Daddy-Long-Legs (Kidari Ajeossi)

[4jpz]

Daddy-Long-Legs
(Kidari Ajeossi)

Spoiler Warning: Contains spoilers.


Movie Review by
4jpz

Synopsis by
the people from soompi compiled by 4jpz

Produced by
Kim Hyeong Jun
Directed by
Gong Jeong Sik

Writing Credits
Jean Webster (story)
Kim Hyeong Jun (screenplay)

Genre
Comedy / Drama / Romance

Starring
Yeon Jeong Hun as Kim Joon Ho
Ha Ji Won as Cha Young Mi
Shin Yi as Jong Jong
Hyun Bin as Hyung Joon
Jeong Jun Ha as PD Lee
Park Eun Hye as Young Woo

Original Music
Han Jae Kwon

Cinematography
Park Hee Ju
Im Jae Guk

Art Director
Ha Sang Ho

Release date
January 14, 2005
(South Korea)

Running time
98 mins

Language
Korean

Official Site
http://www.kidarilover.co.kr

Certification
South Korea: 12

Synopsis

Daddy Long-legs (Kidari Ajeossi) is a 2005 South Korean romantic movie loosely inspired by the novel Daddy-Long-Legs by Jean Webster.  It is a story of an orphan named Cha Young Mi, played by Ha Ji Won, who has an anonymous benefactor who paid her fees without her knowledge.  She only sees his shadow or his back which lead in Young Mi naming her benefactor Daddy-Long-Legs from the character of Jean Webster’s book.

She eventually had her dream job at a radio station as a program writer and was given a nice house to stay in for free which belonged to a sick employee who was working in the same radio station a year ago. The house is fully equipped with the employee’s personal belongings and Young Mi eventually used this employee’s computer.  She then received emails that were sent a year previously by the house’s owner, whom Young Mi believed to be a girl due to a framed etching on the wall.  The email reveals a poignant story of unrequited love on how the owner was secretly in love with a guy for 10 years but he had never once taken notice of her.  The owner was diagnosed with a terminal disease which will slowly erase her memories day by day.  She was devastated in learning of her illness for he she did not want her memories of him to fade away and she decided to write an email to be received a year later that would enable her to remember who he was.

During this time, Cha Young Mi falls in love with Kim Joon Ho, played by Yeon Jeong Hun, who works at the radio station’s library.  As the writer of one of the radio station’s show, she aired the contents of the email and soon she surmised that Joon Ho is involved with the sick girl.  Young Mi was overcome with guilt that she has taken him away from the woman who has been in love with him for years.

While Young Mi was depressed over Joon Ho, she discovered that her employment at the radio station and her present accommodation had been prearranged by someone. Without a doubt, she knew this must be the work of her Daddy-Long-Legs. The details linked her Daddy-Long-Legs to the director of the radio station. But the director revealed that he is only fulfilling the wishes of his younger brother, Joon Ho. Joon Ho was the one who had been helping her all the while. She also learned about Joon Ho’s health.

Finally, every piece of the puzzle fell into place. She thought that the owner of the house was a woman because of the framed picture on the wall, but it is Joon Ho’s house and he wrote the email. The characters in the email were Joon Ho and her, and the portrait on the wall was an etching of her created by Joon Ho.  

Review

Daddy-Long-Legs was the first classic novel I have bought and it’s the very first classic novel that really hooked me into reading the classics.  It’s light and the way it was written in letter-writing form makes reading it refreshing and fun as if you are lurking in someone else’s private stuff.  It’s the main reason I got interested in this movie.

The animation at the start is reminiscent of the novel’s light-heartedness and so it got me into this notion that the movie will stay true with the novel. But, alas! It’s a whole different story with the same twist as the novel but has a unique flavor to it. One might end up getting confused because of the twists and the symbolisms and the parallelisms to the novel, especially if one hasn’t had the privilege of reading it beforehand.  On how come the benefactor got the name Daddy-Long-Legs, on how the lead female protagonist learned to love the unknown man who was behind her success, on loving unconditionally and deeply.

This is what got me hooked in Korean dramas/movies, after all. Watching one drama but ending up with a bunch of stories in the form of literature or quotes or music, and you wanted to go into each one of them more deeply.  I got intrigued with Young Mi’s favorite book The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster, or what is the music of JD Souther, or how are etching’s done just like the framed portrait of Young Mi.  It’s a bunch of information that contributes little or more to the story but to a curious mind like mine, it’s a minefield!

