My Sassy Girl
Encyclopedia
My Sassy Girl is a 2001
South Korea
n romantic comedy film
directed by Kwak Jae-yong
. It tells the story of a man's chance meeting with a drunk girl on the train which changes his life. It is ostensibly based on a true story posted on the internet in a series of blog
posts written by Kim Ho-sik, which were later adapted into a novel
.
The film was extremely successful in South Korea and was the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time. When My Sassy Girl was released throughout East Asia
, it became a mega blockbuster hit in the entire region, from Japan
, China
, Taiwan
, Hong Kong
, as well as Southeast Asia
, to the point where it was drawing comparisons to Titanic.
An American remake
, starring Jesse Bradford
and Elisha Cuthbert
, and directed by Yann Samuell was released in 2008. A Japanese drama adaptation with Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
and actress Rena Tanaka
as the leads started broadcasting in April 2008.
college
student, Gyeon-woo, and "the Girl" (who is never named in the movie). Gyeon-woo just cannot seem to catch a romantic break. One day, at dinner, Gyeon-woo is interrupted by a call from his mother, telling him to visit his aunt and meet a potential date. At the train station on his way to his aunt's, he observes a drunk girl, standing precariously close to the edge of the train platform as the train approaches; he pulls her to safety just in time. Inside the train, Gyeon-woo cannot help but stare at the girl who is his "type" but repulsed by her drunkenness. Finally, she throws up on a passenger and faints but not before she calls Gyeon-woo "honey". The passenger aggressively chides Gyeon-woo and tells him to take care of his "girlfriend". Gyeon-woo, completely flustered, carries her all the way to the nearest hotel. Thus begins his comically ill-fated relationship with the Girl whom he realizes is a xanthippe
. They meet each other again after Gyeon-woo gets locked up in jail over a misunderstanding, and over soju
the Girl cries, admits to breaking up with her boyfriend the day before and gets thoroughly drunk, resulting in a second trip to the same hotel.
After this second overnight stay at the hotel, she begins to become a more active part of his life. She visits Gyeon-woo in school and pulls him out of class, telling the teacher that Gyeon-woo is the father of her soon-to-be-aborted baby. The Girl's mood swings wildly from joyful to downright violent, but Gyeon-woo puts up with it and lets her abuse him for her amusement.
She is an aspiring scriptwriter and throughout the movie gives Gyeon-woo three different screenplay
s from different genre
s. The first is an action movie—The Demolition Terminator—which switches gender roles, symbolically having the Girl save her helpless lover (Gyeon-woo). The second is a wild perversion of a Korean short story—Sonagi—in which the Girl, having died, asks that her lover be buried along with her—even though he's still alive. The last is a wuxia
/samurai movie spoof full of genre cliché
s and anachronism
s. All three feature the same common thread: the Girl is from the future.
Despite all the horrible things Gyeon-woo endures, he is determined to help cure the girl's pain. He decides to surprise her on her birthday and takes her on a nighttime trip to an amusement park
which ends up quite differently than how he planned: the pair encounter an AWOL soldier who holds them hostage and rants about his misery after being jilted. Gyeon-woo convinces him to release her, and she in turn convinces the soldier to free Gyeon-woo and go on with his life and pursue another love.
One day however, the Girl calls him and tells him to bring her a rose during class to commemorate their 100th-day anniversary. He does this, leading to a touching and romantic scene where he arrives in disguise into a packed auditorium and watches her play the melody of George Winston
's variations
on Pachelbel's
Canon in D
on a piano
onstage. The classmates applaud in approval at his romantic gesture. As the night unfolds he is confronted at her house by her parents again, with her father demanding the two to break up.
The Girl does not contact him again and Gyeon-woo naturally thinks they have broken up, until one day when she calls Gyeon-woo to meet her for dinner with a blind date. The Girl introduces Gyeon-woo to the date and, while she leaves for the washroom afterwards, Gyeon-woo candidly offers advice on how to ensure her happiness by asking her potential suitor to follow ten rules: preventing her from overdrinking and giving in to her at every circumstance, even if it means enduring the occasional "violence". It is at this point that she realizes how well Gyeon-woo understands her. She abruptly leaves her date and searches for Gyeon-woo at the subway station.
