Jamaica Knauer

One of the most compelling and certainly underrated actors in South Korea, Kam Woo-sung, delivers a masterful performance in “The Wind Blows,” currently streaming on Netflix USA. In it, he plays Do-hoon, who discovers that his recent reluctance to live out previously planned dreams with his wife Soo-jin, (a wonderful Kim Ha-neul,) is not the result of a love gone cold, but a symptom of early on-set Alzheimer’s Disease. Aiming to spare Soo-jin the time, grief, & care his disease would demand of her, he sets in motion a plan of exiting the marriage, without revealing his diagnosis. She bristles at his puzzling change in attitude and wants the long-planned-for-baby they’d always dreamed of, putting them in bitter conflict with one another. As grim as the set up may be this is KDrama, and Korean tv (& filmmakers) are masters of the ever changing mood, successfully flipping through multiple tones, or genres, all in one work. “The Wind Blows” is no exception, so there are plenty of laughs to counter the bitterness; open-hearted earnestness to soothe the grief; and the beautiful power of loyalty & love from both Do-hoon’s family, & friends, that ultimately make this series such a sweet treasure. Kam Woo-sung masterfully handles the tonal changes of the material, and his portrayal of dementia symptoms (seen in my own family) struck me as absolutely spot-on. Kam’s Do-hoon is a good man, but he is not without his faults. He reacts to his tragedy in a self-centered way, trying desperately to grasp some kind of control of the flat spin his life has become, and wrestle as safe a landing for his wife and himself, as gently as possible; but in doing what he believes is a kindness, he initially robs Soo-Jin of her right to act as she chooses. It is a fine performance that might have garnered awards had Mr. Kam not won drama awards for the previous year’s “Should We Kiss First?”. He really belongs on the big screen, but so far it’s been a dozen years since his last film role. I hope that changes soon.

Well worth seeing to witness Ruffalo excellently play against type (if this versatile actor actually has one) but it is true that he rarely gets cast in more traditional male roles. This was a refreshing change of pace for him, and I hope someday it will be viewed as among his best performances.