Munhwagwa: A long, sad walk through a break-up

Is this for you?

Honestly, only if you are in the mood for pure, unadulterated melodrama. If you want a movie where the violin music is always crying even when the characters aren't, you'll love it. If you have zero patience for people making bad life choices, stay away.

It feels like one of those movies you'd catch on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. It doesn't move fast, and it doesn't really care if you're keeping up with the pacing.

The Setup

Our lead is a violinist. He’s the type of guy who wears his heart on his sleeve and probably owns too many sweaters. His girlfriend is a dancer. They are in love. Then, some rich guy shows up looking like he owns the whole city. The dancer leaves. The violinist stops playing, starts drinking, and stares at walls.

It’s a tale as old as time, really. It reminded me a bit of the emotional exhaustion found in Czarna perla, but with a lot more violin solos.

Small Observations

• The way the lead actor holds his violin looks like he's holding a hot potato.
• There is a scene in a cafe that lasts three minutes too long. You can literally hear the street noise outside.
• The lighting in the apartment scenes is so dim you might actually have to squint to see the furniture.

The middle part of the movie is basically just a montage of the guy being sad. It’s almost impressive how much he manages to mope. You start to wonder if he ever actually practiced his music or if he was just waiting around to be heartbroken.

The rich guy isn't even a villain, really. He's just a guy with a nice suit. That makes the whole situation even more frustrating because you can't even get mad at anyone.

Why it's kind of weird

It’s not trying to be Locura de amor. It’s smaller, tighter, and way more focused on the ego of the artist. The director clearly wanted us to feel the violinist's pain, but sometimes I just wanted him to get a job.

The ending doesn't really give you a hug. It just sort of stops. 🎻