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Siworae vs. The Lake House question! (SPOILER)

posted 18 years ago by vdbke
16 replies | jump to latest

Hi,

A few weeks ago I watched the movie "The Lake House" in the cinema. Back then I already knew that the movie was almost completely based in a korean film called "Siworae" which was, and still is, quite unknown for me.

To me "The Lake House" was a very decent film altogether. Sure, not a masterpiece, but certainly worth watching. However, the ending was a bit disappointing in my opinion. The happy ending just didn't seem right from my, very humble, point of view.

I am not a total stranger when it comes to Asian cinema and I know from my own experience that Korean films are often very dark and sad. It wouldn't surprise me that the makers of "The Lake House" changed the ending to make it more Romantic/Happy/Hollywood-ish.

Therefore, my question: Are both endings similiar?

Thanks for your help...

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http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=6377300

[–] lgjimmy_0 18 years ago

Nope,the endings are quite different,and nor in a few plots.IMO,the lake house is kinda weaker than Siworae,therefore strongly recommend the latter.

[–] wojtek-16 18 years ago

Yes endings are completly different and moreover that make the Lake house weaker. Il mare is imo much better not only because ending

[–] Martiin 18 years ago

The endings are not so different at all.
In The Lake House, he waits two years and finally meets her, who is actually waiting for him.
In Il Mare, he doesn't wait, meets her in the very moment she's moving out (she doesn't know him at all yet), and tells her if she's ready to hear a "long and magic story".

[–] AndromedaRoach 10 years ago

Which is why I prefer The Lake House. It's not just "Hollywood happy."

The Lake House: "Wait two years for me." "I waited." AWESOME.

Il Mare: A cheat out of enduring the waiting. A cheap cop-out ending.

I hate all these terrible unsatisfying "you may not remember me but I remember you" endings that seem to be increasingly common lately. More recent examples are Prince of Persia (which was bad anyway) and Edge of Tomorrow. ENOUGH. STOP.

And Il Mare drags out the "don't go" begging at the mailbox far too long. To the point that it becomes repetitive. "Subtle," yeah, sure.

The Cockroach Honor Award
2008: WALL-E
2009: G-Force
The cockroach is a noble beast

[–] colluding 18 years ago

i'm with Anna_Klyczynski. these are two totally different movies.The main concern of the Il mare seems not be the love or the possibility of love between people, but a man's dream or his life experience--narrated through a womam's point of view.

[–] LuciaJoyce 18 years ago

I disagree with the last two posters in that I don't see the plot focalised on the woman characters as well. Everything that's been written about the women, their lives and the changes wrought is correct; but the experiences, at least to me, are narrated as happening primarily to the Alex/Eun-joo character. Sandra Bullock's Kate in "The Lake House" strikes me as having more individuality and volition than her counterpart in "Siworae," but that may very well be due to the force of Bullock's personality and persona as an actress imposed upon the role.

--
And of course, no surprise to see England manager Sven-Göran Eriksson in the crowd

[–] myselfandi 18 years ago

The analysis of Anna_Klyczynski worked for me. I wish she would post on The Lake House board. When I saw The Lake House, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would (slow-moving movies usually put me to sleep). Despite liking the characterization of two lonely people and the presence of the dog-spirit, I kept wrestling with making sense of the time paradoxes that the movie seemed to glory in. However, reading Anna_Klyczynski 's post about treating the time paradoxes as a metaphor for the viability of a relationship made perfect sense. The concept of waiting for the right time is set up by the Kate's discussion of Persuasion. Frankly, I had never interpreted Persuasion in that manner, but it fits within the context of The Lake House.

[–] rainleaf 17 years ago

the ending of siworae is what wins me over the lake house.
everything about that film is so much more sublte, and is thus all the more effective in conveying what it really feels like to lose someone you love.

[–] Desertman84 16 years ago

Siworae was a better movie than that of The Lake House.

[–] Phanatic77 16 years ago

Siworae did originally had a bleak ending and was altered as it was too sad for the context.

