Keys To The Heart (2016)

• Directed by Sung-Hyun Choi
• Starring Byung-Hyun Lee, Jung-Min Park, Yuh-Jung Youn
• Written by Sung-Hyun Choi
• Comedy, Drama
• Rated PG-13
• 2hrs
• 17 January 2018

Synopsis

Jo Ha, a washed up boxer, runs into his mother, In-Sook, after last seeing her when he was a preteen. He then learns he has a younger brother, Jin-tae, who is autistic and a piano savant.

How’s the Story?

I have to say, ‘son who hasn’t seen mother in ages but meets her again and gets to know his younger brother’ isn’t exactly a story I’ve seen before. I like it though. It’s a very moving story.

How’s the Acting?

Holy shit. That’s all I can say. The Acting is Holy Shit. Byung-Hyun Lee is FUCKING AMAZING in this movie. Yeah, Jung-Min Park is playing an autistic person and does a great job of it, but Jesus. Byung-Hyun Lee blows me away as Jo Ha. Everybody in this movie is good, but nobody steals the thunder of Byung-Hyun Lee.

How’s the Writing/Directing?

I don’t know what it is about Korean movies, but even the ones who aren’t super good, the WRITING is good. This one is SO GOOD. I swear to God, this movie is written with so much depth and so many story lines but they are melded together so amazing. I can’t imagine the skill to write this much tangled plot and make it all flow so smoothly. It’s so good. SO GOOD.  The direction is the same, to turn this into such an AMAZING movie is just fantastic. I mean FUCK me this movie was so well written/directed.

How’s the Cinematography?

The cinematography is pretty standard, but honestly, there are certain scenes where the lighting itself makes the scene, and to me, lighting is part of the cinematography. The way the camera is used includes the light usage. This is just a really pretty movie to watch in certain scenes. In most of it it’s standard, but there’s never BAD cinematography anywhere.

Is It Worth Watching?

This is one of the best movies of 2018. Full stop. The end. This movie is incredible and I’m SHOCKED I hadn’t heard of it until I looked for good Korean movies. This is just beyond amazing. The start is a little slow, but within 20 minutes, it gets GOOD. By the halfway point I already knew this movie was going to be one of the best movies I saw all year.

I cried for 20 minutes straight. Happy, sad, overwhelmed, all of it. I cried so hard for 20 minutes straight at the end of this movie. Just watch it. Fuck trying to convince you further, JUST WATCH IT! IT’S SO GOOD!

My Rating: 8/10