Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Two Korean men move to Suriname in the hopes of making some fast money. Their goal is to buy skate, which Surinamese don’t want, for pennies and resell them in South Korea at an inflated price. But when cocaine is found in one of their shipments, both men are arrested and jailed.
Seung-Gyu is an upper middle class bank manager who’s driving his children to school. While the kids bicker in the backseat, he answers a phone he doesn’t recognize. At first, he assumes it’s his wife’s phone and that the caller is trolling. But when the calls don’t stop, he worries about the what ifs. What if the caller isn’t lying? What if a bomb really will explode if he gets out of his car? What if?
Seok-Bong and Joo-Bong are estranged brothers who reunite for their father’s funeral. Neither one remembers having a close relationship with anyone in their family and dread the thought of spending time with them.
“Chicago Typewriter” takes place in modern-day Seoul, but some of the best storytelling occurs during flashbacks to the 1930s, when Korea was under Japanese occupation. There, we learn about three resistance fighters whose lives and friendship will set the tone for the 21st Century arc.
Helmed by writer Kim Eun-Sook and director Lee Eung-Bok — who previously collaborated together on “Descendants of the Sun” and “Goblin: The Lonely and Great God” — the misleadingly named “Mr. Sunshine” does a beautiful job of juggling multiple story lines that are full of suspense, intrigue and achingly quiet romance.
There are few things in life that would be more difficult than to watch generations of loved ones grow old and die, while you live on for centuries without them. Such is the case with Kim Shin, a dokkaebi (goblin). For more than 900 years, he has been cursed to live a life of loneliness as atonement for all the enemies he killed during his days as an unbeatable general. Yes, his victims would’ve slain him if they had the opportunity. But, as God says in the narration, they were all precious creations, as well.
Sold as a romantic comedy, “My Love From Another Star” definitely delivers on that front. But it’s also a wonderful story about true love, alienation and sacrifice.