Our Movie Season 1 Review – An artsy and lively melodrama that fails its leads
Episode Guide
Episode 1 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 2 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 3 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 4 -| Review Score – 3.5/5
Episode 5 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 6 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 7 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 8 -| Review Score – 2.5/5
Episode 9 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 10 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 11 -| Review Score – 3/5
Episode 12 -| Review Score – 3/5
Melodramas tend to be a hit or miss, especially when the execution piles up on the bittersweet plot with equally depressing aesthetics, dark and dreary colours, haunting string music and performances by the cast as if their cat has just died. What saves a melodrama from being too one note is the direction as seen with Our Movie which tries to liven up the tragic romance and give a message of hope and love.
Our Movie is SBS' latest hand at melos and they have had some experience with the likes of Moon Lovers and The Hymn Of Death. Their 2025 attempt has everything from eternal love and hopelessness to ethical dilemmas and movie-making drama.
Our Movie follows Lee Je-ha, a genius director who ends up in a slump after his debut movie wins him several accolades. Focused on a superstitious jinx, he decides to return to the scene 5 years later. However, he takes up an ambitious task of telling a story of a terminally ill patient in love.
Struggling with the concept, he finds a muse in Lee Da-eum, an aspiring actress who has a terminal illness herself. With no cure, she can die any day. He is surprised as she refuses to succumb to the hopelessness of her situation, living each day to the fullest. As director and actress work on the script together, they clash on their very different ideologies on love and eternity. But over time, they start falling for each other.
The cast includes Namkoong Min, Jeon Yeo-been, Seo Hyeon-woo and Lee Seol among others. It is directed by Lee Jung-heum who is known for thrillers like Falsify and Inspector Koo.
As expected, Director Lee does everything in his power to break away from the usual melo cliches and tropes. The supposed antagonists aren't truly the antagonists, supporting Da-eum and Je-ha in their endeavour to make something worthwhile. Lee Seol's Seo-yeong, a fellow actress, is a refreshing character who questions the 'women-beware-women' archetype. Seo Hyeon-woo's Producer Bu acts a little shady to add suspense and tension, but in the end, he highlights the importance of having a strong support system.
Director Lee and the crew also put their all in ensuring that Our Movie Season 1 is a visual treat. Soft and bright scenes make up the majority, even when they are set in hospitals, symbolising Da-eum's optimistic take at life. Certain poignant scenes or emotionally stunted moments are in black and white. And so, when they change to colour, it is that much more satisfying as the characters finally take a leap of faith by accepting their feelings.
The show also plays around with aspect ratio, using it for meta commentary or, once again, to highlight certain emotions. We see the 16:9 ratio when clips of the remake movie or reimagination of the movie are shown for the cinematic vibe. It is also used for difficult scenes when the characters have to make a life-changing decision, creating a sombre effect in all aspects.
Peppy and cheerful music is interspersed with the typical haunting and melodic string music as expected. They represent the ups and downs of Da-eum's life, her relationship with Je-ha and even the progress of the movie being shot.
We can go on and on about how beautifully Our Movie is made but the technical execution isn't able to save the main plot or the leads' performances. The subplot of the movie-making and the industry politics is quite intriguing. Unfortunately, the love story is a little grim in the sense that the female protagonist, the one with the terminal illness, the one who has to suffer for the sake of the story, is mostly a passive character.
She's a prop for the male protagonist, a plot device for him to realise his faults and become a better human and experience love and yada yada yada. While he grows and gets all the juicy moments, whether it is the moviemaking politics or ethical dilemmas, Da-eum is the same from start to end. Remember the lively treatment we were talking about; she's used for that as well.
Jeon Yeo-been plays Da-eum as a bubbly, charming, but innocent girl. Whenever scenes get heavy and sombre, Yeo-been suddenly turns goofy and playful to lighten the mood. Da-eum is the whole package except for the tiny drawback of her dying. Even then, she is the smiling through her pain type of person, so we don't see much of her introspecting on her own limitations and fate.
And sure, Yeo-been's portrayal is a choice, and doesn't really hamper the story. Some viewers may even like how Da-eum comes across, including us, as she has some sweet moments. But we are pretty sure that almost everyone is going to be annoyed with Namkoong Min's Je-ha.
Je-ha is an introvert, a reserved character who comes off cold. Even when he feels feelings, he doesn't show them outwardly. Until he does! 8 episodes later, he is suddenly a whole new person, smiling and joking and laughing and crying. Our Movie is possibly Namkoong's first project where he stumbles with his performance. And he was such a great tsundere turned lover boy in the historical melodrama, My Dearest.
Well, in Our Movie, for the first 8 episodes, when Je-ha is his selfish, stubborn self, Namkoong plays him as a robot, oddly stoic and mysterious. Once he has his character development, he finally acts human. It makes for a boring and lifeless character, and may lose viewers since most of the plot revolves around Je-ha.
Namkoong's visuals are the only thing that may stop viewers from labelling Je-ha as one of the worst K-drama male leads created. No matter how inspiring and artsy the show is, the love story and the performance let it down. And it is a shame as Our Movie does try its best in creating an aesthetically pleasing and refreshing tragic romance with a message of hope.
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