BAIK’s “The Beauty Inside” is an enjoyable, charming romantic comedy that is fresh and unique. Definitely worth watching!
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TITLE: The Beauty Inside
FILM RELEASE: 2015
DURATION: 127 Minutes
BLU-RAY DISC INFORMATION: 1080p High Definition (16:9 Widescreen), Korean 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, Subtitles: English,
COMPANY: Well Go USA Entertainment
RATED: Not Rated
Release Date: February 2, 2016
Directed by Jong-Yeol Baek
Written by Seon-jeong Kim and Jeong-ye Park
Executive Producers: Woo-Taek Kim
Co-producer: Tae-joon Park
Produced by Syd Lim
Music by Young-wook Jo
Cinematography by Tae-kyung Kim
Edited by Jim-mo Yang
Production Design by Ha-jun Lee
Costume Design by Ji-hun Ahn
Starring:
Hyo-ju Han as Yong Yi-soo
Seo Joon Park as Woo-jin
Juri Ueno as Woo-jin
Jin-wook Lee as Woo-jin
Ju-hyuk Kim as Woo-jin
Yeon-Seok Yoo as Woo-jin/Narrator
Seong-woo Bae as Woo-jin
Woo-hee Chun as Woo-jin
Ji-han Do as Woo-jin
Karel Hermanek Jr. as Woo-jin
Da-mi Hong as Woo-jin
Hyun-woo Lee as Woo-jin
Dal-hwan Jo as Woo-jin
Dae-Myung Kim as Woo-jin
Hee-won Kim as Woo-jin
Min-jae Kim as Woo-jin
Sang-ho Kim as Woo-jin
Ah-sung Ko as Woo-jin
Beom-su Lee as Woo-jin
Dong-Wook Lee as Woo-jin
Jae-Joon Lee as Woo-jin
Dong-Hwi Lee as Sang-baek
Suk Mun as Woo-jin’s mother
Keyong-yeong Lee as Woo-jin’s father
Mi-do Lee as Hong Eun-soo
All relationships have issues, but Woo-jin’s identity crisis is a new one – in fact, it’s a new one every day. Every morning, Woo-jin wakes up in a different body. His age, gender, and nationality may change, but the one constant in his life is E-soo – the woman he loves. She knows his secret, and loves him anyway. With every transformation, Woo-jin has to figure out how to return to his own body and reunite with Yi-soo. The surprise sleeper hit of Cannes, THE BEAUTY INSIDE is a body-hopping romantic comedy that asks the question – where does love begin?
From filmmaker Jong-Yeol Baek, comes a romantic comedy and drama that will no doubt poses the question…is there beauty inside?
Starring Hyo-ju Han (“Masquerade”, “Always”, “Iljimae”), Seo Joon Park (“Chronicles of Evil”, “A Witch’s Love”, “I Summon You, Gold!”), Juri Ueno (“Swing Girls”, “Nodame Cantabile: The Movie I”, “Rainbow Song”), Jin Wook Lee (“Miss Granny”, “Nine: Nine Time Travels”, “The Target”), Ju-hyuk Kim (“Love Me Not”, “My Wife Got Married”, “Lovers in Prague”) and many, many more.
The film received “Best Supporting Actress” nominations for Juri Ueno, “Best Actress” nominations for Hyo-ju Han and the film won “Best New Director” for Jong-Yeol Baek.
The film is now available on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA Entertainment.
The story revolves around a man named Woo-jin. One day, he woke up to a different face and from then on, each day, he transforms into a different person (man, woman, child of different ethnicities).
At first it was difficult for Woo-jin but he managed to create a successful furniture shop alongside his best friend Sang-baek (portrayed by Dong-Hwi Lee).
Knowing that he may never find love, one day while going to a furniture seller, he meets a salesperson named Yong Yi-soo who is passionate about the furniture he created (he doesn’t tell her that the furniture is from his company).
Smitten by her, he continues to visit her but of course, she doesn’t know it’s the same person, because he changes bodies so often.
But one day, he changes to a stylish young man and in order to date her, he tries not to sleep at all in order to not change.
But what happens when Woo-jin needs to tell Yong Yi-soo the truth?
VIDEO:
“The Beauty Inside” is presented in 1080p High Definition (2:40:1 aspect ratio). Cinematography looks wonderful as scenes are well-staged. Lighting is very good and for the most part, close up details are evident. I didn’t notice any banding or artifact issues during my viewing of the film.
AUDIO & SUBTITLES:
“The Beauty Inside” is presented in Korean 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with English subtitles. The film is primarily dialogue and music driven with surround channels used for ambiance, but dialogue and music are crystal clear.
SPECIAL FEATURES
“The Beauty Inside” comes with no special features.
Is beauty skin deep? Do people look for what’s in the inside versus outside appearances?
For Woo-jin, he has been afflicted with a very rare condition in which he transforms into another person each time he sleeps. Man, woman, child of different ethnicities.
Suffice to say, it’s one of the reason why he has focused on his career as a furniture maker, but when he goes to a furniture store and falls in love with the salesperson, he does whatever he can to date her. And when Woo-jin changes to a stylish young man and is able to date Yong Yi-soo and gets her to feel attracted to him, what happens when he tells her the truth about his condition?
Will she fall in love with him, despite his changing appearance and care for what is in the inside?
Jong-Yeol Baek’s (BAIK) “The Beauty Inside” is an enchanting romantic comedy that slowly transitions into an emotional drama.
At first, you feel that Woo-jin’s personal crisis is unreal but once the thought and seeing it happen over and over starts to settle in, you can’t help but root for him to find love with the beautiful and caring Yong Yi-soo. But the question is if her love is able to move past the fact that she may never remember the person’s outside appearance because he keeps changing and starts to make her stressed and sick, it begins to affect their relationship.
In essence, the two make a good couple but it comes down to acceptance. Will she accept him?
Part of what makes the film so charming is actress Hyo-ju Han who does a phenomenal job of playing Hong Yi-soo. She draws you in and makes you care for her, but you know deep inside, she’s hurting. Meanwhile, there are multiple charming talents who do a great job of playing Woo-jin and are able to bring out the humorous but also the more emotional side of the character.
Needless to say, what also makes “The Beauty Inside” so entertaining and so charming is its fresh story. It’s quite unique and because there’s nothing banal about this film, you can’t help but watch and see what happens to the characters and whether or not they will be together (for those who watch Korean films and dramas, happy endings are never certain).
As for the Blu-ray release, the film looks and sounds great in HD, unfortunately there are no special features included.
But overall, BAIK’s “The Beauty Inside” is an enjoyable, charming romantic comedy that is fresh and unique. Definitely worth watching!
