Il Mare (2000) - full transcript

Unikorea and Dream Venture Capital Presents

a SIDUS Film

in association with Blue Cinema

LEE Jung-jae

JEON Ji-hyun

Written by YEOH Jina

Director of Photography HONG Kyung-pyo

Original Music by KIM Hyun-cheol

Associate Producers
YOON Sang-oh, CHO Min-hwan

Executive Producer CHOI In-ki

Produced by CHA Seung-jae



Directed by LEE Hyun-seung

- Is this everything?
- Yes.

Your stuff is all loaded up.
Shall we go?

IL MARE

Hello?

Yes Aunt, it's me.

I really love this place. I even named it.

Oh. And Aunt, who designed it?

It's quite extraordinary.

I see.

Thanks again for the
furniture and the stereo.

I'll call again soon.

Hi, I just moved into...

Hi.



Hello.

How are you?

Is the water hot enough?

Wow, these fellas sure look good!

I put in sliced carrots and onions.

Get ready.

1, 2, 3... pull!!

- Help!
- We won!

One more time.

Let's begin at Merry Christmas.

- Get with it!
- Let's get it right.

OK, here we go.

Merry Christmas.

Merry Christmas!
Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Hi, I'm the previous tenant of your place.

I must ask you for a favor.
I'm waiting for a letter.

If a letter arrives for me,
please forward it to the address below?

I really appreciate it.

Dec. 21, 1999.

Best of luck staying at Il Mare.
- KIM Eun-Joo

P.S. The paw prints by the door
were there when I moved in...

...I never got around to removing them.

You'll get used to them.

Hello.

No, I was waiting for a call.

He really is a jerk...

isn't he?

Merry Christmas...

- Hello.
- Hi.

Cigarettes, please.

Help yourself, they're over there.

What's that you've written
in front of your house?

"IL MARE". It means the "sea".

Sea? What do you know about the ocean?

I thought I'd start learning.

Did anyone live there before?

What do you mean?
Your aunt just finished building it last month.

It's a brand new place.

- Time for dinner.
- OK.

Talk about a lousy disappearing act!

We brought your designs from school.

- Designs, my ass.
- Want some tea?

I'm leaving today to go study abroad.

Dropped by to say good bye.

I guess you have to get going.

Thanks for everything.

Learn as much as you can out there.

I think I should learn how
to mend hearts first.

Hye-Won, it's time to go.
Let's get going.

Nice place. I'll come by again.

Come on.

Hey!

Hey, you!

P.S. The paw prints by the door
were there when I moved in.

I never got around to removing them.

You'll get used to them.

- Hello.
- Hey, the girl from "Il Mur".

It's "Il Mare".

"Il Mur", "Il Mare", same difference.

Has the place been sold?

Nope.

May I go see it?

The keys are over there.

- Hi.
- Oh, hello.

- Honey, want some noodles?
- Add rice cakes too.

I thought I should write you.

I'm the first occupant of "Il Mare".

And I think your letter
came to me by mistake.

I know you're waiting for important mail.

So you may want to check the address again.

Dec. 28, 1997.
Sincerely, HAN Sung-Hyun

P.S. How did you know this
place is called Il Mare?

I don't know how my letter got there...

...but I hope you're not playing some game.

Please don't tamper with my mail.

Dec. 29, 1999.
Sincerely, KIM Eun-Joo

P.S. I hope you're not really from 1997.

KIM Eun-Joo?

I know it's the last day of the millennium.

Of course I want to go
but I have to work...

I'll watch the shop for you.

- Really?
- Go ahead.

Hello? Where should I meet you?

- I read 7 volumes.
- 2,100 Won.

Here you are.

Thank you. Bye.

Let's countdown to the
new millennium together.

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5...

4... 3... 2... 1!

Happy New Millennium!

"Listen to this, your letters
keep ending up in my mailbox.

You should look for other
ways to retrieve your mail.

Jan. 7, 1998.
Sincerely, HAN Sung-Hyun

P.S. It is definitely 1998 right now."

Eun-Joo, you are the voice actor,
I'm the comic book store owner,

I should be the one with the crazy stories.

I know, but it's so weird.

I read more comics books anyhow!

1998?

Hello.

- It's snowing, Eun-Joo!
- Really?

You're right.

