Contrasting Two Movies: Il Mare and The Lake House - Essay Example

Full Comparing and Contrasting Two Movies: Il Mare and The Lake House Motion pictures are a great way to narrate stories.Sometimes, one story can simply make an impact on viewers that producers want to make adaptations. The Korean movie entitled Il Mare for instance, has been adapted in America with the title The Lake House. As an adaptation, the former film is a little different from the original film. Understandably, the changes have been made to suit the setting and characters of the story. Nevertheless, the two productions had their own unique ways of telling the same story to different audiences. This paper attempts to compare and contrast the two aforementioned movies. The discussion will focus on how the stories are presented differently or similarly through the settings, characters, scenes, cinematic techniques, acting, and music. Il Mare (Lee) and The Lake House (Agresti) both tell the story of two people who met through a mysterious experience. The woman moves from the lake house and leaves a letter to the next occupant, requesting him/her to send her letters to her new address. Inexplicably, the letter is received by the architect who was the first owner of the house. What was more puzzling to the correspondents was the two-year difference between their times. Their curiosity and amazement led them to discover that they really do exist at the time on two different years. First, the woman tells the man that there will be heavy snow that she experienced when she was at the lake house two years before her present time. As she warned, the snow fell and the man even caught the flu. Knowing that she is corresponding to a man who lives in her past, the woman then asks the man to go to the train station to retrieve something that she left there. The man yields and sees the woman for the first time and falls in love with her. Their correspondences and “dates” continue until finally the woman sees a drawing of the architect which caught her attention. She then learns that her correspondent died on that same day two years ago in her time which is actually the present day on the man’s calendar. Realizing why the architect did not show up on their supposed real date, the woman runs to the lake house and places her letter on the mailbox pleading the man not to go and see her because he will meet an accident. Eventually, the two meet and their love story continues. The plot of the two movies may be similar but there are also many differences that make each uniquely speak to their audiences. For instance, the settings are different. Il Mare is set in Korea in the year 1999 on the woman’s time and 1997 on the man’s time. The house is built on a shore which is why it is called Il Mare, literally translated as “the sea” (Lee). On the contrary, the lake house as suggested by its title; is made on a lake in Chicago. The years are also different, 2006 and 2004 for the woman and man’s time respectively (Agresti). There are also many changes in the characters in the adaptation of the original movie. Il Mare’s female protagonist is a voice artist whose confidant is a friend who has a book shop. She is a heart-broken lady who is still holding on to the love that she lost to a woman in America. She reflects the old-fashioned Korean woman who, when she falls in love, remains hopeful for the relationship to work. She is quite transparent and warm in her correspondences. For instance, when she heard her ex-boyfriend’s voice in the dining area, she candidly spoke about her feelings toward him in her letter to the architect. She even had the audacity to ask her correspondent to help her win her ex back. On the other hand, the female protagonist in the film’s American version is a doctor who initially thinks the man who answered her letter is making a fool out of her. Her confidant is her mother. She is liberated as any American woman is in the 21st century. She separated with her boyfriend because of his busy schedules and lifestyle as well as the incident about her kiss with the architect whom she did not yet know at that time. Moreover, in her last letter, she professed her love to the architect which the Korean woman never did. The male protagonist in both films is an architect who has a famous architect father. The man did not have a good relationship with his father which is his primary struggle. He worked hard to get his father’s approval which he never had. The father died with the son thinking that his love for his father was never reciprocated. However, when the older architect’s memoir was published, the male protagonist how mistaken his judgments of his father have been. In Il Mare, the father left the hero when he was still a child but in The Lake House, it was the mother who left the family when she could not stand her husband’s change in attitude anymore. Eventually, the mother died and the young man’s perception of his father simply got worse. In addition, the Korean version’s male protagonist has a friend who is also his confidant. He was also broken-hearted by the woman who chose her education in America over her boyfriend. The Korean hero is also a romantic who dedicated his works to the woman he loved, the heroine. In its American version, the male star has a brother who serves as his confidant. There is a woman who often stalks him but he does not count her as his girlfriend. When he saw the female protagonist, he showed as much dedication to her as his Korean counterpart. There are also similarities and differences in the scenes portrayed in the films. The Korean version starts and ends at the same scene where the woman writes a note instructing the next occupant of the house to forward her mails to her new address. The story ends with the hero introducing himself, telling her of a story that she might hardly believe. On the other hand, the American version starts with the heroine moving out of the house but ends at the time she sends her last letter to her hero. She stays at the lake house for some time and finally, her knight appears as she has requested in her letter. Moreover, since Il Mare’s heroine is a voice artist, it has been sensible to have