One rainy day in the 1980’s, a soft-spoken college student named In-woo falls for a girl, Tae-hee when he shares his umbrella with her at a bus stop. He anxiously returns on a daily basis, hoping to see her again, until he finally spots her at school and their relationship rapidly grows more intimate. Then, flash forward, more than fifteen years later, to In-woo, now a teacher and a decidedly different person, married to a woman that is not Tae-hee and about to revisit his past in an interesting way.
It is through these two distinctively toned halves, that the film tells a romance story questioning the endless potential and depths of love and the lengths to which we might go to preserve it. Although that might sound like your standard movie tagline, Bungee Jumping of Their Own is a highly unorthodox romance, even more for a South Korean one.
Lee Byung-hun gives a lovely, stirring performance, giving his In-woo such heart and realism that the audience can’t help but smile and weep with him. Lee Eun-joo is a fine romantic match for him, and she plays her part with a strong, memorable presence as well.
What really makes the film shine though, is the premise, which emerges only almost half-way through the film with the flash-forward. It is unique and out-there to say the least, yet first-time director Kim Dae-seung and writer Go Eun-nim both do a marvelous job of grounding the story in In-woo’s perspective and structuring it coherently so the viewer can easily empathize.
The beginning might be a bit of the usual, blasé content that Korean romance hounds see regularly, but once the fascinating premise gets going, it’s impossible not to be sucked into the conflict and drama that’ll stay in your mind long after the film ends. Coupled with the assortment of pretty pictures throughout the film--- thanks to appropriately striking cinematography, Bungee Jumping is shining example of the more serious and sentimental side of Korean cinema.
Reviewed by Tarun
