A Moment to Remember
Movie Review
The Alzheimer’s Disease
In the early 1900’s a physician named Alois Alzheimer provided care for a patient with rapidly declining severe dementia. After his patient died, he performed an autopsy to examine the brain of the patient. Advances in histology and in microscopy gives way for Dr. Alzheimer to study deeply the said disease particularly the cellular changes in the brain’s nervous tissue. What he found out was an atrophy of the gray matter surrounding the brain. He also found bundles of neurofibers and the plaques that are now a distinguishing characteristic for a definitive diagnosis of what we call Alzheimer’s disease today.
Accepting Alzheimer’s disease is already regarded as a peculiar condition by everyone. In spite of that, it didn’t gain much attention for the next few decades. However, that has changed recently for a number of reasons. One of its reasons is that the population surge that occurred shortly after the World War II causes the older people to dominate. In fact, the number of Alzheimer’s patients could triple to 14 million in the coming years. Another reason that Alzheimer’s has recently gained greater importance is that it is diagnostic in nature. People usually do not die from the disease itself, but from complications such as pneumonia. In early 1900 the cause of death would be listed as pneumonia. But now, because of significant advances in research and the increased awareness of the people, Alzheimer’s is listed as the primary cause of death.
Research is making giant strides in finding out more about the disease and possibility of discovering a cure. One organization that has dedicated itself to end the Alzheimer’s disease is the Alzheimer’s Association. This organization was founded twenty years ago and since then has awarded grants over the $100 million mark. This makes it our nation’s largest private founder of research. (Plontz,2007)
The Transition of the Movie to Alzheimer’s Disease
The movie begins with the introduction of the Su-Jin’s traits and background. Su-Jin is a fashion designer who came from a wealthy family. Furthermore, she was shown as a woman with a poor memory who always carries numerous pencils to replace immediately the pencils she might lost. As the movie progresses, Su-Jin met a man named Choi Chul Soo who later fell in loved with her. Choi Chul Soo was the first person who noticed the negligence of Su-Jin in managing her things. Despite of her condition, He still decides to marry Su-Jin and live with her in his house. As their marriage continues, Su-Jin noticed that there are times that she forgot the address of their house while going home. In fact, she was sometimes confused if the house that she entered is theirs. This incidence leads her eventually to consult a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist secretly conducted a certain test to Su-Jin. As the test was being conducted, Su-Jin noticed that her condition is becoming worse. When she consulted the doctor to know what her real condition is, the psychiatrist said that she have an early Alzheimer’s disease. He recommends Su-Jin to retire from her job and stay at home instead. This tragedy starts the most remarkable scenes in the movie.
Ye-Jin Son as Su Jin
The actress, Ye-jin Son played the part of Su-Jin very well. Her expressions, her actions, even her smallest gestures seem to fit seamlessly with character of Su-Jin. Still, her acting on the beginning of the movie where she first met her husband is quite dissatisfying. Her acting during that part is seemingly dull and emotionless; the way she reacts to her father and to her coworkers looks emotionless. It is apparent that the character must be portrayed as someone who is just recovering from a major depression but somehow any hint of depression cannot be found in her. What she portrayed is a stiff and rigid character making it one of the critical point of the movie. The acting in the first few minutes for me is performed poorly and hastily and even the first part of the movie contains a hilarious scene about the soda can; it still becomes dull because of the actress’ performance. However, as the film continues, Ye-Jin Son slowly starts to shine in her character. In fact, by the end of the film it became very convincing that a person by the name of Su-Jin did exist. That suggests how magnificent Ye-Jin Son’s portrayal becomes. Indeed, she was able to make the audience sympathize to the condition of Su-Jin especially the time she is trying to cope up with her sickness and with the truth that she’ll forget everything about her husband, her family and herself. Each scene is deeply emotional and inspirational. It makes other feel that it is happening to someone they love. The dull performance she did in the first half was far outweighed by her performance in the second half. It can be concluded that Ye-Jin Son has proven himself to be one of the greatest contemporary actresses of Korea
