stephen ho – Google

Firstly for any viewer intending to watch this, this is a very long one at 2 hours and 20 mins. It moves at times, just too laboriously slow and I feel if the film editor cut it by 30 mins, there would be no loss to the story. But this is an Isao Yukisada movie and feels like a director's extended version. Its a story between a teacher and a student and I wouldn't call it a romantic one. There is an attraction between the parties but each is minded by morals and hence the whole movie revolves around whether to progress the relationship to one that is romantic. It all capitulates in the end to one of sexual and it is at this point I was trying to make sense of it. The storyline isn't all that original and I didn't find the acting good enough to move me, even though the story is probably topical right now..

Generally agree with others it's a good love story. I think it would have been better if there were an additional 5-10 mins to develop the characters and their relationship a bit more before the ending, which was expected mid way through the movie. And that's a bit of a disappointment to me to be able to pick an ending before the movie ends. However, I thought the side plot on Soo-ho's grandfather was a greater storyline and wanted more from that. And lastly one could already tell how good an actress Song Hye Kyo was going to be back in 2005