Actuakers One of my all time favorites.

TaryBiggBall It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Derrick Gibbons An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Paul Magne Haakonsen I remember watching "Il Mare" (aka "Siworae") back in the day shortly after it was initially released. And I do remember it as being a very beautiful movie. So I sat down yesterday to watch it again for the third time.And while "Il Mare" does have a very nice and original story, then it was a tad slow paced, which could be somewhat of a challenge for some audience to get through. However, I think that it is alright with a slow paced storyline here, because director Hyun-seung Lee uses the time quite well to tell a very beautiful and touching story.The story told in "Il Mare" is about a lovestory between Kim Eun-ju (played by Ji-hyun Jun) and Han Sung-hyun (played by Jung-jae Lee). They are sending each other letters from a mailbox at an ocean-side house named Il Mare. Kim Eun-ju is living in 1999 and Han Sung-hyun is living in 1997. And even with two years apart, their love grows with each letter.It is indeed a very interesting storyline, and one that has originality and sinks right in, because it is really well-told by the director.And while the cast list in "Il Mare" is relatively small, then there is a bigger pressure on the leading stars to perform well enough to hold up the movie. And I will say that both Jung-jae Lee and Ji-hyun Jun did more than perform adequately. They really carried the movie quite well, both individually and together on the screen."Il Mare" is a beautiful movie to grace the South Korean cinema, and it is a movie that is well-worth watching, regardless of you having a preference for Asian cinema or not.

wanderingstar This Korean film centres around a seaside house on the ocean. The lovers exist in different times (2000 and 1998) and can only communicate via the house's wooden mailbox. Their "long distance" relationship deepens and they try to find a way to be together. Overall very good. Good story, acting, & musical score. It has a sadness and visually stunning cinematography that done so well in many Korean films. The composition, lighting etc in many of the scenes are like beautiful works of art. I thought it dragged a bit in the middle but not overly.See this film if you're tired of the summer action blockbusters.I haven't seen the Sandra Bullock/Keanu Reeves remake (The Lake House, 2006) but I would bet it's not as good. Mainly, because it's got Reeves and Bullock in it.

kcla Il Mare is a Korean romance about two lonely singles who have a romance through letters. The catch is that they are separated by two years in time (he is in 1998 while she resides in the year 2000) and the only way they can contact each other is through a magical mailbox at Il Mare, the oceanside house both reside in in their respective time periods. I've heard a lot of hype about this movie...especially about the time-travel aspect in the plot. I was expecting it to be flashy instead I found a quiet steady drama yet it wasn't original or particularly moving. Its strength lies in its restraint.Many commenters have noted the ingenuity of the time-travel aspect...but I was less impressed with that having seen it used before in another movie with a couple that had more chemistry (The Love Letter starring Campbell Scott and Jennifer Jason Leigh). The lack of chemistry and character development is the fatal flaw of the movie. We see that Eun-ju and Sung-hyun are lonely people but besides that we don't really get a sense of who they are. Given the plot they cannot interact really except for a couple of scenes, such as when Sung-hyun meets Eun-ju at a train station in the year 1998 when she has no idea who he is. These scenes should have had a bittersweet tenderness, yet they merely fall flat. In a movie like this, the leads do not need to have crackling chemistry but we need to be able to see that they belong together. Individually the performances are good, if a bit bland. The dialogue is...not as sappy as some movies, but not at all witty or innovative. despite its plot gimmick, il mare is nothing but a traditional romance who's only notable point is its austerity. The film doesn't force the romance on us, it takes its pace unfolding it..first as a friendship only near the end indulging in the sapfests. But in being so restrained about it, the film also doesn't really give the audience something to root for. If you don't really expect much from this kinda genre you might enjoy it but if you want to be swept off your feet and moved to tears this isn't the film for you.

le-fantome Unlike a past message someone wrote about how he didn't like the ending, and it would had been better if Sung-hyun died would had been a mistake. It would had made the prev 100 mins seem pointless. There wouldn't be a point for this celestial matchmaking if the main character just died at the end.I understood the ending with Han Sung-hyun getting the letter in time, with instead of meeting Kim Eun-ju at the beach as planned, he decided to catch her as she was moving out which is the reason why she didn't remember him. Even though it would had been more rational if he just waited, b/c now he will come across as a crazy person. Plus it would look more romantic if they met on the beach where they intended.The part I didn't like (BTW major MAJOR SPOILER) is that if all this Twilight Zone stuff didn't come into play, Sung-hyun would had lived. The movie made fate seem like a deranged meddler by causing the rift in time to kill Sung-hyun only to have Eun-ju prevent it so she could realize that she was in love with him. I believe the screenwriter thought closed-mindly about that when he could had thought more outside the box. It would had caused more intensity and drama if Sung-hyun died in an accident which had nothing to do with Eun-ju and she suddenly remembers the tragedy back in 1998 and warns him.