The songs featured during the recap, including One More Time and Raindrop, both performed by Shim Eun-kyung, as well as If You Go to Los Angeles by Rose Motel and Shim Eun-kyung, and nostalgic covers like White Butterfly and Crying in the Night.
How the movie blends humor and poignancy, diving into themes of aging, regret, family sacrifice, and how older women become invisible in society.
The magical photo studio where Oh Mal-soon transforms back into her 20-year-old self, adopting the name Oh Doo-ri after her favorite star, Audrey Hepburn.
The generational conflicts and multigenerational living arrangements, especially the tension between Oh Mal-soon and her long-suffering daughter-in-law Ae-ja.
The cultural commentary on Korean society’s reverence for elders, contrasted with the modern obsession with youth and beauty.
The hilarious and touching portrayal by Shim Eun-kyung, whose physical comedy, mannerisms, and singing won her multiple Best Actress awards, including a Baeksang.
How Oh Doo-ri's youthful appearance sparks new attention—from young men on the bus to a budding flirtation with the charming music producer Han Seung-woo.
The layered dynamics between Oh Mal-soon, her son Ban Hyun-chul, her grandson Ban Ji-ha, and Grandpa Park, who has loved her since childhood.
The memorable musical performances, especially Raindrop, filled with longing and life experience, and how Shim Eun-kyung did her own singing in the film.
How the movie reflects on women’s worth across the decades, through metaphors comparing women to different types of balls—and the critique of society's gaze.
The heartfelt scene when Oh Mal-soon sacrifices her youth to save her grandson by donating blood, embracing her true self and familial love.
How Miss Granny touches on themes of parental sacrifice, fulfillment of dreams, and the bittersweet opportunity to "start over"—even if only temporarily.
References
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Joanna..my sincere condolences for your loss.
ReplyDeleteGreat podcast. I will start with my utmost surprise though on hearing the word MILF on it hahaha. I thought this was family friendly show. Joanna& Sunghee, you need to be more careful about who you invite next time lool.
*I think most movies that has time travel where you are younger are in some part serious, so I wasn’t surprised here.
*When you talked about not caring when you get older, I remembered the poem “Warning” by Jenny Joseph that starts “When I am an old woman I shall wear purple”. It was written in the very early 60s when the poet was about 30.
*The main song in the movie is very beautiful.
*Korean TV is certainly better than Western TV when it comes to roles for older women. I don’t think this is because South Korea is more progressive, but due to the nature of stories and target audience.
Family features very heavily in Kdrama, so there are always Mothers and Grandmothers. Kdrama also do far more romances, and they try to cater to all ages. So, we see enough love stories for women in their 30s and 40s.
And, overall, Kdrama are targeting women more than men, so they are more attentive to representations.
*Finally, I want to share my top 10 favourite Korean movies in release order with the 3 medals. In total I have seen 22. Of course there are lots of classics that I haven’t seen yet such as Oldboy. I don’t consider Past Lives Korean movie, but I will discuss that next week.
• Memories of Murder 2003.
• The Beauty Inside 2015.
• The Handmaiden 2016 (Silver)
• Train to Busan 2016 (Bronze)
• The Fortress 2017.
• Be With You 2018.
• Parasite 2019 (Gold)
• The Call 2020.
• Aloners 2021.
• Decision to Leave 2022.
Seven Seas, thanks for your list. I'm only watched a couple of these movies, but my list is now richer, thanks to you!
DeleteI agree that Korean dramas feature roles for older women because of the nature of the stories AND the nature of the family relationships that exist in Korea. If you live with your parents until your 30s, then any show is gonna have moms and grandmas!
BTW, I am very aware of the "Warning" by Jenny Joseph, but not because I love purple, which I do, btw. I was introduced to the poem many years ago, maybe in grad school. And now that I am (ahem) older, I still love my purple and I care less about what others think of me. :-)
Hello Seven Seas, to start, honestly I had to look up what MILF meant afterwards, so I certainly didn't think anything about it in the moment.
DeleteI also love how older women are present in these Korean stories. And in Miss Granny, the star is an elderly woman. How many times do you see that, though she does transform into Shim Eun Kyung pretty early in the story. While there is the issue of how the elderly are treated by society, especially in the fast changing scene in South Korea, I felt that it was more a story of how an elderly woman, combative after having gone through the hardships of her past. learns to open herself up to friends and family she fought for.
Thanks for the film recommendations. I have seen several, but not all on your list. I started Handmaiden, but got interrupted, and then realized I need to start from the beginning to truly appreciate it. I loved Be With You (we actually discussed this on Kdramachat a couple of years ago). Another favorite of mine is Inside Men, a political thriller bromance with Lee Byung Hun and Cho Seung Woo. The Fortress is next on my list.
I agree with Seven Seas that I was not expecting to hear the term MILF on the podcast. However, to be accurate, Oh Mal-soon was a GILF…..
ReplyDeleteI think there are more older/elderly characters in K Dramas than western dramas because of the Confucian values that require you to respect your elders. That also aligns with the fact that you often have adult children living with their parents and, often, grandparent. I think a Korean show that did not include what the parents and grandparents think of what relationships and actions their children/grandchildren were up to would be unrealistic to a Korean audience. I think it is also why orphans as main characters are so common - because you do not have to address that issue. That simply isn’t the case in western dramas where parental input/approval is far less important.
The whole blood transfusion thing made no sense other than as a plot device! I’m not a doctor, and I don’t play one on this website, but even I know an AB patient can take a transfusion from multiple blood types! Also, the idea that a hospital in Seoul would run out of blood seems highly unlikely.