Once reunited the two realize they are at a turning point in their relationship, but, for some unspeakable reason, the Girl decides it is time for them to part. As a gesture to their happy times the two write letters to each other and bury them in a "time capsule" under a particular tree on a mountain in the countryside. They agree to meet again at the tree after two years to read the letters together. After burying the "time capsule" they go their separate ways.
A year after Gyeon-woo visits the tree, the Girl finally arrives. Sitting under the tree is an old man. During their conversation the old man reveals the secret of the tree, that it is not the same tree; the original tree had been struck and killed by lightning a year before and a similar tree had been planted by a young man so that his someone special would not be sad. After the girl reads his letter, she tries to call Gyeon-woo repeatedly, but was unable to contact him.
At lunch with her deceased boyfriend's mother after a year later, the mother introduces her nephew - who turns out to be Gyeon-woo, whom she has been trying to introduce to the Girl for years. The mother, who is Gyeon-woo's aunt, tells the Girl to go out with him, hoping that he could make life easier for her. She tells Gyeon-woo that the Girl can give advice to him about his impending trip to England
, to which he replies, "I don't have to go anymore".
over its 10 weeks in the cinemas.
Koreanfilm.org praised the Jeon Ji-hyun portrayal of the character calling her the "undisputed star" and stating "it could not have succeeded anywhere near as well without her".
(신승훈) is the theme song of this film. The song has been translated to different Asian languages such as Japanese
, Chinese
and Filipino
.
distributions.
's Central Park
and Upper East Side
. Director Yann Samuell states "It's a fable about destiny, in the end." whilst Jesse Bradford
who plays the lead protagonist
surmised the movie as "a romantic comedy
about how they pull each other to a more healthy place by virtue of their relationship."
The remake received numerous negative comments from the viewers especially from the fans of the original My Sassy Girl.
and actress Rena Tanaka
are the lead characters in the Japanese drama of the same name which started broadcasting in April 2008.
version called Ugly Aur Pagli
starring Ranvir Shorey
and Mallika Sherawat
was released on August 1, 2008. The movie is directed by Sachin Khot.
sequel named My Sassy Girl 2 stars Lynn Xiong and Leon Jay WIlliams
2001 in film
The year 2001 in film involved some significant events, including the first of the Harry Potter series and also the first of The Lord of the Rings trilogy...
South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
n romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed by Kwak Jae-yong
Kwak Jae-yong
Kwak Jae-yong is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyunghee University. He achieved success with his debut film Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day in 1989, but the failure of his next two movies led to eight years of unemployment before a comeback with the...
. It tells the story of a man's chance meeting with a drunk girl on the train which changes his life. It is ostensibly based on a true story posted on the internet in a series of blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
posts written by Kim Ho-sik, which were later adapted into a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
.
The film was extremely successful in South Korea and was the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time. When My Sassy Girl was released throughout East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
, it became a mega blockbuster hit in the entire region, from Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, as well as Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, to the point where it was drawing comparisons to Titanic.
An American remake
My Sassy Girl (2008 film)
My Sassy Girl is a 2008 American remake of the 2001 Korean romantic-comedy film of the same name. It stars Elisha Cuthbert and Jesse Bradford and was directed by Yann Samuell...
, starring Jesse Bradford
Jesse Bradford
- Early life :Bradford was born Jesse Bradford Watrouse in Norwalk, Connecticut, the only child of actors Terry Porter and Curtis Watrouse, who appeared in commercials, soap operas, and industrial films. His mother also played his character's mother in Hackers...
and Elisha Cuthbert
Elisha Cuthbert
Elisha Ann Cuthbert is a Canadian film and television actress. Cuthbert is known as the former co-host of the Canadian children's television series Popular Mechanics for Kids. In 1998, she had her first film role in Airspeed. She followed this in 2003 with a role in Old School...
