The movie focused on the team preparation before the Olympic Games. The movie is directed by Lim Soon-rye and starred Moon So-ri, Kim Jung-eun, Uhm Tae-woong, Kim Ji-young and Jo Eun-ji etc.

The movie is also known as “The Best Moment”, “The Happiest Moment of Our Life”, “The Glorious Moment of Our Life” or “Forever the Moment”. I am not sure of official title yet.

The Synopsis

South Korea women handball team was once elite in the sport, but their reputation was fading away and was considered one of the weakest competitors in the Olympics. The Korean public didn’t give their team much attention as well.

The Best Moment

Former national team player Hae-kyung (Kim Jung-eun) returns to Korea to become the coach for the national team, which was made up of mostly young players. Hae-kyung invited some of her former teammates, including Mi-sook (Moon So-ri), to join the team in order to regain their past glory.

Hae-kyung’s old school training didn’t work well with the younger players, and led to physical confrontation which resulted in Hae-kyung being replaced as the national coach by Seung-phil (Uhm Tae-woong). With encouragement from Mi-sook, Hae-kyung swallowed her pride and rejoined the team as a player.

Seung-phil was formally a famous handball player and was coaching in Europe. He implemented a more scientific and European style training program, which in turn led to resistance from the senior players… [Reference]

The story plot is probably easily predictable because it’s based on a real life story. The team would off course work out their indifference in the end and to achieve a proud result.

I am eager to watch the movie when the making was announced in 2006/2007. I watched the real game when it was played in Athens, and it is one of the most memorable games of all sports that I have ever watched. I am not a fan for both the Danish and the South Koreans, but I love underdogs… so it was heartbreaking when the Koreans lost in the end.

When the Korean players were interviewed after winning the silver medal, one of the players was quoted saying “nobody will remember 2nd place”… well, the movie proves her wrong.

It was not a gold medal, but they could really live proud for the rest of their lives for their effort. Most of us won’t even have the chance to participate in Olympic Games… taking part is already something to be proud of.

Themed as a monster movie, The Host offers a lot more than horror; in fact it hardly qualified as a horror movie… as it combines comedy, dark humor, suspense, action and just a bit of horror that was enough to scare kindergarten kids.

The movie was directed by Bong Joon-ho; and starred Song Kang-ho, Byun Hee-bong, Park Hae-il, Bae Du-na and Ko Ah-seong etc.

The Host Synopsis

Year 2000, a US researcher commanded his Korean assistant to dispose formaldehyde down the drain and into Seoul’s Han River (based on a real incident, the rest is fiction obviously).

The Host

The story then shifted to present with the Park family. Park Hee-bong was the old father, who made a living with his eldest (and a bit useless) son Gang-du selling groceries near the Han River. Hyun-seo was Gang-du’s daughter and stayed with her father and grandfather.

Then a monster appeared from the Han River, killing people and dragging people into the river. Gang-du showed some heroic act to save others, but could not save his daughter Hyun-seo from being grabbed by the monster.

Hee-bong and Gang-du thought that Hyun-seo was dead, and the news spread to Nam-joo and Nam-il, Gang-du’s younger sister and brother. Then came the surprise, as Gang-du received a phone call from Hyun-seo calling for help… she was still alive.

Gang-du and family tried to get assistance from Korean military to save Hyun-seo, but the government officials thought that Gang-du was hallucinating, and quarantined him fearing that he might be infected with some diseases caused by his close contact with the monster.

Gang-du and family had to escape from the military and pursue the monster themselves to save Hyun-seo…

The best selling point of the movie is perhaps on the unpredictability; it surprised me again and again with its plots when I first watch the movie. Another factor for its record-breaking in Korea was the teasing towards the Korean and US government; non-Koreans might not have the rapport though, but it was still a very good movie… a must watch if you ask me.