[MOVIE REVIEW]'Daisy' depicts tragic love triangle
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Daisy, an intricately crafted romantic thriller by the acclaimed Hong Kong director Andrew Lau, revolves around the four meanings of the flower: Innocence, Loyal Love, I'll Never Tell, Purity.
Innocence - Hye-young (Jun Ji-hyun) is a painter living in Amsterdam. Not an ordinary painter, it seems, because she seems prettier than a top-rated supermodel here, thanks largely to the great cinematography spearheaded by director Andrew Lau, known for the "Infernal Affairs" series.
Actress Jeon, who was propelled to Asian stardom through "My Sassy Girl" (2001) and "Windstruck" (2004), showcases her typical - and commercially still viable - image. She is portrayed as an innocent girl who lives in a gorgeous, dream-like house where all the gears for painting are ready and a chic transparent coffee maker adds a romantic sentiment.
When she moves out to draw some pictures - be it an open field filled with daisies or an Amsterdam street, Hye-young's innocent image brings back some famous television commercials, especially for luxurious cosmetics.
As far as Jeon's fans are concerned, Daisy is quite faithful to capturing the captivating eyes of the famous Korean actress. As the movie is targeted at the entire Asian market, the production crew is multinational (Korean, Hong Kong, Japanese and Dutch). But the undeniable focus is obvious: the charm of Jun's innocence - though her undisputed selling-point has been exploited too much and too often.
Loyal Love - Hye-young's outings are not without a company. Park-ui (Jung Woo-sung) is a professional hitman, and though he's Korean, he belongs to a Chinese crime ring.
When he gets a mission to kill a target, he confronts it but the experience is too overwhelming. Holed up in a house, Park-ui happens to notice a beautiful girl walking by regularly, and he simply falls in love with her.
But the professional killer is timid and reserved. As with other killers, he never steps forward. Instead, he stays in the dark, lurking behind the scenes. Yet he observes every move of Hye-young and his affection deepens.
A turning point comes when Hye-young falls off a makeshift wooden bridge, losing her painting bag. Park-ui secretly builds up a new bridge for her. Although she doesn't know who has offered such favor, she leaves one of her paintings as a sign of gratitude.
The relationship starts from that point, but Park-ui never shows up in front of Hye-young. Instead, he delivers daisies at 4:15 p.m. (a symbolic figure since Hye-young's solo exhibition later will be held on April 15) everyday without fail. She's curious, but cannot get a glimpse of the mysterious man.
I'll Never Tell - A twist of fate comes when Jung-woo (Lee Sung-jae) appears. He's a member of Interpol and his mission is to monitor an Asian crime ring. One day, Jung-woo happens to ask Hye-young to draw a portrait with daisies in his hand - a sign that Hye-young falsely believes represents the man who delivers the gift on a daily basis.
Hye-young rapidly shows her affection toward Jung-woo, even though the real man is watching the new development in a nearby house, still hiding. Jung-woo knows he's not the guy, but he decides not to tell the truth - since he also falls in love with the girl.
Meanwhile, the killer is given a new mission that throws the entire plot into a new chapter. Park-ui is also given a chance to reveal his identify and tell Hye-young what has happened, but he chooses not to do so. And Hye-young also goes through a traumatic experience that leads to her silence. All the three characters have something to say, but none of them can speak out.
Purity - The love triangle is juxtaposed with the beautiful landscape of the Netherlands. The Amsterdam streets are also used as a key prop to enhance romantic atmosphere a la television commercials. Jeon's image as a girl of purity is also heightened when she falls into a harsh fate of being loved by two men.
As the screenplay is written by Kwak Jae-yong, who directed "My Sassy Girl" and "Windstruck", the plot reflecting Kwak's unchanging taste is largely predictable. The repeated and excessive focus on Jeon's trademark images are also not that pure. But it is the director who deserves the credit for saving the film: Andrew Lau has smoothly transformed otherwise a simple love triangle story into something bigger and more complex - and even heartwarming at some points.