, and directed by Yann Samuell was released in 2008. A Japanese drama adaptation with Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi
is a Japanese entertainer. Kusanagi is a member of the popular Japanese idol group SMAP and has also appeared in a number of television dramas, variety shows and movies.-Background:Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan....
and actress Rena Tanaka
Rena Tanaka
is a Japanese actress and TV personality. In 1999, she won the Japanese Academy Award for 'Best Newcomer' for her performance in Give It All; in 2001 she received a 'Best Actress' nomination for Hatsukoi.-Selected filmography:* Give It All...
as the leads started broadcasting in April 2008.
Part one
The film tells the love story of a male engineeringEngineering
Engineering is the discipline, art, skill and profession of acquiring and applying scientific, mathematical, economic, social, and practical knowledge, in order to design and build structures, machines, devices, systems, materials and processes that safely realize improvements to the lives of...
college
College
A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of an educational institution. Usage varies in English-speaking nations...
student, Gyeon-woo, and "the Girl" (who is never named in the movie). Gyeon-woo just cannot seem to catch a romantic break. One day, at dinner, Gyeon-woo is interrupted by a call from his mother, telling him to visit his aunt and meet a potential date. At the train station on his way to his aunt's, he observes a drunk girl, standing precariously close to the edge of the train platform as the train approaches; he pulls her to safety just in time. Inside the train, Gyeon-woo cannot help but stare at the girl who is his "type" but repulsed by her drunkenness. Finally, she throws up on a passenger and faints but not before she calls Gyeon-woo "honey". The passenger aggressively chides Gyeon-woo and tells him to take care of his "girlfriend". Gyeon-woo, completely flustered, carries her all the way to the nearest hotel. Thus begins his comically ill-fated relationship with the Girl whom he realizes is a xanthippe
Xanthippe
Xanthippe was the wife of Socrates and mother of their three sons: Lamprocles, Sophroniscus, and Menexenus. There are far more stories about her than there are facts. She was likely much younger than Socrates, perhaps by as much as forty years.-Name:...
. They meet each other again after Gyeon-woo gets locked up in jail over a misunderstanding, and over soju
Soju
Soju is a distilled beverage native to Korea. Its taste is comparable to vodka, though often slightly sweeter due to sugars added in the manufacturing process, and more commonly consumed neat.Most brands of soju are made in South Korea...
the Girl cries, admits to breaking up with her boyfriend the day before and gets thoroughly drunk, resulting in a second trip to the same hotel.
After this second overnight stay at the hotel, she begins to become a more active part of his life. She visits Gyeon-woo in school and pulls him out of class, telling the teacher that Gyeon-woo is the father of her soon-to-be-aborted baby. The Girl's mood swings wildly from joyful to downright violent, but Gyeon-woo puts up with it and lets her abuse him for her amusement.
She is an aspiring scriptwriter and throughout the movie gives Gyeon-woo three different screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
s from different genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
s. The first is an action movie—The Demolition Terminator—which switches gender roles, symbolically having the Girl save her helpless lover (Gyeon-woo). The second is a wild perversion of a Korean short story—Sonagi—in which the Girl, having died, asks that her lover be buried along with her—even though he's still alive. The last is a wuxia
Wuxia
Wuxia is a broad genre of Chinese fiction concerning the adventures of martial artists. Although wuxia is traditionally a form of literature, its popularity has caused it to spread to diverse art forms like Chinese opera, manhua , films, television series, and video games...
/samurai movie spoof full of genre cliché
Cliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s and anachronism
Anachronism
An anachronism—from the Greek ανά and χρόνος — is an inconsistency in some chronological arrangement, especially a chronological misplacing of persons, events, objects, or customs in regard to each other...
s. All three feature the same common thread: the Girl is from the future.
Despite all the horrible things Gyeon-woo endures, he is determined to help cure the girl's pain. He decides to surprise her on her birthday and takes her on a nighttime trip to an amusement park
Amusement park
thumb|Cinderella Castle in [[Magic Kingdom]], [[Disney World]]Amusement and theme parks are terms for a group of entertainment attractions and rides and other events in a location for the enjoyment of large numbers of people...
which ends up quite differently than how he planned: the pair encounter an AWOL soldier who holds them hostage and rants about his misery after being jilted. Gyeon-woo convinces him to release her, and she in turn convinces the soldier to free Gyeon-woo and go on with his life and pursue another love.
