Cyrano is not the typical dating agency where loveless hopefuls eventually arrive in a heart-motivated quest to conquer an object of their affection. The agency's 99% success rate is ensured by the well-scripted seemingly coincidental situations where the theatre troop behind Cyrano takes care of every little detail in one's pursuit of love. But when a client's love interest proves to be from an agent's past, whom he harbours unhealed feelings for, desperation for money and desperation for one's lost enter an ultimate battle in search for the meaning of real love.
Adapted from the 1897 French play Cyrano DeBergerac, Hyeon-seok Kim's romance explores the ventures of a concealed lover who assists another man in the courtship of the former's beloved girl. The familiar plot which has been widely explored in international cinema and includes titles such as the Japanese Samurai Saga, the American Whatever It Takes and the French Cyrano DeBergerac starring Gerard Depardieu, proves to be interpreted differently for the first time, as Kim's film gives consideration to the insecure and lost-for-words man who seeks assistance and deems him more worthy of the girl's loving heart.
From the opening scene, which is adorably hilarious, the film delivers a satisfactory amount of amusement and subtle humour. The first part of the film is deliciously entertaining, delivering the humour through the fundamentally ridiculous things that in reality make people fall in love. The scenes provide utter amusement deriving from the team's meticulous methodology, as in their use of a rain machine to increase romantic influence. In the second half, the character development and background take precedence over the humour in order to explain the romance more fully and ultimately deliver a more concise narrative to the viewer. Yet the romance is eloquently poured into the story without turning into its distractingly focal point and the audience is given enough room to understand the background and to sympathise with one or another character.
As Cyrano's main man, Byeong-hoon (Tae-woong Eom) discovers the woman who is the object of young Sang-yong's affection is Hee-joong, a woman from his past he has been unable to overcome, Byeong-hoon sets on a desperate mission to ruin Sang-yong's chances with the girl and court her himself instead. From evident attempts to turn Sang-yong into a fool in the eyes of Hee-joong to more subtle intricate ways of reminding her of himself, Byeong-hoon struggles to understand the real meaning of love and let go of his feelings for the sake of his love's happiness. As yet as fate has obviously intervened in the lives of the two, bringing them together coincidentally through the years – a concept thoroughly exploited in Hollywood cinema including films like Annie Hall, When Harry Met Sally and A Lot Like Love – the ending holds a different path for both of them.
The cast deliver decent performances, as Min-jung Lee who plays Hee-joong steals the spotlight with her big emotional eyes that express more than any words would, while Daniel Choi seems awkwardly emotionless and dry portraying the fund manager Sang-yong. The rest of the cast adds up to a more derivative story and the inclusion of Hee-joong's cynical best friend played by Kim Ji-yeong is a delightful decision. With the complement of the antique theatre setting and dramatisation of the script lines representing the over-emotional exaggeration in stage performances, the film delivers a sufficient amount of amusement and entertainment. Though very familiar and over-reproduced, the story makes a different impact in Kim's production, weaving comedy, drama and romance together and ultimately moving away from commercialised expectation to deliver a happy ending to the unexpected hero.Labels: research |
