[MOVIE PREVIEW]A Tale of Ephemeral Love

In the new Korean love story, "Indian Summer," the male and female protagonists do not overtly profess their love for one another. Instead the female lead, Shin-young, played by Lee Mi-yeon, says "For me, to be alive itself is pain, because I can still remember things while I am alive."

To her relief, Shin-young is sentenced to death for murdering her husband. She even refuses to have a lawyer stage a defense. But while she serenely awaits her death, she meets with a court appointed lawyer, Jun-ha, played by Park Shin-yang.

Jun-ha is an up-and-coming young lawyer with a bright future but faced with Shin-young's case, his state of mind is totally shaken. He is curious about her peace in the face of her imminent death by hanging. He says to her, "That you say you want to die sounds much more desperate than if you prayed for rescue." As a result of his dedication, she receives the verdict of not guilty in an appeal and they spend two days as an ordinary couple in love.

But as the title, "Indian Summer," meaning a short and sudden period of warmth in late autumn or in early winter, suggests, their love cannot last long. The Supreme Court annuls the verdict and after his lover is gone, the memory of their love becomes totally ineffaceable for Jun-ha.

With two main characters brought brilliantly to life by Park Shin-yang and Lee Mi-yeon, this film attests to the growing maturity of the Korean film industry. Although it presents another sad love story, "Indian Summer" is not a mere tear-jerker because it does not simply manipulate its viewers to shed tears. Rather, the director Noh Hyo-jeong, who made her name as a script-writer, abstains from overtly showing a message in her film and this leads the audience to succumb to the emotion in it.

"Indian Summer" is to be released nationwide on Saturday. According to its distribution company, Sidus, the film is not scheduled to be released with English subtitles but there is hope that foreigners in Seoul may be able to enjoy it. In the case of "Chin-gu" ("Friends"), some cinemas added English subtitles as a result of requests from expatriates. For the moment, you can relish the music from the film through its soundtrack, which was produced by Michael Staudacher. Songs such as "Lost Without Your Love" sung by Jessica, successfully capture the atmosphere of the film.

by Chun Su-jin