A 2004 drama that is rated as the first in the best romantic films made. It deserves it’s place. Son Ye jin & Jung Woo-sung have made it all real. It is based on Japanese television drama ‘Pure Soul’ made in 2001. It is a rich girl, poor boy drama with a twist. He is a carpenter & her father’s employee. She is a fashion designer who has been ditched by her colleague, also a married man. She is in a trance when she meets Chul soo, the carpenter in the door of a mart. She has come to grab her drink which she left on the counter & grabs his can & empties it.
Later she meets on site & by then discovered her folly. Her purse gets snatched. He gets it back by opening his car door suddenly. Repairs her purse. She is in awe & later attraction is mutual. He is not ready to commit but gets married finally. On her insistence, also meets his mother in jail. She wants him to clear his mother’s dues. He refuses. He is in the process of building a dream house for them. But she requests him to give up that money.
Meanwhile she is forgetting things & consults a doctor who asks her to come next week. she does after 2 weeks & the tests confirm that she has Alzheimer’s disease. It runs in her family. But she contracts it at the age of 27. He tries to be brave. She starts forgetting him. He visits the doctor & asks if she loves him. Doctor has been through it all & is sympathetic. With out being overly pathetic the scenes are handled with finesse.
She lands up in a nursing home away from him. He is not ready to let go & tears up the divorce papers. In the end they enact the meeting in the mart with the entire family where she smiles sweetly & asks if it is heaven. He says yes & drives her away in his car.
In 2006, Son Ye jin won the best actress award in 15th China golden rooster film festival. In 2008 Hindi film was made, U ,me aur hum with Kajol & Ajay Devgan. A Korean tv series, A thousand days promise in 2011 , Turkish & Malaysian film in 2012 was made.
Alzheimer disease is a progressive disease. It is incurable & genetic in origin. Medicines only slow the process. “Still Alice” a 2014 film with Julianne Moore is smack in the face. It is very realistic. Other films are ‘Poetry”, The Notebook, Safe House, What they had, Away from her,Memories of tomorrow, A Separation, Aurora Borealis, Beautiful Memories, Another House, Iris, Ashes,Happiness, Wrinkles, His neighbour Phil,A second childhood, Head full of Honey, The Iron Lady, Lou … & many more.
As I quickly screened through a couple of them for comparison, I found your resilience is tested. The bond you believe is strong is tugged forever. Not being recognised is one of those moments that nobody wishes to endure. I am helping her but she calls me by some other name, then who am I in her life? Was I ever there? It is not a simple thing taking care of a sick individual.
Not feeling sorry, not belittling yourself is very difficult. Sometimes guilt, but all these emotions need to be in check. Consulting a good counsellor would help. Having support groups to speak of the emotions & find a good way to deal with it. This deal is no big deal but needs to be tackled with compassion & selfless dedication.
Happy viewing ! For meaningful cinema…
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