always appears completely genuine in performance. In this film, however, her every move is riddled with acting. It's hardly her fault as she is given the mighty task of portraying a fifth-grade girl. What is that? Ten years old? Eleven? Her character could be seventeen for all I know, given the poverty and functional illiteracy of her community, but she's still a fifth-grader. All the self-conscious insecurities and pouting of a girl that age--not to mention a girl that age whose day to day life is overwhelmed by a mad crush on her new twenty-one year old school teacher--all the mannerisms are forced. But enough about that. No use crying over spilled milk, or, thank god in this case, unrequited love.
The Harmonium in My Memory is a sweet little nostalgia film set in rural South Korea sometime after the war around 1960, give or take, centering on the teachers and students at a community school. Many of the students can't afford basic school supplies, are often rowdy in class and prove to be quite a handful for the rookie teacher played wonderfully by Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life; Joint Security Area). It's the youthful idealism of Lee's character who wants to treat the students with respect and tolerance set against the older teachers' old-school values of beating and discipline that serves as the film's basic theme. The other likeable character in the film, played by Mi-yeon Lee, is another young teacher who takes her students outside to make noise and run off steam, much to the chagrin of her elders. She's Lee's love interest, and she and he share a passion for music, providing for many a musical moment in The Harmonium in My Memory. "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You", sung by Connie Francis, captures the torchy milieu of these characters perfectly--perhaps a little too easily.
The Harmonium in My Memory isn't a bad film, but expectations are extremely high for Do-yeon Jeon, and she disappoints; all the characters in the film are cliché; the use of dramatic music seems like a shortcut to emotions the characters aren't capable of making us feel; and the ending is manipulative, tacked on to make us get happy about a film that left us empty.
And what's the deal with kids bringing stool samples to class?
Customer Rating:
Summary: The Harmonium in My Memory
Comment: This was a good movie but the end was very surprising.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Highly recommended.
Comment: For those who enjoyed "Road Home" here comes another wonderful version of an emotional film involving teachers.
In this case the story is developing around the first love of an innocent village girl and the newly arrived teacher.
In this mixture of sad and happy moments we can enjoy the innocence and purity of a young girl who discovers love for the first time, the effort of a teacher to remain impartial and fair as a teacher towards a girl that he started liking too.
The involvement in the story of other teachers and people around their daily life, adds interest and emotion.
Soon the viewer is part of the story.
The photography is magnificent and the music typical of the 60s.
This wonderful selection of music is also a centerpiece in the development of the story.
A very well balanced film, running smoothly and keeping the viewer interested, full of emotion, throughout the entire duration.
Highly recommended.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Important Lessons In Life Learned In And Out Of The Classroom
Comment: Note: Korean with English subtitles.
'The Harmonium In My Memory' is a touching, bittersweet tale of first love, exploring both the exhilarating emotional purity of initial attraction and the devastating sadness and sense of loss when things don't turn out as planned. The cinematography is amazing, showcasing some of the most vividly enchanting landscapes you'll ever see and the storyline and cast will win your heart and stay in your memory long after the closing credits.
Set in Korea circa 1963 Kang (Lee Byeong-heon) arrives in a rural village ready to begin his first teaching position. When a young local girl Yun (Jeon Do-yeon) sees Kang walking down the road her attraction to him is immediate. She shyly provides directions with a girlish giggle and the pointing of a finger. And so the flirtation begins.
Lee Byeong-heon and Jeon Do-yeon are two of the most likeable characters you'll ever watch in a film and they're just amazing together. They are so expressive you can almost feel their joy and pain as each pursues love interests that simply weren't meant to be.
This film has a little bit of everything, running the full gamit of human emotions. Just be sure to have a box of kleenex nearby, when you stop laughing you're sure to shed a tear or two. If you loved 'The Road Home' you're sure to love this too!
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