Remember 2 years ago
when it snowed a lot?

You and I almost died...

Huh? Oh...

you mean the the killer flu we caught?

Well, I can't resist snow.

I'm from Che-Ju Island,
so we usually don't get it.

You'll watch the store
for me tomorrow, right?

- OK.
- Thanks.

Let's call it a day, guys.

- Sung-Hyun, what're you waiting for?
- Coming.

Why were you looking at the sky?

I thought I'd cover up the control box.

- No snow forecasts for tonight.
- Let's get a couple of drinks.

Sounds good to me.

It's going to snow a lot
from Jan. 9 in 1998.

So...

if you're still in 1998, take care.

But watch out for the flu.

There was a nasty virus going around.

Dear Eun-Joo, you were right,
it snowed heavily on January 9.

...and despite your warning,
I still caught a cold.

It is really a strange thing.
You must be a psychic because...

...I still can't believe you're
living in the future.

Psychic? Whatever...

I told you not to catch a cold...

I also still can't believe that
you're living in 1998.

But I don't think you're joking either.

I wish I was a psychic.
Then I could tell the future.

But please forward my mail to me, OK?

- Let's go.
- I need to go somewhere.

- No way. Tomorrow's the deadline.
- I'll do an all-nighter.

What are we doing
at a construction site?

- She was telling the truth.
- What?

- I wonder what she looks like?
- Who?

The girl who lives there.

Fool, who the hell lives
on a construction site?

Sung-Hyun, hey man!

Hey, Cola. Look at the little fish eat.

I have one more question...

Dog? You mean Cola.

Since you lived in 'Il Mare' before I did,
you're the one who had him first.

So why did you leave him there?

He was wandering around
Il Mare when I found him.

He sleeps like a person, doesn't he?

Hey, you're Cola?

Hey, Cola!

Cola?

There must be a wrinkle in time...

...because he can't be
in 2 places at one time.

He should only be with one of us.

But I swear that he's with me now.

It's the mail box, the mail box!

I think you're right.

But I'm not a big on hair bands,
my hair's a little short.

Well, maybe you should grow it,
it's a gift after all.

We're going on a picnic today!

So exciting! So exciting!

I'm so excited!

Let's go!

Wait, I forgot our picnic basket!

Do you have the key?

No!

No one has the key!

Oh, no! Don't ever leave your keys behind.

Yeah!

So exciting, so exciting. So...

Hello?

Hello.

- Who is it?
- I don't know.

Hi.

- Hi! Who are you?
- I'm Mr. Worm.

Do you live here?

Sure. This whole earth is my home.

I thought love meant eternal bliss.

Cooking sometimes helps.

If you want to cook pasta the right way,

...throw the cooked noodles at the wall.

If it sticks, it's just right.

Do you feel better?

We're tormented,
not because love goes away,

...but because it goes on,

even when it is over.

It's better to have loved and lost
than never to have loved at all.

I hope you feel better, Eun-Joo.

Request for Academic Leave

You're an architect,
not a construction worker.

You're not making use of your talent.

Why leave with only one semester left?

I hate all the hypocrites
who preach family values.

Well, you should talk.

That's why I'm leaving.

Geez, you've been acting weird lately.

I feel like I'm being ambushed
by memories I'd rather forget.

Do you have any memories
you'd prefer to abandon?

Hey, Cola. Someone told me that
doing laundry can be therapeutic.

Era of Loss

Thanks for helping me move in.
I've tried to be a nice neighbor.

But please stop leaving chocolate
almonds in my mailbox.

Mr. Cornell, the chocolate melts all over
my mail and I can't read them.

This chocolate, chocolate...

Mr. Cornell, the chocolate melts all over
my mail and I can't read them.

...and I can't read them.

Thank you for your help
when I just moved in...

What would I want back from 1998?

My friend gave me a tape recorder
to practice voice acting and I lost it.

I looked in my diary and
it was on Feb. 11...

I was at the station on my way home.

I always sat on the last
bench towards south.

I lost it that night.

Go there, and you'll see
me in the year 1998.

This train for Sadang
is now arriving, please...

Train's about to leave.

I love you... I LOVE you... I love YOU...

I do love you.

Hey, wait!
Eun-Joo!

Eun-Joo!

What're you doing?