Just like the novel, the movie made me silly and cried a lot. I particularly like the scene in where Joon Ho took Young Mi in a flower bazaar and says to her “This is where we first met” to erase her memory of how they first met.

I guess I’m a sappy for tearjerkers since I cried more when Young Mi read she read Joon Ho’s love letter – “I love you, Young Mi, I want to show up in front of you. But… now I have a disease that takes away even the memories of love. If things get worse… and my memory leaves me, this email to arrive in a year will be a map for me to find my way back to you. If only I could keep the memories of you. If I lose my memories and become a different person, I’d like to love you again, Young Mi.”

If one looks for a happy-ever-after ending then this movie is not for you for in the end Joon Ho died but he died loving Young Mi a multitude of times. With his memory fading ever each passing day, he is true with his love towards Young Mi and every moment together seems like it’s the first time they love each other.

Ultimately this movie is about loving a person and not looking for him far and away for he might just be the one nearest you. It’s a movie about remembering to say to the person you love that you love him/her dearly for you might have that love for just the shortest time.

Movie Trivia

• The movie is loosely inspired by the 1912 novel Daddy-Long-Legs by American author Jean Webster, the grandniece of Mark Twain.  The book is often classified as young adult literature or even children’s literature, but at the time it was part of a trend of "girl" or "college girl" books which featured young female protagonists dealing with post-high-school concerns such as college, career, and marriage.
  

• Cha Young Mi and Kim Joon Ho bought the same CD at a record store.  The CD is You’re Only Lonely by J.D. Souther.
  

• Young Mi's favorite book is The New York Trilogy by Paul Auster.

[

• A stage play 1919 starring Mary Pickford.
  

• Another stage play in 1931 starring Janet Gaynor and Warner Baxter.

• A 1955 movie starring Fred Astaire and Leslie Caron, though it departed significantly from the original storyline. This movie was nominated for 1955 Academy Awards Best Art Direction.
  

• In Japan, Daddy-Long-Legs was made into a musical anime TV special in 1979 by Tatsunoko Productions, directed by Masakazu Higuchi of Superbook fame.

• A television serial Watashi no Ashinaga Ojisan (My Daddy-Long-Legs) directed by Kazuyoshi Yokota was aired in 1990 with 40 episodes.
  

[chicAnn]

Yup, this movie is a tearjerker and a heartbreaker. I also cried when Young Min was reading Joon Ho's letter. It makes you feel hopeful and also makes you think about appreciating what you have now and not waste time doing senseless things or hiding your true feelings.

Even though Daddy-Long-Legs has a sad ending, I still like this movie a lot. Thanks for the review!

[pc2000]

Seems like a good movie to watch

[nena2112]

seems i already watch this muvie...

[mia21]

this movie is trully a tearjerker..since i have this affinity towards tragic stories, i was really touched by the movie.


it also makes u think that there might be someone out there just waiting for your love..hehehe...the best..


ive been watching this film over and over, yet everytime i still cry..

[MmeKat]

This movie was quite a surprise to me. I thought the title was silly and I didn't think to watch it for a long time b/c of it. I finally decided to do it and it was AMAZING! It simply took my breath away and has since become one of my favorites!

[kooky unnie]

lol i like the way u did ur synopsis 4jpz :] looks like those ending credits lmao..read through....more like skimmed lol well believe me i read it :] fast reader and seems ok but the actors arent that good lookking but i'll check it out on video to see if its good thx for the review :]

[mariannerebucan]

haven't seen this movie yet,
im looking forward to see it,
i'm a big HYUN BIN fan, im very excited to see him again in a different role.

[4jpz]

mariannerebucan Wrote:haven't seen this movie yet,
im looking forward to see it,
i'm a big HYUN BIN fan, im very excited to see him again in a different role.

Hyun Bin's role is soooo minor that if you blink you might not see him! lol So, my advise to you is to not blink at all especially when the scene is at school!!!

[aanaleem]

i've seen the anime series of daddy-long-legs when i was little..n it was the first anime that i love the most..that was so long time ago..but still i remember the story...i'm searching for the anime but still didn't find it..so sad..i hope this series is the same as the anime..can wait to watch this one..