Peppermint Candy is a film that is all about character development and if you like this type of drama you will enjoy this movie.The span of the plot takes place from 1979-1999. Let me rephrase that. The span of the plot takes place from 1999-1979. Yes, the twenty years of one man's life is told in 130 minutes and
in reverse order. It all starts in 1999 with the demise of our main character, Yong-Ho. As the film progresses, or reverses, you get to see how Yong-Ho ends up the way he does.The nice thing about the storytelling is the fact that you get to see not only the change in Korea, but the change in character for Yong-Ho. A lot does happen in 20 years after all. On the flip side, there is nothing really eventful, with the exception of the 1980 segment near the ending. If you are not able to appreciate the slow burn drama, this will be a huge bore. Believe me when I say that 2+ hours of this doesn't fly by.The soundtrack is mellow and appropriate while the camerawork is professional. Both of these help with the success of this film.Kyung-gu Sol heads the film and does a nice job at changing personalities from the beginning to the end. The 2 female leads, So-ri Moon and Yeo-jin Kim, do good jobs as well.Peppermint Candy takes a nice approach with the storytelling and it deserves the attention that it gets. Too bad it isn't exciting enough for someone like me.
November 15, 2008