- I love you.
- Didn't you lose this?

- I love you...
- Listen to this...

I do love you.

Hi, Eun-Joo. It's me Sung-Hyun.

- I hope you received the recorder.
- Hey, who's this?

Thank you for the recorder.

I'm sending you 2 gifts...

...but 1 of them may not get
there because it's alive.

The earmuffs are to keep you warm.

If you need a favor from me, let me know.

Your aunt called me.

I know it's not easy for you, and I shouldn't
butt into your family affairs,

but she's like your mother,

...and she really wants you to do this.

Please go visit Professor HAN
at the hospital right away.

In the year 2000, is there anything on
an architect known as Professor HAN Seok-Jin?

Space: Intimacy with Solitude

That's "Il Mare".

"Loneliness is an inevitable medium that connects humans
and space with intimacy" - From HAN Seok-Jin's writings

I can't accept...

...neither my father's
death nor my love for him.

Yeah, I'm back from the hospital.

I'm OK.

Did you put the book into
Il Mare's mailbox like I asked?

Okay.

I'll go get it.

Sung-Hyun,

There are 3 things a person can't hide...

...coughing, poverty and love.

The harder one tries to hide them,
the more they rise to the surface.

But there are times when you
still want to hide them.

I just sit and cry...

...and cry until I can't anymore.

Love is a self-inflicted pain.

I hope you'll find peace within you.

While his early work are massive structures,
his later works are smaller, personal projects.

"Only in intimacy with solitude
do people discover themselves" - HAN Seok-Jin

As shown in his article,
the concept of this work is solitude.

This house was completed for his beloved son.
It depicts human existential solitude.

Il Mare looks like a lonely place.

But its warmth and comfort
comes from the love within.

Love comes to us in different ways

but underneath all those ways,
I believe there is only one love.

It's been delivered a little late..

But I hope your father's book
helped you to understand him.

Hye-Gi!

Auntie!

- Have you been good, kiddo?
- Yes.

Are you OK?

Yes, how's dad?

He's at a seminar in Seoul.

- Let's get in. Come on.
- Let's go.

Eun-Joo,

Everyone I loved were
always out of my reach...

...and I think I ached for them.

I was 7 when my father left me.

Cola!

It's dinner time.

You like Mr. Fish?

Cola,

I'll be right back. Be good now.

Train's about to leave.

Gosh, it's freezing...

This train for Sadang
is now arriving, please...

make sure you're out of
the yellow line for the safety...

Excuse...

I saw you at the station tonight.

White sweater, black muffler,

and very long pretty hair...

Haven't heard from you in a while...
I'm anxious to hear from you.

Il Mare can make you feel so alone.

I felt like that when I was there.

Sung-Hyun, wanna have some fun?

Go inside a convenience
store and grab a beer.

Drink it down...

Now start running!

Go for a ride on the Viking.

The adrenaline rush is amazing.

This is the moment when...

It's my turn!

Take a bus to Bomunri.

Get off at Mulmok near the
tree-lined boulevard.

Do you like to take walks?

It's a beautiful place to just walk alone

and think things through.

You'll feel better.

Just when you start to get tired,
you'll see a little cafe.

I go there to drink wine sometimes.

Do you like wine?

I heard that wine drinkers are lonely.

...but it doesn't matter to me.

I reserved a bottle of wine to be opened
in the year 2000.

How is it?

Wine is supposed to get better with age.

Thanks to you...

I had a great time.

How about you, Eun-Joo?

I did too.

But I felt a little sad coming back alone.

I'd really like to meet you,

if it's OK with you.

Hey, Cola.

Do you think he and I can really meet?

Can you come down to Che-Ju Island?

I'm going home next week.

Cola, Cola!

Cola, I'm going to meet Eun-Joo.

What'll we do for the next two years?

Are you looking at the photo?

The coral beach is where I want to live.

Once you see it you'll want
to build a house on it.

Oh, our rendezvous date is
March 11, 2000 at 3 pm...

on the coral beach.

March 11, 2000...

It's a Saturday.

Don't forget. I only have a week,

...but you still have over 2 years to go.

Eun Joo, aren't you going to sleep?

I'll be right down. Good night.

Go to bed, dear.

Can I help you?

No, I was just...

Are you building a house here?

Yes, we are.

