Harmony Reviews

100%

**SPOILER WARNING! ;) Don’t read if you particularly dislike spoilers. :)

Harmony was one such movie that deserved all the acclaims it received.

Before watching the film, I researched for quite a bit and found that the movie title and the synopsis interested me greatly. The title, Harmony (하모니, ha-mo-ni), is synonymous with the Korean word for `grandmother` (할머니, hal-meo-ni)? ? which is embodied in the story by Moon Ok, an elderly woman on death row on the account of having murdered her husband due to his various abuses. The synopsis, likewise, speaks of Jeong Hye (another inmate who accidentally killed her abusive husband in self-defense), who has been tasked to form a choir as a means of reformation among the female inmates, thus the reference to the word harmony in the film title.

That being said, I believe that this movie is an unashamedly feel-good film ? it showed that even those who are serving time in correctional facilities (especially the women) are still human, after all. From the comedic choir practices to the stunning choral performance in Seoul, this movie was actually uplifting in nature. Not to mention that the tender moments that the mother-son duo shared onscreen up until the moment Jeong Hye had to let go of Min Woo constantly left me bawling my eyes out ? yes, I wasted a box of tissue ? until they were red and puffy.

Such emotions were so raw and powerful that even a person who may not have experienced parenthood could feel the situation as if he/she were the one in it.

However, it goes without saying that Harmony had a lot of subtle hidden messages that the scriptwriter and the director hoped to reach out to the viewers. For instance, it?s the various stories of the women that give us the message that there are still women in modern-day society who remain powerless despite the freedom now given to them today, and are still abused (very badly, I must add) by husbands, fathers, brothers, or even male friends. This was one subtle yet striking feminist message that I believe the movie desired to convey.

Moreover, I strongly believe that this movie, through Jeong Hye?s efforts to build the choir, wishes to encourage viewers to continue on and persist through their various personal struggles.

All in all, I’d say that HARMONY is a definite must-watch film! ;).

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