With the title being "My Mother the Mermaid" (aka "Ineo gongju") I must admit that I was expecting a more fantasy-styled story and movie. However, that turned out not to be the case. "My Mother the Mermaid" is a drama, pure and simple.
So with the movie being something else than I had expected, how was it? Well, regardless, I would have watched it solely for it being a South Korean movie, given my love and fascination with the Asian cinema. However, this movie was not really as impressive as I think it could have been. It seems that a lot of potential to the storyline was left behind by director Heung-sik Park. The movie definitely had lots of potential to be a real memorable movie and one that would be outstanding. However, the director failed to deliver on that aspect, and I must say that the overall result of the movie was bland and mediocre.
Sure, the movie had some really nice moments throughout the course of the one hour and fifty minutes that it ran. But the movie was simply too long, too slow paced and didn't have enough happening to keep the momentum and remain interesting. It felt like the air was slowly leaking from the movie known as "My Mother the Mermaid", and director Heung-sik Park didn't really do anything to remedy that.
The acting in the movie was spot on. Lots of really nice performances here by the cast. And they had managed to get together a nice group of talented actors and actresses to portray the various roles and characters. Just such a shame that they were given so little to work with in terms of a fulfilling script and storyline.
All throughout the movie, I was waiting for that glorious moment where the storyline would become exceptional and beautiful, perhaps even to the point where it would bring tears to the eyes. That just never happened, unfortunately. Director Heung-sik Park quickly settled into a very monotonous pace and never veered from that.
It should be said that "My Mother the Mermaid" is actually worth sitting down to watch a single time, because there are some nice aspects to the movie, and it is filmed and edited quite nicely. However, just don't go expecting a grand cinematic experience in South Korean cinema history.
So with the movie being something else than I had expected, how was it? Well, regardless, I would have watched it solely for it being a South Korean movie, given my love and fascination with the Asian cinema. However, this movie was not really as impressive as I think it could have been. It seems that a lot of potential to the storyline was left behind by director Heung-sik Park. The movie definitely had lots of potential to be a real memorable movie and one that would be outstanding. However, the director failed to deliver on that aspect, and I must say that the overall result of the movie was bland and mediocre.
Sure, the movie had some really nice moments throughout the course of the one hour and fifty minutes that it ran. But the movie was simply too long, too slow paced and didn't have enough happening to keep the momentum and remain interesting. It felt like the air was slowly leaking from the movie known as "My Mother the Mermaid", and director Heung-sik Park didn't really do anything to remedy that.
The acting in the movie was spot on. Lots of really nice performances here by the cast. And they had managed to get together a nice group of talented actors and actresses to portray the various roles and characters. Just such a shame that they were given so little to work with in terms of a fulfilling script and storyline.
All throughout the movie, I was waiting for that glorious moment where the storyline would become exceptional and beautiful, perhaps even to the point where it would bring tears to the eyes. That just never happened, unfortunately. Director Heung-sik Park quickly settled into a very monotonous pace and never veered from that.
It should be said that "My Mother the Mermaid" is actually worth sitting down to watch a single time, because there are some nice aspects to the movie, and it is filmed and edited quite nicely. However, just don't go expecting a grand cinematic experience in South Korean cinema history.