Starring: Moon Geun-Young, Kim Byeol, Park Geon-Hyeong
Director: Park Young-Hun
Studio: Enter One
Rating: 12+
Genre: Drama
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About This DVD
Moon Geun-young charms as an ethnic Korean dancer from China in “Innocent
Steps.” What do two homegrown films "Windstruck" and "My Little Bride" have in
common? Both of them are said to rely solely on the charms of lead actresses Jun
Ji-hyun and Moon Geun-young. The actresses are popular among South Korean women
as well as men.
Both movies primarily focus on making the star actresses seem even more
appealing. The male leads in these movies are secondary characters the audience
can hardly remember.
Moon's latest film, "Innocent Steps," is also said to belong to this category of
"personality-dependent" films. Moon plays the role of Jang Chae-rin, an ethnic
Korean dancer from Yanbian, northeastern China. The story develops in quite an
old-fashioned way, but the film is still entertaining thanks to Moon, who is
definitely its strongest asset, plus the exciting rhythms of the samba, cha-cha
and rumba dancing.
Chae-rin, without even knowing the basics of dancing, comes to Seoul to attend a
national sports dancing championship as a substitute for her dancing-queen
sister, who is forced to skip the Seoul event for personal reasons. Chae-rin
thus manages to enter South Korea on her sister's passport. Her partner in the
competition is Na Young-sae (Park Geon-hyeong), a former member of the country's
dance sport team. But Chae-rin is soon caught living a lie. After some twists
and turns, she learns dancing from Young-sae and love, too.
As in "My Little Bride," Moon wins the hearts of viewers with her innocent, big
eyes and bright smiles. In "Innocent Steps," she looks mature as she sings a hit
song by the late Chinese pop singer Teresa Teng and dances in a thigh-length red
dress. Moon is 19 years old, the same age as her character in the film, so the
audience may see much of Moon in Chae-rin. There are certain roles that
especially suit a particular actor, and Moon seems born to play Chae-rin.
However, her young age prevents her from depicting deep feelings of love.
Park, remembered by musical fans here for his lauded performance in the local
version of "Saturday Night Fever," adds entertainment to the film with his
dancing and physical charm. However, his performance lacks passion and rage with
unnatural smiles. "Innocent Steps" shifts from a typical sports movie to a
comic-book-like romance in its second half as Jeong Hyeon-su (Yoon Chan), the
villain, tries to spoil the dancers' plans. Jeong physically separates the
lovers, but they meet again eventually and confirm their love for each other.
Computer-generated fireflies also play a strong role in the picture, symbolizing
the innocent love that director Park Young-hun said he tried to depict in the
movie.
Audio Format: | DD 5.1 Surround, DD 2.0 Stereo |
Video Format: | Widescreen 1.85:1 (Anamorphic) |
Languages: | Korean |
Subtitles: | English, Korean |
Country Made: | Korea |
Region Code: | 3 |
Year Made: | 2005 |
Running Time: | 110 |
Special Features: | - Making of - Deleted Scenes - Interview with Director and Cast - Behind The Scenes - NG Cuts - Another Making of - How To Learn Dancing - Ending Credit Scene - Diary - Making of Trailer - Trailer - Letter From Cast |
Availability: | Usually ships in 5-10 days |
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