A Healing Korean Movie 'little Forest'

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Is there a movie you look up when you’re hungry? There’s a movie I look up when I have no appetite. It’s Little Forest. It’s a film about cooking and enjoying food with stylish visuals, yet it somehow leaves you feeling inexplicably at ease by the end. 


1. The Plot 


In the busy city, Hye-won studies for the civil service exam, and one day, feeling extreme hunger, she returns to her hometown home. After that, she meets her former friends Jaeha and Eunsook, and by cooking and eating food herself, she gradually begins to heal the wounds of her old memories. 


2. The Cast and director 


Kim Tae-ri played Hye-won, Ryu Jun-yeol played Jae-ha, and Jin Ki-joo played Eun-sook. The director was Ms. Lim Soon-rye, a female director famous for the Waikiki Brothers. 


3. What to watch for


Since this film is a remake of a Japanese manga, I think it might be worthwhile to watch it and then compare how closely it matches the original work.  And I wonder if it might be interesting to also focus on the visual beauty shown during the food preparation process. And although it’s just a brief cameo, Moon So-ri’s performance as the mother is also worth watching. People who study alone in big cities or work full-time will likely relate deeply to Hyewon’s hunger. 


4. Personal review 

This is a movie I have personally watched three times again. Also, I tend to make sure to watch whenever it comes up as a Shorts video on YouTube. Especially the videos of Hyewon making and eating something delicious make me feel healed. The food that left the strongest impression on me in the film was okonomiyaki and fried acacia flowers, and I was struck by how the preparation process was captured in the film’s sophisticated visual style. While watching the movie, I couldn’t understand Hye-won’s mysterious mother, but I think I should be grateful that she just gave her a good recipe. I imagined, all by myself, that in today’s world she might have become famous as a cooking YouTuber. Hye-won’s friend Jae-ha, though I’m not sure in what way, seemed to be a character whose calmness gave off a sense of comfort. While watching the film, I also thought how wonderful it would be if there had been a countryside home that could be found like that. Even now, whenever winter gets chilly and the season comes around, Little Forest comes to mind. If you’re looking for a gently healing film, I recommend it.



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