Lunch Box (2010)

Country: Korean
Format: movie, one episode of MBC Best Theater series
Genre: romance, drama
Cast: Lee Min Jung, Im Seul Ong, Bae Han Sung, Cha Hwa Yun, Oh Dae Hwan,  Park Hye Jin
Synopsis: Movie tells a story of different people who are connected to each other. Ones are looking towards the future, but others are unable to walk away from the past.
Rating: - /5
Well, this was one really weird movie. Even now I do not have clear thoughts about it. It never shows what exactly happened in the past and it does not exactly show the future, it is just a point in life where after over 20 years four people, who are connected to each other with sad memories, meet again and try to put an end to the grief and I almost forgot four other people who just must witness everything.

I think the main character's of the movie are Chang Sik and Sook Ja - an ex-couple who broke up after their son's death. Sook Ja accidentally sees Chang Sik from the TV and that he is still living were they used to live. Of course she is going to go and see how is he living. Sook Ja annoyed the hell out of me - she keeps insulting and blaming Chang Sik for the whole time! If she is not aware there are different types of how people go through grief - some people bury it into work and others go crazy. (Okey it was a awful thing to say) But in a way it is true - there are people who rather continue to keep living in a place that is filled with memories and bury the sadness into work, but some people are unable to cope with memories and rather leave to get some peace.

There is no way to tell which way is easier, because in grief there is no easy way. Blaming other person for "being emotionless about someone's death" is hurting even more and shows that Chang Sik did not knew or understand her ex-husband at all. The weirdest thing is that Sook Ja is blaming him for staying there but also blaming him for not stopping her - woman, make up your mind. Chang Sik is really quiet man who takes everything into heart but never shows how he actually feels, because it is gotten easier to hide feelings so he could not get more hurt.

Other people who are involved with past are Byeong Gyo and his mom. Byeong Gyo who was blamed with Chang Sik and Sook Ja's son's death, but he was also young at that time. He has never gotten over it, because everything happened in front of his eyes. As he became mentally unstable it led him to make really bad choices in life. His mom is still living in the same city and waits his son to come back home. Both are filled with regret and guilt and are longing for forgiveness.

There are also young man and woman who know nothing about the tragedy that happened to those people. Soo Cheol is a man who is working in the train station and is the only person in his 20ties 

within 100 km radius, which makes him really lonely. Hee Yeong is messed up girl who cannot get over her ex and tries to get him back by threatening to kill herself. I forgot to mention that she almost has a drinking problem. I think that we would have gotten a pretty good romantic comedy out of it if they would have been the only main characters, but then it would not have been the same movie at all.

I have no idea why their picture was put as the cover photo . Soo Cheol and Hee Yeong are totally different, but at the same time Soo Cheol is impressed by Hee Yeong's craziness and she is calmed by Soo Cheol's innocence and naivety. But I am afraid that they would not work out in future when Soo Cheol has seen the other women as well. I think Im Seul Ong from 2AM is the only reason why it is worth wasting this one hour on "Lunch box". 

There are also two policeman who are after Byeong Gyu, but they do not play that big role in it.
In my opinion, "Lunch box" tried to be something that it was not meant to be. As Yanne said "The first few seconds seemed promising and then everything flew out of the window..". I even do not know what Yanne thought when she forced that movie into watchlist, but I know that she had forgotten the reason after two days had passed.