The movie will be released in Hong Kong and mainland China on April 13, and in Japan on May 27.
Innocence - Hye-young (Jun Ji-hyun) is a painter living in Amsterdam. Not an ordinary painter, it seems, because she seems prettier than a top-rated supermodel here, thanks largely to the great cinematography spearheaded by director Andrew Lau, known for the "Infernal Affairs" series.
Actress Jeon, who was propelled to Asian stardom through "My Sassy Girl" (2001) and "Windstruck" (2004), showcases her typical - and commercially still viable - image. She is portrayed as an innocent girl who lives in a gorgeous, dream-like house where all the gears for painting are ready and a chic transparent coffee maker adds a romantic sentiment.
When she moves out to draw some pictures - be it an open field filled with daisies or an Amsterdam street, Hye-young's innocent image brings back some famous television commercials, especially for luxurious cosmetics.
As far as Jeon's fans are concerned, Daisy is quite faithful to capturing the captivating eyes of the famous Korean actress. As the movie is targeted at the entire Asian market, the production crew is multinational (Korean, Hong Kong, Japanese and Dutch). But the undeniable focus is obvious: the charm of Jun's innocence - though her undisputed selling-point has been exploited too much and too often.
Loyal Love - Hye-young's outings are not without a company. Park-ui (Jung Woo-sung) is a professional hitman, and though he's Korean, he belongs to a Chinese crime ring.
When he gets a mission to kill a target, he confronts it but the experience is too overwhelming. Holed up in a house, Park-ui happens to notice a beautiful girl walking by regularly, and he simply falls in love with her.
But the professional killer is timid and reserved. As with other killers, he never steps forward. Instead, he stays in the dark, lurking behind the scenes. Yet he observes every move of Hye-young and his affection deepens.
A turning point comes when Hye-young falls off a makeshift wooden bridge, losing her painting bag. Park-ui secretly builds up a new bridge for her. Although she doesn't know who has offered such favor, she leaves one of her paintings as a sign of gratitude.
The relationship starts from that point, but Park-ui never shows up in front of Hye-young. Instead, he delivers daisies at 4:15 p.m. (a symbolic figure since Hye-young's solo exhibition later will be held on April 15) everyday without fail. She's curious, but cannot get a glimpse of the mysterious man.
I'll Never Tell - A twist of fate comes when Jung-woo (Lee Sung-jae) appears. He's a member of Interpol and his mission is to monitor an Asian crime ring. One day, Jung-woo happens to ask Hye-young to draw a portrait with daisies in his hand - a sign that Hye-young falsely believes represents the man who delivers the gift on a daily basis.
Hye-young rapidly shows her affection toward Jung-woo, even though the real man is watching the new development in a nearby house, still hiding. Jung-woo knows he's not the guy, but he decides not to tell the truth - since he also falls in love with the girl.
Meanwhile, the killer is given a new mission that throws the entire plot into a new chapter. Park-ui is also given a chance to reveal his identify and tell Hye-young what has happened, but he chooses not to do so. And Hye-young also goes through a traumatic experience that leads to her silence. All the three characters have something to say, but none of them can speak out.
Purity - The love triangle is juxtaposed with the beautiful landscape of the Netherlands. The Amsterdam streets are also used as a key prop to enhance romantic atmosphere a la television commercials. Jeon's image as a girl of purity is also heightened when she falls into a harsh fate of being loved by two men.
As the screenplay is written by Kwak Jae-yong, who directed "My Sassy Girl" and "Windstruck", the plot reflecting Kwak's unchanging taste is largely predictable. The repeated and excessive focus on Jeon's trademark images are also not that pure. But it is the director who deserves the credit for saving the film: Andrew Lau has smoothly transformed otherwise a simple love triangle story into something bigger and more complex - and even heartwarming at some points.
The movie will be released in Hong Kong and mainland China on April 13, and in Japan on May 27.
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