Are you going to live here?

No, I'm here for the construction.
Why do you ask?

Just curious about who's gonna live
in a nice place like this.

A friend of mine designed it.

Isn't it perfect for this beach?

He dedicated it to his true love.

I see...

I gotta run.

I'll expect a wonderful house.

I waited for you a long time.

I know 2 years is a long time
but I still hoped you'll show.

I guess I expected too much again.

I know I shouldn't...

because it always leads to disaster.

But everyone I care about is so far away.

What happened to you in those 2 years?

I hope you just forgot.

Why couldn't I keep the
promise of meeting you here?

This is breathtaking.
I wouldn't forget a promise like this.

Sung-Hyun's letters were
little pieces of happiness.

But there still is this sense of emptiness.

Is it because of losing Ji-Hoon, or...

is it because of Sung-Hyun,
whom I can never meet?

There's a technical problem...

so let's take a 30 min. break.

Let's get some coffee!

My treat!

More animation, the better.
It means more work for us.

And it's great that are many
big projects in the works.

That's true.

Sorry, I'm late.

No, not at all, I just got here too.

Ji-Hoon, about our engagement...

Yeah, let's do it this month.

Really?

How about 2 Wednesdays from now?

OK!

It's about time.

But why do you want to rush this?

I'm not rushing. You're
the one who's stalling.

Just be patient...

until my animation project's finish.

OK.

I thought I could forget him...

...but when I heard his voice again,
everything fell apart.

I know he loves someone else...

...but I can't help it.

And it really hurts.

I can't stop thinking about him.

Please help me stop him from leaving.

I'm so sorry
that I'm asking you for this.

I'm really sorry, Sung-Hyun.

Train's about to leave.

Have you waited me for long?
Sorry, I'm late.

Train is now arriving...

I'll buy you dinner.

All the passengers are...

Was I just a stranger to you?

Am I only a meaningless
faceless stranger to you?

Train's about to leave.

Jung-Sook!

Was it the right decision not
to go with Ji-Hoon to USA?

And become a radio-performer?

Of course.

True love comes from true independence.

Forget all about Ji-Hoon.

I want to believe it too.

All I want is career and love.

My happiest moments
when I was living at Il Mare,

were opening my mail
under your Christmas lights.

Eun-Joo.

It was really hard
studying in the USA alone.

At first, I gained strength
from your letters,

but I just got too tired and lonely...

...and I wanted someone there.

I'm sorry...

If we had went together,
this wouldn't have happened.

Please help me stop him from leaving.

I'm so sorry
that I'm asking you for this.

I'm sorry, Sung-Hyun.

I'll help you.

Why didn't you tell me how you felt before?

We don't have much time.

Eun Joo, do you remember your first letter?

You wished me good fortune at Il Mare.

Knowing you has been a blessing.

This time I want to return
this good fortune to you.

Best of luck on finding love.

Thank you, for your letters...
for everything.

Good bye...

Excuse me. Where's the
department of architecture?

That's over there...

Thank you.

You complained

that your room was small
when you were an assistant teacher.

And now you are complaining
about your room again?

Well, life isn't fair.

Yes, this is the assistant teacher
at the department of architecture...

He dedicated it to his true love...

May I help you?

Sung-Hyun dedicated it to you, Eun-Joo.

It was a car accident.

Help me...

Help me stop him from leaving me...

He was on his way to Youido to meet
someone. The driver didn't see him.

Sung-Hyun! Don't go there.

It's that house over there.

Please...

Please... hurry...

The letter has to reach him.

Sung-Hyun, please don't go there.

It's all my fault.

The letter has to reach him in time.
Please...

I will tell you where
I met him for the last time.

On March 25, 1998. In Youido.
Our last date was at a cafe called Morning.

Cheer up, Eun Joo.

I'm not going away forever.

Don't be so down.

I know, I just feel weird.

I told you to come with me.

It's not easy becoming a voice actor.

Not many people get picked
by the studio.

It's only 3 years... right?

It will be alright.

I just feel so uneasy.

Please don't go.

Don't go there.

Don't die.

Sung-Hyun... I'm sorry.

The fact that I don't show
up 2 years from now...

...must mean that we weren't meant to be.

And you are...?

I hope you're ready to hear
a long and magical tale.

Can you trust me?