However the released ending of Siworae isn't all merry sunshines either, though nor bleak. It's somewhere in-between and very fitting and proper. It provokes a sense of hope yet with the realization of possible disappointment - Spoiler !!!!!!!! (Who says she'll even believe his magical story, or that she's ready to trust him, but of course he has all the letters as proof.)

In addition, Siworae was clearly about love, or the trust in-love (hence the movie title underscore, 'love across time.') If anything, the guy in Siworae actually falls in-love with the girl while she mainly confides with him, and uses him as a shoulder to cry on. Only after his passing she realizes that he did. And the end doesn't let on any cliche'd 'oh well since he loved me, I love him too back now..' No, didn't happen. Sure there is the sense of loneliness, guilt and regret to this, and it is fleshed out very well by Ji-Hyun's amazing crying scene while whispering don't go... After all, not everyday you find out that a person who is set out to help you out with your current broken heart, is killed on the way to do just that despite of being in-love with you... The mere thought would make me have convulsions, sick to my stomach with self loathing, fall to the ground with disbelief. That is tear-jerking beauty..

In addition, the accident scene in Siworae was flat-out one of the strongest most dramatic, realistic and painful (to tears) scene in a movie in a long time....

No offense to Keanu and Bullock, but The Lake house was weak with comparison...

And Keanu was actually perfect for that role.

[–] Desertman84 15 years ago

The Lake House has a happy ending while Siworae is an open-ended movie.I think in the Lake House,Alex wasn't killed and lives happily with Kate.

While in Siwaroe,Han Sung-hyun wasn't killed and the movie leaves an open ending considering that he meets Kim Eun-ju the moment she leaves Il Mare.It could be either a sad ending considering that Han Sung-hyun has had a lot of memories of Kim Eun-ju but she has no memories of him at all since their exchange of letters have yet to happen.Or it could be a happy ending since Han Sung-hyun can win Kim Eun-ju's heart despite of not having the exchange of letters in the mailbox taking place.In summary,the ending of Siworae leaves it to the audience to imagine what will take place.

Happy endings are common to Hollywood films.While sad endings and open-ended movies have always been common to Korean movies.

[–] lukechong 14 years ago

Siworae is clearly the superior picture because it has a melancholic tinge to it and you care more about the characters although ironically the Lake House screenwriters wrote more for the remake.

[–] Desertman84 13 years ago

Gianna Jun/Jun Ji-Hyun is a powerful actress that the viewer makes you care for her character. It is not only evident in Siworae but in her other movies as well such as My Sassy Girl,Windstruck and Daisy.

[–] Desertman84 13 years ago

How does Il Mare compare to the Hollywood remake,Lake House?Il Mare was a lot better than The Lake House.

Here are the reasons why.

1. Il Mare keeps the audience guessing as to what is going to happen next while the plot is clichéd in The Lake House.

2. You care more about Han Sung-hyun and Kim Eun-ju in the Korean version as compared to Alex and Kate in the Hollywood version. Credit that to Jun Ji-Hyun's performance as she has the ability to make you sympathize with her characters in her films. While in the Hollywood version, Keanu Reeves is not fit for any kind of romantic leads for he is more suited for action films like Speed and the Matrix.

3. There was more emotion in the Korean version as compared to that of the Hollywood version. You know that the leads do care a lot for each other.

4. The Korean version focused on both leads and their loneliness while the Hollywood version involved more characters which made the viewer felt less for the emotions of the leads.

5. Finally, the use of mailbox and writing letters was probably still common in South Korea during 1997 and 1999 in the Korean version while the use of email,google and the internet was already a way of life in the United States during 2004 and 2006 in the Hollywood version which made the plot of The Lake House less realistic and presented more plot holes.

For movie fans, check Il Mare instead of The Lake House.

[–] AndromedaRoach 10 years ago

2, 3 and 4 don't apply to me: I cried hard both times watching The Lake House. Never came close watching Il Mare.

Il Mare was still a beautiful film with some advantages you didn't mention.

The Cockroach Honor Award
2008: WALL-E
2009: G-Force
The cockroach is a noble beast

[–] 10 years ago

[deleted]

Siworae vs. The Lake House question! (**SPOILER**)

Siworae vs. The Lake House question! (SPOILER)