Part two
The Girl and Gyeon-woo's relationship takes a turn for the better and he sends her home and meets her father, who is a habitual drinker. Her parents do not take to Gyeon-woo and on leaving, he overhears an impassioned argument between the girl and her mother over her relationship with him. He does not hear from her for quite some time and his life without her begins.One day however, the Girl calls him and tells him to bring her a rose during class to commemorate their 100th-day anniversary. He does this, leading to a touching and romantic scene where he arrives in disguise into a packed auditorium and watches her play the melody of George Winston
George Winston
George Winston is an American pianist who was born in Michigan, and grew up mainly in Miles City, Montana as well as Mississippi and Florida. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida and lives in Santa Cruz, California.-Background:...
's variations
Variation (music)
In music, variation is a formal technique where material is repeated in an altered form. The changes may involve harmony, melody, counterpoint, rhythm, timbre, orchestration or any combination of these.-Variation form:...
on Pachelbel's
Johann Pachelbel
Johann Pachelbel was a German Baroque composer, organist and teacher, who brought the south German organ tradition to its peak. He composed a large body of sacred and secular music, and his contributions to the development of the chorale prelude and fugue have earned him a place among the most...
Canon in D
Canon in D
Pachelbel's Canon is the most famous piece of music by German Baroque composer Johann Pachelbel. It was originally scored for three violins and basso continuo and paired with a gigue in the same key. Like most other works by Pachelbel and other pre-1700 composers, the Canon remained forgotten for...
on a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
onstage. The classmates applaud in approval at his romantic gesture. As the night unfolds he is confronted at her house by her parents again, with her father demanding the two to break up.
The Girl does not contact him again and Gyeon-woo naturally thinks they have broken up, until one day when she calls Gyeon-woo to meet her for dinner with a blind date. The Girl introduces Gyeon-woo to the date and, while she leaves for the washroom afterwards, Gyeon-woo candidly offers advice on how to ensure her happiness by asking her potential suitor to follow ten rules: preventing her from overdrinking and giving in to her at every circumstance, even if it means enduring the occasional "violence". It is at this point that she realizes how well Gyeon-woo understands her. She abruptly leaves her date and searches for Gyeon-woo at the subway station.
Once reunited the two realize they are at a turning point in their relationship, but, for some unspeakable reason, the Girl decides it is time for them to part. As a gesture to their happy times the two write letters to each other and bury them in a "time capsule" under a particular tree on a mountain in the countryside. They agree to meet again at the tree after two years to read the letters together. After burying the "time capsule" they go their separate ways.
Overtime
During the two-year span, Gyeon-woo works hard to improve himself, writing My Sassy Girl movie script after he details their love affair on the Internet. When the agreed upon date arrives, he travels to the mountain but the Girl does not show up. Eventually, he opens the time capsule and reads her letter and learns the root of her angst and behavior: Gyeon-woo reminds her of her previous boyfriend who, rather than breaking up with her, actually died before she met Gyeon-woo. All through the time the Girl and Gyeon-woo were seeing each other she had been seeing her dead boyfriend's mother, who wants to introduce her to a nice young man.A year after Gyeon-woo visits the tree, the Girl finally arrives. Sitting under the tree is an old man. During their conversation the old man reveals the secret of the tree, that it is not the same tree; the original tree had been struck and killed by lightning a year before and a similar tree had been planted by a young man so that his someone special would not be sad. After the girl reads his letter, she tries to call Gyeon-woo repeatedly, but was unable to contact him.
At lunch with her deceased boyfriend's mother after a year later, the mother introduces her nephew - who turns out to be Gyeon-woo, whom she has been trying to introduce to the Girl for years. The mother, who is Gyeon-woo's aunt, tells the Girl to go out with him, hoping that he could make life easier for her. She tells Gyeon-woo that the Girl can give advice to him about his impending trip to England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, to which he replies, "I don't have to go anymore".
