Review Wanee & Junah

[plsletitrain]

Just before the accident, there were four kids by the side of the road, right? Were they two boys and two girls? Wasn’t one of them holding a net on a pole, just like the net used to knock the yellow cap out of the tree? And didn’t the girl turn around before the accident occurred, to watch the car veer off the road, like she had a premonition of what was going to happen? Was that actually a young Wanee watching her older self’s life unfold?

Damn y’all … now this has really started to mess with my head!

Seems plausible. But I can't say if that was a young Wanee watching her older self's life unfold as the other companions of the little girl were also staring at the direction of the car--well technically they were staring at the girl who was staring at the car crash which could either mean they could also see the car crash or it was a young Wanee watching her older self while the others wonder why she stopped running and looked at a far direction (without seeing the car crash).

I was stuck with the hats that I had to re-check. The two hats are different, albeit both yellow. The hat from the beginning that was stuck on a tree was a baseball cap with a face in the middle, the one given to Wanee as a gift whereas the end hat, the one that flew from Wanee's head as she rode the train was a fisherman's hat. I believe it was an honest mistake on the part of the director trying to connect the yellow hat from the beginning animation to the ending hat.

 

[sitenoise]

Just before the accident, there were four kids by the side of the road, right? Were they two boys and two girls? Wasn’t one of them holding a net on a pole, just like the net used to knock the yellow cap out of the tree? And didn’t the girl turn around before the accident occurred, to watch the car veer off the road, like she had a premonition of what was going to happen? Was that actually a young Wanee watching her older self’s life unfold?

Damn y’all … now this has really started to mess with my head!

I think there were more than four, but yes the girl with long hair, which makes me think it wasn't a young Wanee, did turn before the accident. That turning probably means something but who knows what.

Getting back to what do we know about the family ... in that sheltering rain scene, little Wanee sees daddy coming and screams "daddy" and goes running to him and hugs. That means they knew each other in a loving way. 'Splain that. I mentioned earlier that I had a conspiracy theory about the family and am now reopening the case.

 

[sitenoise]

A friend, way back when commented:
"That cartoon from the ending, conceived as the key for the whole structure of the movie, filled me with compassion to my fingertips, compassion for both Junah and Wanee."

Not sure what to make of that now. But little Wanee was with another boy, she falls down upon helping little Junah, who responds by giving her a hat. Is that the movie?

 

[sitenoise]

So I guess whatever interpretation we have of the car crash, we can all agree that it just added to Wanee's pain. Either she blames herself for the car crash, or as I said, she came to the conclusion that nature will never allow their relationship.

Dad intentionally drove the car into a tree wanting to kill everybody because he knew the dirty secret that Wanee and Young Min were in fact blood related.

 

[plsletitrain]

I don't think Junah's love, if ever it was that, for Wanee when they were kids is relevant to the subject matter. They were still innocent kids then who are clueless of the implications of their actions. Giving a hat is cute. Living together without marriage and falling for your brother is another whole complex issue that isn't cute.

(I'm still making my argument on the stepbrother vs. halfbrother issue as now that sitenoise pointed the attachment Wanee had for the dad, I'm still looking for the other pieces of the puzzle that made me conclude that Young min was a step brother, not a half brother (are you saying Young-min belongs to the first family and Wanee's mom is the mistress and maybe the first wife dies so she assured Young Min she's now his mother? I don't think Mom's affection for Young min would be the same if Wanee's mom was the legal wife and Young-min was a lovechild from a mistress).

 

[plsletitrain]

Dad intentionally drove the car into a tree wanting to kill everybody because he knew the dirty secret that Wanee and Young Min were in fact blood related.

I might support the theory that he intentionally drove the car into a tree to awaken them to get back to their senses but to kill them because they're blood related is too much for a father to do.

 

[plsletitrain]

Okay, I lose. I'm already leaning towards them being related by blood. This is incest!!!!

 

[sitenoise]

There's something fishy about the family. The elephant in the room is why she would know/love daddy but not know YM?

