More than Blue 슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기, 2009

✫ 9/10

Favorite Character: Cream

“You feel bad leaving the girl you love behind, so you’re giving her away to another man?” “I loved her more than anything, that’s why I’m letting her go.”

One of the most well-written love stories of all time – not one that many would think of within this particular genre. But here we are. 

More than Blue 슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기 tells the love story of K (Kwon Sang-Woo) and Cream (Lee Bo-Young), following the pair from their high school days, up until the events that transpire as K uses all means possible to find a suitable partner for Cream.

Love, sacrifice, pain, heartwrenching sadness – they come in a group, no way to separate them. K has been in love with Cream since day one of meeting the woman but decides to keep his feelings to himself. This was in part due to the fact that he was notified by his doctor that he has terminal cancer with only a few months left to live, as well as knowing Cream’s greatest fear is to be abandoned. K would rather experience heartbreaking pain and see Cream happy with another man, than reveal his love and eventually have to leave her all alone in the world. 

The story isn’t told in a very conventional Hollywood way where everything is sort of laid out and explained for the viewers. Like all international media, viewers need to understand that different cultures have different ways of expressing feelings, acting, telling stories, etc. More than Blue 슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기 is no different. Some may say that the love Cream exhibited was too abrupt, K’s affection for Cream wasn’t relatable, or even the actors’ choices within the sad story were questionable. But isn’t that love? Not everything can be explained in clarity when that particular subject is taking center stage. As for the actors’ choices for their characters, there is more than one way to show despair and heartbreak – different ways to process life events. Cream and K’s love story was told in the third person, thus perspectives are skewed, as well as the way the story unfolds. Not everything can be explained in a clear-cut and complete way. But one thing is for certain, the pair loved each other with all the fibers in their body.

Even with all the sadness surrounding the story, we as the audience get to experience love in its truest form. Although Cream and K’s sad love story took center stage, we were also given an array of characters that helped to lighten the mood, as well as their individual life story with music.

As the credits roll we as the audience are left with the feeling of love, sacrifice, pain, and heartwrenching sadness. From the actors’ chemistry to the plot twist towards the end of the film. In my personal experience, I thought the story was handled so extremely well. Using the third person point of view really helped to elevate the story as we get to see all perspectives as the events unfold.

Have tissue boxes ready because the film and OST will get those tears coming from the very beginning. And yes, I have in fact rewatched More than Blue 슬픔보다 더 슬픈 이야기 more than once – just to feel something.