Cast
- Cha Tae-hyunCha Tae-hyunCha Tae-Hyun is a South Korean movie star, television actor, and singer. He started his acting career in a 1995 KBS television drama. He appeared in his first movie, Hallelujah, in 1997, also making his debut as a singer in 2001...
as Gyun-woo - Jun Ji-hyunJun Ji-hyunJun Ji-hyun also known as Gianna Jun, is a South Korean actress and model. She had her breakthrough role in 2001 as The Girl in the film My Sassy Girl which became the highest grossing Korean comedy of all time...
as The Girl - Kim In-Mun as Gyun-woo's father
- Song Ok-suk as Gyun-woo's mother
- Han Jin-hie as The Girl's father
- Yang Geum-seok as Gyun-woo's aunt
Reception
My Sassy Girl was the second highest selling film in 2001 (behind the film Friend) and was the highest grossing Korean comedy film of all time. 4,852,845 tickets were sold nationwide and 1,765,100 in SeoulSeoul
Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
over its 10 weeks in the cinemas.
Koreanfilm.org praised the Jeon Ji-hyun portrayal of the character calling her the "undisputed star" and stating "it could not have succeeded anywhere near as well without her".
Awards and nominations
| Event | Award |
|---|---|
| 2003 Hong Kong Film Awards Hong Kong Film Awards The Hong Kong Film Awards , founded in 1982, are the most prestigious film awards in Hong Kong and among the most respected in mainland China and Taiwan. Award ceremonies are held annually, typically in April. The Awards recognize achievement in all aspects of filmmaking, such as directing,... |
Best Asian Film |
| 2003 Hochi Film Awards | Best Foreign Language Film |
| 2002 Grand Bell Awards Grand Bell Awards The Grand Bell Awards is an awards ceremony presented annually by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea for excellence in film in South Korea.... |
Best Actress - Jeon Ji-hyun Best Adapted Screenplay - Kwak Jae-yong |
| 2003 Fant-Asia Film Festival | Most Popular Film |
| 2001 Blue Dragon Awards | Best New Actor - Cha Tae-hyun Cha Tae-hyun Cha Tae-Hyun is a South Korean movie star, television actor, and singer. He started his acting career in a 1995 KBS television drama. He appeared in his first movie, Hallelujah, in 1997, also making his debut as a singer in 2001... |
| 2004 Awards of the Japanese Academy | Nomination for Best Foreign Film |
Soundtrack
The Korean song entitled "I Believe" by Shin Seung HunShin Seung Hun
Shin Seung Hoon is South Korean ballad singer whose popularity peaked in the 1990s. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in South Korean pop music scene....
(신승훈) is the theme song of this film. The song has been translated to different Asian languages such as Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
, Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
and Filipino
Filipino language
This move has drawn much criticism from other regional groups.In 1987, a new constitution introduced many provisions for the language.Article XIV, Section 6, omits any mention of Tagalog as the basis for Filipino, and states that:...
.
- Intro
- I Believe - Shin Seung HunShin Seung HunShin Seung Hoon is South Korean ballad singer whose popularity peaked in the 1990s. He is remembered as one of the most important figures in South Korean pop music scene....
- Love & Longing
- Episode 1
- Bi nae ri neun bam
- Hands Of Time - Ueda Masaki
- Episode 2 (Bip Bop)
- Ee byul joon bi - Kim Jo HanKim Jo HanKim Jo Han is a Korean-American R&B singer.-Profile:* Korean Name: Kim Jo Han * Birth Name: George Han Kim * Birthdate: March 27th, 1973* Birthplace: U.S.A* Height: 178cm* Weight: 68kg...
- Big Money - Big Money & X-Teen
- Gyuh ool na geu ne
- Episode 3 (geu nyuh eh saeng il)
- Ja jang ga (Lullaby)
- Sarang neu ggim - Jo Kyun Chan
- Another Life (Intro)
- Another Life - Deen
- Behind Of You (Instrumental)
- Episode 4 (Reg Time)
- Lost Memory
- Gat eun mam eu ro - Various Artists
- I Believe (With Piano)
- My Girl - The TemptationsThe TemptationsThe Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
(end credits)
Alternate versions
There are two scenes within the movie that have different soundtracks from each varying version, notably the EDKO and StarmaxStarmax
Starmax is a Korean DVD distributor specifically for the Korean market; their films are often encoded for Region 3 and the extras typically do not feature English subtitles....
distributions.