I think Dad and mom and Wanee were a family and YM was had by a mistress of daddy. Or dada and mom were the illicit lovers and Wanee was a product of that, and finally dad ditched YM's mom and brought YM to live with the illicit family. What that means or how it impacts the story is unbeknownst. @divemaster13 , check the deleted scenes. There must be something on the cutting room floor.

@clayton-12 I just checked and there were indeed 4 kids along the side of the road and one was carrying a fishing net. What's the significance of 4?

And why was the first animation sequence about bullying? There was no bullying in the film.

 

[plsletitrain]

And why was the first animation sequence about bullying? There was no bullying in the film.

I think the bullying scenes in the beginning has no major significance except to portray Junah as a loser.

 

[clayton-12]

What's the significance of 4?

When I asked the question, I was wondering if they might be Wanee, Junah, Young-min and So-yang together as children

 

[divemaster13]

These are some interesting theories. I'm not sure I go that far...if Wanee and Young-min were indeed blood related, I think the director would have established a solid clue to indicate that. Perhaps not something totally obvious, but something more clarifying than what we have. But I'm not dismissing it out of hand. Like I said...it is interesting.

And the scene with the little girl looking toward the car crash before it happened was filmed in such a way to impart some sort of significance. I'm not sure if that significance lies with the actual plot, or just a way for the director to draw your attention to the scene and make it more memorable.

I think Dad and mom and Wanee were a family and YM was had by a mistress of daddy. Or dada and mom were the illicit lovers and Wanee was a product of that, and finally dad ditched YM's mom and brought YM to live with the illicit family. What that means or how it impacts the story is unbeknownst. @divemaster13 , check the deleted scenes. There must be something on the cutting room floor.

I did skim through the deleted scenes a while back. I'm OCD with my DVDs and make a point to check out all the bonus features (if I'm going to pay $20 - $40 for a DVD by God I'm going to get my money's worth LOL). But these Korean DVDs never subtitle the bonus features so I can only interpret from the visuals, not the dialog. I don't recall any bro-sis shenanigans or taboo revelations, but I will check again in the next few days and report back.

edit: If a deleted scene does appear to shed light on the subject, I'll ask my wife to translate the dialog.

 

[sitenoise]

The thing is, we have no evidence to assume they were not blood related. It doesn't really change the story, just makes it a little more taboo. The question is: did Wanee know? Or maybe it does change it. Maybe Wanee wasn't torn about her unfulfilled love but was pissed at Young-min for kissing her.

Sheds new light on So-Young's declaration that Wanee and Junah "are like brother and sister" (or whatever the quote is). The irony!

 

[sitenoise]

I might support the theory that he intentionally drove the car into a tree to awaken them to get back to their senses but to kill them because they're blood related is too much for a father to do.

Yeah, I think it's more likely he had a heart attack and lost control of the car, and that's why the little girl was looking at the car before the crash ... thinking "Why is that man slumped over the steering wheel, he's probably going to crash!"

 

[clayton-12]

I couldn't help myself ... I went back and rewatched some of the scenes we've been talking about.

little Wanee sees daddy coming and screams "daddy" and goes running to him and hugs. That means they knew each other in a loving way. 'Splain that. I mentioned earlier that I had a conspiracy theory about the family and am now reopening the case.

I reckon the father is Wanee's father. Young Wanee's greeting when he appears with a strange boy could be contrasted with Young-min's body language toward all three - he's nervous about the lot of him. I don't think he's half-brother or step-brother ... I think he was adopted.

Junah basically says "no, Wanee is my second love--my first was this little girl who got kicked out of her house and was naked on her porch and I helped her."

Junah doesn't actually recount helping the crying girl. The story he tells So-yang is different to what is depicted in the animation - he had a crush on the girl, one day he happened to be walking by and she was outside crying, their eyes met and she looked at him with spite. Unfortunately, he didn't elaborate on what happens next, because So-yang distracts him by taking a photo.

the scene with the little girl looking toward the car crash before it happened was filmed in such a way to impart some sort of significance. I'm not sure if that significance lies with the actual plot, or just a way for the director to draw your attention to the scene and make it more memorable.

