S Diary (2004) Poster

(2004)

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A Nutshell Review: S Diary
DICK STEEL9 April 2005
This Korean movie is told in 2 halves.

The first half opens with a relationship break up between the protagonist Jinny, and her current boyfriend, who says that she is suffocating him in their relationship. She is puzzled, and starts to ponder about her love life, and we are transported back to each one of them (there are 3), with each having a diary of its own.

The first is with a church choir teacher, who succumbed to lustful temptations during tutoring, but eventually left her to become a priest. The second is a traffic cop who left Jinny abruptly when he found a rich woman via a matchmaking agency, and the last is a graffiti-spray-painter-good-for-nothing-with-a-doggy dude, whom she left because he was too flirtatious.

In all these relationships, attempts are made to philosophize exactly what love is, and to what extent do you demonstrate this love to the other. As Jinny matures, her outlook of love and relationships also changes, and her thoughts are punctuated with common and familiar statements of love. While all of the past relationships started on the oh-so-sweet note, as it goes on, you start to think if it's really anchored on love, or lust and physical desire.

In those breakups, we are also shown how each party takes it in their stride. Some are remorseful, though almost all are in it for sexual gratification.

And that's where the 2nd half of the movie kicks in, when Jinny decides to take her revenge on all of them, using various unorthodox methods which draws in the laughs. Also adding to the humour is the character of Jinny's mother, who somehow has a physical knack in communicating with her daughter. You have to see it to believe.

However, the movie ends in a more sombre note - that in each relationship, there exist beautiful memories, and that these memories are shared, and can never be taken away. This is very true and I can somehow identify with the ending.

For those who have loved and lost, this movie is for you.
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4/10
It's OK...
simonwilliams7510 August 2005
As a devoted fan of Korean movies I was looking forward to this offering from rising star Seon-a Kim, but found little offered. The storyline was fairly predictable and uninteresting, and I found the characters unappealing. I thought this film tried too hard in imitating American style comedy, and to fans of Korean comedies such as 'My sassy Girl' or 'The classic' or any of the more Korean style comedies, this film may not overly impress you in the same way, and seems somewhat similar, but definitely inferior to the John Cusack movie 'High fidelity' in which Cusack's character relives past loves and breakups, which is basically the same plot.
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8/10
Memories That Are Nothing Yet Mean Everything
Mappyman2 January 2005
A cute Korean story about a girl Jini and her memories of first loves. Her mom gave her a diary at coming of age and in the movie she goes through her past boyfriends and reflects on how they've given her memories.

Her first love is Goo-hyeon, a choir boy who reads poetry to her. Her second love Jeong-seok, a wild automobile lover who wants to be a cop. Finally Yoo-in, a carefree graffiti artist with a dog Longish. She has fallen in and out of love with all of them and reflects on the memories that they shared.

The turning point in the movie would be when her conscience (made possible by some pretty funny looking CG creatures) advises her to try and get revenge on her loves until they've learned a lesson. Suddenly the movie takes a turn from cute romance love story to funny petty revenge. Its all in good fun though as most of the tactics she has are harmless and just cute.

The music in the movie was for the most part pretty simple piano, but there's a few touching songs in it. Its definitely a date movie or something to watch with a loved one. The adult humor in this movie is just mild PG-13 with no nudity but slightly suggestive themes, such as bedsprings bouncing or a CG wolf crying out.

The movie has a nice story and definitely should be seen on a date or with a significant other. Its a little sad, a little funny, and quite romantic. Definitely find a place to pick this up, its worth a watch.
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