Korean Drama Failan Joins Host of Hollywood Remakes

How about a spoiler for those who haven't seen the korean original?

NoooooooooooOoOOOOOOOOOOoooOOOOOOO(zero)oooooo!

Hopefully it won't get off the ground like the countless other projects bought up for remake.

Actually this Korean movie itself is a remake of a 1999 Japanese movie "Loveletter"by Azuma Morisaki.Based on the bestseller of Jiro Asada.
The youthful heroine(Chinese) died in a massage parlor in the remote fishing village.The Japanese "husband" she has never met,come to the village to collect her corpse at the morgue.Finds a letter left at her death bed.It was a letter of love to her unseen Japanese husband begging for mental bond.
No mystery,No revenge,No gun shooting.The"Husband" just weeps in tears in the end.Typical tearjerker.

Whatever.

How about a spoiler for those who haven't seen the korean original?

indeed!

It's really not that much of a spoiler, and the Korean version isn't about revenge either - that's the bit that makes me think this is going to be crap, not that it's a remake. Not much point calling it a remake if you're going for such a drastic tonal shift.

Sucks that they are remaking my favourite Korean film but at least the people behind it aren't Uwe Boll-esc I guess. Hope they get PSH to play Kang-jae.

The post should really have a spoiler warning, at least for those who haven't watched Failan yet. And if they really add the "revenge" theme to it, it's also no longer Failan.

I'll have to agree with Eight Rooks this time, but I will take it a step further -- not only was "Failan" a very mediocre film, but so were "The House of Sand & Fog" and "The Motorcycle Diaries".

Just to be clear, I did really, really like Failan. Far from a perfect film, much too reliant on archetypes over any kind of real characterisation but I found it tremendously affecting in places all the same - I cried openly at the bit with the letter. The idea they're taking what was a pretty slow, contemplative, poetic meditation on love and the value of being loved and turn it into some generic revenge flick has me struggling not to roll my eyes in cynicism.

And I repeat; what people have been discussing here is really NOT as much of a spoiler for the Korean film as it might appear.

Wow. I thought House of Sand and Fog was a pretty solid actors/performance film. Not complaints there.

Watch it again, Jon. Failan was far from mediocre. The presence of Choi Min-sik alone raises the bar considerably.

that plot outline is so different from the original... how does it even count as a remake? loved the original, but this version sounds horrible

I've had this film in my Netflix queue for some time. I guess its time to view it to see if it makes me want to "cry" or "die" :-)
I agree with Patrick Galloway, anything with Choi Min-sik makes it noteworthy...

Is it just me that Hollywood remake seems better than both the original and the Korean remake?

Aceface -- I think it's just you.

Those who believe I've given away the entire outline of "Failan" are sorely mistaken, as anyone who has seen the film can attest. For that matter, neither did I give away the entire plot of Vadim Perelman's remake.

Patrick Galloway -- I DID rewatch "Failan", and while there is a good deal to appreciate about the film -- the delightfully untidy sets, the natural location shots (in Inchon), the (blessedly)restrained use of the film's syrupy theme music -- I still came away feeling dissapointed. Those who got pleasure from "Oldboy" that I did not will no doubt enjoy a role that Choi would reprise several times before "retiring" from cinema -- that of a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed, downtrodden man who tries to recover a shred of dignity and self-respect, whether in the boxing ring, or in this case, through the love of a woman. For myself, I found the excessive violence and profanity of the first hour a bit off-putting, and the character played by Cecilia Cheung underdeveloped if not superficial. I never felt any real emotional attachment to the characters, however lovely Cheung is or however intense Choi's performance. Perhaps "very mediocre" was too strong, but IMO, the film is just average.

Hey,I liked both"The House of Sand and Fog"and"The Motorcycle Diaries".Can't wait for the Hollywood remake.

OK,Just one more post.About remake and originality cult.

It is no secret that many East Asian films are heavily influenced by the works of the past American and European films and it is evident either that in a form of hommage or mere copyright theft.Hence I don't see a remake of an East Asian movies by Hollywood is such a blasphemy.I mean if one side works,why not the other way around.

Besides it is interesting to see how the same theme is reinterpreted into another country's format to match the local audience.In Japanese version it was Japanese man Chinese woman story.In Korean version it changed as Korean man and Ethnic Korean Chinese woman who desire not only for cash but to live in ethnic homeland.
In Holywood version,it turns to the story of Russian emigre in Coney Island where locates within the largest concentration of Russian and Ukrainian immigrant from former USSR,directed by Ukraina born director.I say it is worth grabbing a rental DVD for viewing in some Sunday afternoon to check out the difference in localization.