Woo-Sung Jung as Choi Chul Soo
The portrayal of Woo-sung Jung to the male lead character, Choi Chul Soo seems very disappointing. If the lead actress acted like a robot only in the first part of the movie, the lead actor acted like a robot in the rest movie. It seems that the actor’s performance is greatly overshadowed by the excellent acting of Ye-jin Son. Choi Chul Soo looked like a secondary character with his portrayal from the first scene up to the last scene where he finally says to Su-Jin that she loves her. It is obvious that his character, Choi, is a rigid, apathetic, emotionally-battered man but such attributes should have been erased on the part where they are shown to be happily married. What happens, however, is the exact opposite. All throughout the film, Choi’s personality seems to have never developed. He is still rigid, apathetic, emotionally-battered man by the end of the film. In fact, whenever Choi is shown to be happy or smiling, everything starts to look false. His scenes seem to be so unrealistic because of his smile. His smiles, laughter, and every acting conveying positive emotion seem to be forced. It seems like he’s not really enjoying it and he was just forced to do it. The little improvement on the part of Choi is disappointing. The only moment that made Choi Chul Soo alive was when he was reading the letter from Su-Jin who decided to run away. Even with this negative connotation, I can say that there’s a lot of room for improvement in the in the part of the actor portrayal. I also believe that another actor is better suited for the character. The character of Choi wasn’t given justice by the rigid acting of Woo-sung Jung.
Sometimes life can really be cruel Indeed. This line summarizes all external implications of the movie. The type of the movie can be considered as a glimpse in the natural cycle of life. It shows some of the daily events that are happening without our realization. Conditions such as social discrimination, solitary living and other tragic events in life may seem to be too surreal but are realistic. Many of us might be innocent that there are many people like Choi who were left by their mothers or fathers and force to depend on themselves. The denial of discrimination especially among social classes is very rampant in today. Moreover, many people are being deprived of jobs, of privileges, and even of love because of their social standing. Indeed, society has a cruel way of looking down upon those who commit impermissible things that are not accepted in the society. Society and life can be cruel indeed. Both were being judged by the people based on their status, on their achievements, on their actions, and even on their appearance. This norm was shown on the scene where Su-Jin’s father recognizes Choi as his foreman whereas he refuses to allow him to marry Su-Jin. Such things might not appear frequently on the news because of the fact that society has a way of focusing our sight on the greater issues in life such as wars and famine.
On the other hand, there are many subtle implications in the movie true; in particular, love does exist and; death is inevitable and must be accepted openly. The movie shows some of the finer points of life along with its cruel side. The plot, indeed, captured the essence of what true love is. The film showed the essence of true love. It showed that true love transcends time, sickness and ultimately death. It showed that love could still exist in a cruel and judgmental society. Such love may appear as too poetic to exist but the story proved it otherwise. It could be suggested that the film is not only for those who are engaged in a relationship but also for those who are single or heartbroken. The film can make anyone believe that love exist and for some, make them believe in love once more. In addition, the plot tackles the two sides of death: the physical one, and the emotional one. The death is emotional in the sense that the feelings along with memories are erased. Such death is portrayed not only by Su-Jin’s sickness but also by Choi’s non-recognition of her mother. It also shows us how people deal with a loved one’s sickness and coming death. That’s why one of the most touching moment in the film is the last part where Choi together with his family and Su-Jin’s family re-enact the two’s first meeting. That part is very inspirational for it somehow showed that both families especially Choi’s and even Su-jin herself have accepted her death. Hence, the movie shows the good, the bad, and even the neutral side of life.
Bibliography
Plontz, M. (2007, August 2). http://www.caregiver.com. Retrieved August 2, 2011, from http://www.caregiver.com/channels/alz/articles/a_brief_history.htm: http://www.caregiver.com