her lose a voice recorder at the train station which the hero eventually mailed to her. On the other hand, the adaptation’s doctor left a book which became a part of her conversation with her hero the first time they spoke with each other. The book is not sent to the woman instead, she later finds it in the hero’s house. In Il Mare, the female protagonist never spoke with her male counterpart. Although the man saw her and spoke to her in her past which is the man’s present, she never said a word to him. He was a total stranger to her so that she never had any recollection about the man except his drawings and the accident that happened in front of the woman which the heroine never realized until the day she found out that the hero died on the day she had her last date with her ex-boyfriend. In the other film however, the man was able to speak to the heroine. In fact, they even conversed long enough for them to talk about the book which the woman left at the train station. They also danced and kissed each other. The woman also remembers what happened to them. The two films are both excellent when it comes to cinematic techniques. Although the story holds some mystery which may be unacceptable to the modern viewers, the cinematography somehow worked its wonders in both films. The use of various shots made the films able to hold the viewers’ attention and interest. Long shots allowed audiences to see the bird’s eye view of the scene and understand the big picture of the scene and the story as a whole. For instance, the beautiful view of the house in both films allows viewers to feel the connection the main characters have with the environment. It also tells something about their attributes such as being sentimental and old-fashioned. Medium shots also present a different perspective of the characters and scenes. The faces are more up close so that one can almost see the changes in a character’s facial expressions especially when the camera zooms in to focus on the face of a character. This technique makes viewers understand the emotions that are conveyed through facial expressions which are not verbally expressed in the scenes but are important to complete the story. Furthermore, the juxtaposing of the male and female protagonists in both films as they corresponded with each other was simply awesome. This technique made viewers see the scenes happening at the same time even though they were actually happening in different times as the hero and heroine’s times are different. The craftsmanship makes viewers feel that somehow the story is going to end well. The adaptation used more of this technique and the director should be applauded for a wonderful artistry. The juxtaposing of the hero and heroine sitting on a bench and exchanging ideas as if they were really to each other is wonderful. The scene where the man is shown writing a letter and the woman sits in front of him, encouraging him to say more, makes audiences see the kind of relationship that developed through their correspondences. This is very important because in this busy modern world, such a relationship may be considered preposterous. The actors played their parts very well. The actors of the original version were superb. The main characters are natural talents. They did not just act to show their parts but they have embraced their roles so that they were able to show their emotions pretty well in their acting. The man was very emotional and his face can speak the brokenness that he felt not only towards his girlfriend who showed that her education is more important than the man she loves but also towards his father who seemed not to reciprocate his love. The heroine on the other hand is a cheerful woman who easily laughs but is also emotional. As a character who has to show such extreme characteristics, it could be said that the actress gave a wonderful rendition of her role. Consequently, Il Mare can be considered a moving movie which speaks to the heart and soul of viewers. It surely can move the audiences’ emotions. The characters in the adaptation were also excellent in their acting. Focusing on the main characters, it could be said that they have been the perfect actors for the roles they have played. The heroine looks serious, suitable for a doctor who has a soft spot for sentimentality. The man on the other hand is an affectionate person is yearning for the approval and love of his father. The actor seems mysterious and that adds to his charm, becoming the right choice for the role. That is not to disregard his fine work of giving an excellent acting which equally captures the hearts and minds of viewers. Lastly, the music chosen for the movies complemented the scenes and acting. The Korean movie is very emotionally motivated and the music fits it just right. The soft and agonizingly beautiful music played behind the scenes speaks the message the director wants to convey through the scenes and the lyrics of the songs. Consequently, the scenes are very moving because the music helps to provoke the necessary emotions to empathize with the characters. In the American version, the songs are quite loud and fast. Such choice of music does not only speak about the American culture but it also suits the characters and their roles. In general, the actors, the music and everything involved in the movie worked perfectly well to create two wonderful movies. One story, two movies with different settings and interpretations---those are Il Mare and The Lake House. They may have similarities and differences but they are uniquely crafted to satisfy their intended viewers. The original version is set in Korea while the adaptation is set in Chicago. The characters reflect their settings. The scenes are arranged in such a manner that they fit the setting and the characterizations of role-players. The cinematic techniques help the story to be told in an interesting and entertaining manner. The actors played their parts well and the music helped to strengthen the emotions of characters as well as complement the scenes being shown. References Agresti, Alejandro, dir. The Lake House. Warner Brother, 2006. Film. . Lee, Hyun-Seung, dir. Il Mare. Blue cinema, 2000. Film. . Read More