A Moment to Remember

The movie does not even get the initial love at first sight bit right. Cheol-su (Jeong Woo-sung) and Soo-jin (Son Ye-jin) meet at a convenience store where the latter leaves the Coke can she just bought and runs back to get it. She runs into the Cheol-su with a Coke can and thinking that he just stole her drink, she snatches it back and gulps it all to a loud belch (burp).

She later realizes that she actually stole his drink and he kindly let her have his. So, she is smitten with him, while coming off as surly and stupid. This leads to their even stupider courtship, which is just a montage of scenes showing them laughing and giggling in slow motion, accompanied by romantic Spanish music. As if that communicates that they're in love...

Of course there is some familial opposition due to their social class difference, as he is a menial construction worker and she is from a rich family. All is well, though, when she suddenly and conveniently faints on the street during the family dinner and he comes to the rescue. I'm willing to bet that she planned that on cue to get over that infinitesimal hurdle.

They soon get married, which consists of Soo-jin glamorously walking down the stairs to meet her man as if making an entrance in the high school prom. That "marriage" scene is shot in white ethereal tones just in case we missed that this is a match made in heaven.

It takes about an hour in the film to actually get to the real point of the story, when an illness strikes Soo-jin. No, it doesn’t kill her physically but destroys her memory and she learns she has Alzheimer’s disease.

The movie sheepishly has a doctor character explain this saying the most recent memories fade away first. I would think that she is acting more like a cartoon character who got clocked in the head with a sledgehammer. Not to mention this churlish and dishonest treatment of Alzheimer's would offend many in real life who have family members suffering from this disease.

All in all... it is an enjoyable movie (and I didn't cry much)