Hello everyone, and welcome back to another Korean movie review by EonTalk. Today’s written movie review will be on the drama film out of Korean cinema, <Miracle>.
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<Miracle> is a drama film with elements of romance and comedy, and revolves around a boy that is desperate to build a way station for his town. A “way station” is defined as “a station set between principal stations on a line of travel,” such as a railroad in this case; so in other words, a smaller station set between two larger ones. The movie was directed by director Lee Jang Hoon, who only has one other work under his belt, but a great one: <Be With You>. Now that I think about it, both movies in his filmography have a similar, common tone; cutesy and emotional with touching moments. However, I will say <Miracle> has much more of a comedic play in it.
The film is said to be based on a true story, but I’m not too sure to what extent the narrative is true. If I had to guess, I’m assuming up to the protagonist fighting for the establishment of a new way station, and writing to the president in pursuit of his dreams. <Miracle> starred the leads Park Jung Min, Lee Sung Min, Lim Yoona, and Lee Soo Kyung, all of whom were amazing. I’ll get into this more later. But first, let’s take a look at the detailed synopsis of <Miracle> before getting deeper into the review.
The synopsis is as follows:
The only way to and from the town Jun Kyung lives in is via the railroad. There’s just one problem: The town doesn’t have a train station. And so, Jun Kyung has one and only one goal: To create a train station for his town. In order to accomplish his goal, he starts sending letters to the president. However, there’s been virtually no results, and he sent 54 letters with no response. His father keeps telling him to give up, but Jun Kyung has set his mind on attaining his dream. At school, he meets Ra Hee, who lends a hand at attaining Jun Kyung’s goal. From trying to participate in a quiz show to winning a presidential math competition, the duo tries anything and everything that can give them the opportunity to make the station, but will they be able to build the way station?
Trailer
Source: EonTalk YouTube Channel
The Good
First, I loved the color tone of the movie, and how well it portrayed the older feel reflecting the time it’s set in. It gave immense scent of nostalgia. I also absolutely loved how cutesy the film was. There were lots of cute and humorous moments in the first half, and I personally think the title of the film, “Miracle,” is a great title as it fits the spirit of the movie perfectly.
In the beginning, I thought Park Jung Min and Yoona were the two main leads and Lee Sung Min and Lee Soo Kyung were supporting roles, as Park Jung Min and Yoona had much more on-screen time. However, as the film progressed, Lee Sung Min’s and Lee Soo Kyung’s characters had bigger roles and on-screen time, and ultimately all four had roughly the same amount of significance. The four leads had amazing chemistry, and I especially enjoyed the relationship between Park Jung Min and Yoona, and Park Jung Min and Lee Soo Kyung. It was like watching a real-life couple and real-life siblings, respectively.
Getting into each actor, of course, Park Jung Min was amazing as always. He’s such an incredible actor, and he’s able to play such a wide range of characters. He hit it out of the park again with his performance in this.
Moving onto Yoona, Yoona doesn’t age. She’s still just as pretty and gorgeous as when she first debuted with Girls’ Generation 14 years ago. Her acting has gotten a lot better, and I first noticed her improvement in acting in the film <Exit>, and through that and <Miracle>, we can see just how crucial the role of the character needs to fit with the actor in order to have a good performance.
Moreover, Lee Sung Min didn’t have a big role in the first half, but he really shined in the latter half. It was good to see him on the big screens again, as I feel like we weren’t able to see him in movies too much recently. His most recent work other than this was <The 8th Night>, which was a Netflix release, and prior to that we weren’t able to see him for two years.
And finally but definitely not the least, Lee Soo Kyung I had the least expectations for, as I hadn’t recalled seeing much of her in other works. Upon seeing her filmography, I noticed she was also in <The Odd Family: Zombie on Sale>. She left a good impression in that as well, but definitely a much bigger one in this. Her chemistry with Park Jung Min in this was outstanding.
I mentioned a few times that the movie was a very cute one, but don’t let that make you assume the movie is a very light, comedic film. Although it does have a lot of humor, the movie takes you on an emotional roller coaster ride. The film starts off with more of the comedic side that I mentioned, but as it progresses and passes the halfway mark, the movie takes a huge turn and the emotions begin. I won’t say too much in order to avoid spoilers, but yeah, there’s a reason the movie is defined as a “drama” film, and not a “comedy.”
Lastly, the movie had a good story and is generally able to keep you engaged. Although it does get a little loose later on, which I’ll get to in the “bad” parts, the overall narrative was pretty good, in my opinion. There’s an unforeseen event that’s revealed, which I didn’t see coming at all, and that added a big layer on top of the film.
The Bad
I don’t have too much bad things to say about <Miracle>, but there’s one big one. This is more of a personal matter and can be based on personal preference, but some may find the emotional scenes to be too forced and/or frequent. One thing that I can’t stand are forced emotions, where you can tell they’re trying to get you to shed a tear. And so, personally I found the emotional scenes to be too forced in this. I mean, it was okay at first, but it became kind of repetitive, or more-so prolonged. If it was one or two big, impactful emotional scenes, then I’d be okay with it, but they just kept attacking you with a sad scene, after a sad scene, after another sad scene. Nevertheless, I will say that there were sniffles throughout the theater, so if you are a fan of more emotional movies, this may very well be down your lane. After all the touching moments, though, I loved how the film ended.
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Verdict
From the performances by Park Jung Min to Yoona to Lee Soo Kyung to even the minor role of the town’s little girl, the movie was extremely cute and adorable, but also gave a big punch in the emotional department as well. The first half is a lighter and more humorous film, and the latter half is more heavy with emotional scenes. Long story short, this may very well be my favorite K-movie of 2021 that released thus far. Definitely recommend giving this a go.
Ticket Price Value: $13
(Ticket Price Value is the price I would pay to watch the film again for the first time)
What were your thoughts on the movie? Do you agree or disagree with my review? What would your ‘Ticket Price Value’ be? Leave a comment down below!
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Disclaimer
Please keep in mind this review is composed of solely my own opinions, and should be taken with a grain of salt. I am in no way a professional writer, nor have I majored or studied journalism. This is for informative entertainment purpose only, representing my personal views. I do not own the images and/or videos used in the review. No copyright infringement intended.
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