- During the scene where Gyeon-Woo (as villain) fights the heroine in the Girl's second movie script, the soundtrack to Ashes of TimeAshes of Time-Critical:When the film opened in Hong Kong it received mixed reviews. Critics found it so elliptical that it was almost impossible to make out any semblance of a plot, something very rare in a wuxia film....
by Hong Kong filmmaker Wong Kar Wai can be heard, whereas in the Hong Kong-EDKO release the score has been replaced with a Korean track. - During the scene where Gyeon-Woo exchanges shoes with the Girl, the song "My Girl" by The TemptationsThe TemptationsThe Temptations is an American vocal group having achieved fame as one of the most successful acts to record for Motown Records. The group's repertoire has included, at various times during its five-decade career, R&B, doo-wop, funk, disco, soul, and adult contemporary music.Formed in Detroit,...
can be heard, whereas in the EDKO release the scene has been rescored with a Korean pop-track. - In 2007 the song, "I Believe," featured a change in lyrics in relation to the short story "Fish Cheeks" from the novel, Joy Luck Club by Amy TanAmy TanAmy Tan is an American writer whose works explore mother-daughter relationships. Her most well-known work is The Joy Luck Club, which has been translated into 35 languages...
. The lyrics reflected a portion of the story concerning the humiliation which the young Chinese girl felt after her heritage was set at the table of a Christmas Eve.
American film
This American remake of the film is set in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
and Upper East Side
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, between Central Park and the East River. The Upper East Side lies within an area bounded by 59th Street to 96th Street, and the East River to Fifth Avenue-Central Park...
. Director Yann Samuell states "It's a fable about destiny, in the end." whilst Jesse Bradford
Jesse Bradford
- Early life :Bradford was born Jesse Bradford Watrouse in Norwalk, Connecticut, the only child of actors Terry Porter and Curtis Watrouse, who appeared in commercials, soap operas, and industrial films. His mother also played his character's mother in Hackers...
who plays the lead protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
surmised the movie as "a romantic comedy
Romantic Comedy
Romantic Comedy can refer to* Romantic Comedy , a 1979 play written by Bernard Slade* Romantic Comedy , a 1983 film adapted from the play and starring Dudley Moore and Mary Steenburgen...
about how they pull each other to a more healthy place by virtue of their relationship."
The remake received numerous negative comments from the viewers especially from the fans of the original My Sassy Girl.
Japanese drama
Tsuyoshi KusanagiTsuyoshi Kusanagi
is a Japanese entertainer. Kusanagi is a member of the popular Japanese idol group SMAP and has also appeared in a number of television dramas, variety shows and movies.-Background:Kusanagi grew up in Kasukabe, Saitama, Japan....
and actress Rena Tanaka
Rena Tanaka
is a Japanese actress and TV personality. In 1999, she won the Japanese Academy Award for 'Best Newcomer' for her performance in Give It All; in 2001 she received a 'Best Actress' nomination for Hatsukoi.-Selected filmography:* Give It All...
are the lead characters in the Japanese drama of the same name which started broadcasting in April 2008.
Bollywood film
A BollywoodBollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
version called Ugly Aur Pagli
Ugly Aur Pagli
Ugly Aur Pagli is a 2008 Bollywood film starring Ranvir Shorey and Mallika Sherawat. It is directed by Sachin Khot and produced by Pritish Nandy...
starring Ranvir Shorey
Ranvir Shorey
Ranvir Shorey is an Indian actor and former VJ. Since making his debut in Ek Chotisi Love Story , he has starred in a number of high profile films such as Jism and Lakshya...
and Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat is a former Indian model, now working as an actress in mainly Bollywood films. Known for her bold onscreen attitude, Sherawat has been frequently featured in the media as a sex symbol...
was released on August 1, 2008. The movie is directed by Sachin Khot.
Chinese film
A ChineseChina
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
sequel named My Sassy Girl 2 stars Lynn Xiong and Leon Jay WIlliams
External links
- The original internet serial from which the movie was based, by Kim Ho-sik
- Review at koreanfilm.org
- Overview at All Movie