Happy to hear Japanese Breakfast mentioned! I have not read Michelle Zauner’s book yet, but I love her music. And she is from Eugene, Oregon. Go Ducks!
I think it is fair to say that this film would be MUCH different if was “Mr. Grandpa.” An 80-year-old man transformed into a 20-year-old man’s body would make much different decisions. I’m just sayin…..
And finally, don’t be to upset that Sung-hee didn’t mention the ending. I am sure she forgot it. 😉 As for Kim Soo-hyun’s cameo at the end, let’s just say he was playing extremely against type…. IYKYK.
Overall, I enjoyed this, but I wouldn’t say it’s on my top ten list (I will have to watch some of Seven Seas’ recommendations). I thought Shim Eun-kyung was amazing in how she portrayed an 80-year-old woman in her 20 something year old body. And there were a few hilarious scenes.
As for WMW:
Law and the City on Viki- The first two episodes aired this weekend. This show is reportedly about the everyday life of lawyers, which sounds like a terrible idea for a show! 😉 It starts kinda slow but looks promising – mostly because it stars Moon Ga-young (My Dearest Nemesis and True Beauty).
Strong Girl Bong-soon on Viki – About an ordinary girl with superhuman strength (not to be confused with Nam-soon, which was pretty bad). Not normally my thing, but I was going through Park Bo-young withdrawals after finishing Our Unwritten Seoul and Oh My Ghost. Its enjoyable enough. Par Bo-young strikes me as one of those actresses who can have chemistry with anyone she’s cast with.
OK. That’s it for this week. I guess I gotta get started on writing a book if I want to keep up with these podcast hosts. This is really going to eat into the time I need to complete my K/J/P Dramas that I am working on!
Malcolm,
DeleteBe careful not to overdose on Park Bo-young lol.
I have tried really hard to watch "Strong Girl Bong-soon" because it is one of the classics. On my first attempt I dropped it in the middle of the first episode. Second attempt I finished E01. Third and last attempt I kept pushing for 5 episodes, then dropped it.
It is not a bad series, but I just didn't vibe with the humour which is part childish, part one note. And the story was just meh.
If you are going to watch a movie from my list, then let me suggest "The Fortress". It is on Prime (at least in the UK). It is set during China's invasion of Korea. While there is quite a bit of things happening, the heart of the story(for me at least) is a philosophical question/debate that can be applied to lots of situation.
Ironically, I think it helps if the viewer is not Korean. Being completely (or partially) unaware of the historic events remove any pre-conceived ideas. You can watch the dilemma/debate without strong emotions.
Btw.. I would be interested in your list.
7S, I will check out The Fortress, as well as the other movies on your list. I don't think I've watched enough Korean movies to have a top 10. I really enjoyed The Handmaiden and will not stop advocating for it as a "one off" show for Joanna and Sung-hee to review!
DeleteMalcolm, you are so right about Sung Hee! I was talking about the dark elements of Extraordinary Attorney Woo and she just looked at me blankly! Haha! The KSY cameo was a wonderful surprise though! I laughed out loud!
DeleteFantastic insight about orphans; in essence, they are more free of family constraints. But then again, they're often burdened by the longing for a family, or abused by an evil, adoptive family.
I enjoyed Miss Granny, but I'm with you, it's not on my Top 10 list. I watched and reviewed because of Sung Hee, and I'm glad I did.
I haven't watched The Handmaiden, but promise to do so, and will consider it for a one off episode. It's really steamy, isn't it?
Crying in H Mart starts out really strong, then peters out. It's like a promising K Drama that loses steam. I do think it's worth a read. It's predictable but has some good writing.
Keep me posted on Law and the City. I'm not a big Lee Jong Suk fan. He's too pretty for me.
Joanna..It is good to know that I am not the only one who is not big on Lee Jong Suk.
DeleteIf anything, I am more likely to skip a series if he is in it.
Hello everyone! First, for the record I absolutely did NOT forget the epic cameo by Kim Soo Hyun at the end. How could I when I've seen this movie a million times? Also, I know how to keep a secret! I was not going to ruin this surprise! Though I will confess that I do not remember the dark elements of Attorney Woo.
DeleteInteresting comments about watching the Fortress as someone not well-versed in Korean history. I had the opposite feeling when I watched Harbin. But even though I knew the ending, because it's history, I still found it very suspenseful and stressful.
I get what you all say about Lee Jong Suk. He is certainly a pretty boy. But I'm willing to tolerate that...
Malcom and Seven Seas - MILF just came out of my mouth. I guess I'm used to the censorship button on broadcast TV. 📺 🥹
ReplyDeleteErnie! I'm going to have do a closer edit on your language in the future! We're gonna get an explicit rating on our episodes!
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DeleteI'm lolling so much at the discussion here. I love learning so much from all of you!
ReplyDelete@Sung Hee unnie, have you seen any of the other adaptations of Miss Granny? I've been wondering which one will catch your attention. :D
@Ate Ernie (I hope you don't mind me calling you Ate!), it's always amazing to hear you on the show. You add another flavor to this podcast, and it's fun hearing your insights.
@Ate Joanna, condolences. :( I hope you're getting all the hugs you need. Thank you for showing up for this episode.
Nothing else to add – just sending love and sprinkles of happiness to all of you!
Hi Tina! I looked for the other versions of Miss Granny, but so far have not been able to find it on any of my streaming platforms. I will keep an eye out for them, though, if they become available.
DeleteThanks for the love!