Very Ordinary Couple

Very Ordinary Couple (Korean: 연애의 온도; RR: Yeon-ae-ui Ondo; lit. Romance's Temperature) is a 2013 South Korean romantic comedy film written and directed by Roh Deok (alternatively spelled Noh Deok), starring Kim Min-hee and Lee Min-ki as a recently separated couple who, being employees at the same bank, must deal with the prospect of continually seeing each other on a daily basis. This inevitably leads to tension and flareups, but over time their feelings towards each other begin to change.[2][3][4]

Very Ordinary Couple
Hangul연애의 온도
Hanja戀愛의 溫度
Revised RomanizationYeon-ae-eui Ondo
McCune–ReischauerYŏn-ae-ŭi Ondo
Directed byRoh Deok
Produced byKim Seon-yong
Han Jae-rim
Written byRoh Deok
StarringKim Min-hee
Lee Min-ki
Music byKim Jun-seong
CinematographyPark Jong-chul
Edited byJeong Jin-hee
Distributed byLotte Entertainment
Release date
  • March 21, 2013 (2013-03-21)
Running time
112 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$12.7 million[1]

This is Roh Deok's feature directorial debut. She based the screenplay on her own love life and those of her circle of friends.[5]

Plot

The film follows young bank clerks Lee Dong-hee (Lee Min-ki) and Jang Young (Kim Min-hee) who have just broken up with each other. They work at a local branch of Standard Chartered, and their seemingly nasty split turns scandalous in the office. After going through a period of irrational behavior, including physical fights and Young’s impulsive one-night stand with a mutual colleague at work, the two decide to give their relationship another try. Once again, they are madly in love.

The real story of the film begins as the two begin to date again, in spite of their shared doubts and fears. As the second honeymoon phase ends, the same problems ― those that had led to their initial break-up ― surface: the boredom, the trust issues, and the mutual dishonesty about what they really want. The hot-tempered Dong-hee seems like he needs an anger management class, while Young tries to avoid conflicts by telling small lies ― unaware of how lies, regardless of the motivations, can destroy trust.

Above all, the couple's shared experience of the break-up gradually makes them insecure about their relationship. This eventually leads to a suffocating disaster: Dong-hee tries very hard to pretend that he is interested in the things Young suggests doing, only to please her and save their relationship ― although he'd really rather sleep in than go to an amusement park on his day off. Young, on the other hand, gets extremely self-conscious of everything she tells Dong-hee, as she is worried that she will upset him off by "saying something wrong" ― just like how she did before the first break-up.

There is a sadness that fills the screen as the two desperately try to save their relationship, pretending nothing is wrong and trying to believe that things will work out in the end. "I will be good to her," Dong-hee repeatedly says in the film. "I’ll try harder to make this work."

But watching them forcing on a smile while obviously annoyed by each other’s company, the audience can instinctively tell that the two will soon part ways ― in spite of their genuine efforts and affection for each other. The movie reaches its climax as the two flawed characters realize that they've messed it up again, that they can no longer be in denial, and there are some things in life that cannot be controlled no matter how hard they try.[6][7]

Cast
  • Kim Min-hee as Jang Young[8][9]
  • Lee Min-ki as Lee Dong-hee[10][11]
  • Ha Yeon-soo as Hyo-seon
  • Ra Mi-ran as Ms. Son, deputy department head in bank
  • Choi Moo-sung as Mr. Kim, section chief in bank
  • Kim Kang-hyeon as Mr. Park, senior clerk in bank
  • Park Byung-eun as Mr. Min, deputy department head in bank
  • Lee Moon-jeong as Ms. Choi, clerk in bank
  • Yoon Kyeong-hee as intern
  • Choi Gwi-hwa as husband of Ms. Son
  • Moon Chang-gil as bank branch manager
  • Tae In-ho as instructor

Reception

Billed as a romantic comedy, but which might also be described simply as a relationship drama, Very Ordinary Couple made an impressive start at the box office with 1.8 million admissions in four weeks. Viewers praised the strong acting in the film as well as its comparatively realistic, non-romantic view of contemporary relationships. Debut director Roh Deok had previously worked as a scripter on Jang Joon-hwan's cult classic Save the Green Planet! (2003) and also received praise for her short film The Secret within Her Mask (2005).[12][13]

Awards and nominations

2013 Baeksang Arts Awards

2013 Shanghai International Film Festival

2013 Mnet 20's Choice Awards

2013 Buil Film Awards

2013 Blue Dragon Film Awards

References
  1. "Very Ordinary Couple (2013)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr.
  2. Lee, Eun-sun (8 March 2013). "Unusual Love Stories". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  3. Paquet, Darcy (4 April 2013). "In Focus: Very Ordinary Couple". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-06-04.
  4. Lee, Claire (18 March 2013). "The breakup of a Very Ordinary Couple: Director Roh Deok's debut an intriguing character study". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-03-20.
  5. "Young Director Finds New Formula for Romantic Comedy". The Chosun Ilbo. 23 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
  6. "Very Ordinary Couple (2012)". The Chosun Ilbo. 22 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  7. "Now Showing". The Korea Times. 21 March 2013. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  8. An, So-hyoun (3 March 2013). "Kim Min Hee Says She′s Honest in Love Relationships". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  9. Han, Jae-hee (4 April 2013). "Kim stretches her acting chops". Korea JoongAng Daily. Archived from the original on 9 April 2013. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
  10. Lee, Hye-ji (29 October 2012). "Kim Min-hee, Lee Min-ki Wraps Up Shooting Romance Pic". TenAsia. Retrieved 2013-04-28.
  11. Hong, Grace Danbi (15 March 2013). "Lee Min Ki Sings for Temperature of Love". enewsWorld. CJ E&M. Retrieved 2013-03-15.
  12. Lee, Zhao Tam (27 March 2013). "Very Ordinary Couple leads at South Korean box office". Korea Star Daily via Yahoo!. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  13. Paquet, Darcy (5 April 2013). "Box Office: March 21-April 3, 2013". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-04-24.
  14. Lee, Claire (10 May 2013). "Ryu Seung-ryong wins top prize at Paeksang". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2013-05-10.
  15. Lee, Hye-ji (10 May 2013). "On the Scene: 2013 Paeksang Arts Awards: He Said, She Said". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 13 April 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2013.
  16. Ji, Yong-jin (13 May 2013). "RYU Seung-ryong Wins Grand Prize at Baeksang Arts Awards". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-05-14.
  17. "Very Ordinary Couple picks up big Asian award". Shanghai.gov. 22 June 2013. Retrieved 2013-06-23.
  18. Lee, Eun-ah (24 June 2013). "Very Ordinary Couple Wins Award at Shanghai Film Fest". TenAsia. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  19. Conran, Pierce (24 June 2013). "VERY ORDINARY COUPLE Wins Prize in Shanghai". Korean Film Council. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
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