As the car passes, the girl looks up, and her eyes meet Wanee's, who has started crying and looking absolutely miserable. That's why she turns around to look at the car travelling on down the road. But damn ... was that a yellow hat that the girl's got in her hand?

 

[sitenoise]

I reckon the father is Wanee's father. Young Wanee's greeting when he appears with a strange boy could be contrasted with Young-min's body language toward all three - he's nervous about the lot of him. I don't think he's half-brother or step-brother ... I think he was adopted.

Good one! Possible, but I don't think he was nervous with his look toward dad. It seemed more like a look of " ... " well, I don't know. But something along the lines of 'what have you gotten me into'? Again, adopted is possible but I think we would only choose that because we want to avoid the blood relation. Actually it's a great scene because it does let us choose. I think the one thing we have no evidence to choose for is that they're step-siblings (except by adoption).

Junah doesn't actually recount helping the crying girl. The story he tells So-yang is different to what is depicted in the animation - he had a crush on the girl, one day he happened to be walking by and she was outside crying, their eyes met and she looked at him with spite. Unfortunately, he didn't elaborate on what happens next, because So-yang distracts him by taking a photo.

He doesn't recount 'helping' the girl. He didn't 'help' her in the animation, either. But it is interesting that he recounts her looking at him spitefully. I didn't get that feeling from the animation. She looked vulnerable and scared.

As the car passes, the girl looks up, and her eyes meet Wanee's, who has started crying and looking absolutely miserable. That's why she turns around to look at the car travelling on down the road. But damn ... was that a yellow hat that the girl's got in her hand?

Yes, that's a yellow hat! But that little girl has long hair. That means she's So-young, and sees the crying girl in the car with ... <drumroll> Her Brother! Yes, So-young is Young-min's brother and that's why Young-min got pissed at Wanee when she was chastising him for leading So-Young on if he didn't like her. Young-min was just treating So-young like the little sister that she was and Wanee mistook it for affection.

Oh what a tangled web we weave!

 

[clayton-12]

Yes, So-young is Young-min's brother ... what a tangled web we weave!

That was probably slightly more tangled that what you were intending to weave!

 

[divemaster13]

Well! Regardless if I agree or disagree with any of the theories being discussed, I'm glad my review spurred such an interesting discussion!

(I don't think So-yang is Young-min's brother. Or sister for that matter LOL)

 

[plsletitrain]

So we've gone from them being step siblings to them being half-siblings to Young-min being an adoptive brother and now So-yang and Young-min are siblings??!!!

By the way, I have thought it over and I now realized the reasons why I thought they are step siblings:

1) Wanee and Young-min are (presumably) of the same age. Given the conservative and soft nature of the dad, I don't think it would be possible for him to sire two women at the same time (if indeed they are half-siblings). It would be more logical to believe that the parents dated after they had their own respective children.

2) The rain scene was also a powerful scene to show their introduction into each other's lives. If Young-min was adopted, why would the scene show that the mother was with Wanee and the father was with Young-min? Wouldn't it be more plausible that if indeed Young-min was adopted, the three of them (Mom, Dad and Wanee) would welcome him to their family?

3) Ever notice the restrained relationship between Young-min and Wanee during the flashback scenes? Wanee have always treated Young-min with malice, something that belies a relationship based on blood. Siblings related by blood are usually more candid, open and attached to each other, whereas Wanee treated Young-min as if he was just a house mate.

Ha! I'm back on Team step-siblings.

 

[sitenoise]

The only info we have on the nature of the family is that sheltering rain scene. Step siblings is not an option. It allows for blood, and I thought maybe adoption. But @plsletitrain just shot that one down. The more I thought about the adoption angle the less it seemed possible.

So they're blood. They never had sex, though. No harm, no foul.

I was kidding with the So-Yeong-Yeong-min thing, except wait ... look at their names! Coincidence? I think not.

Something suspicious there.

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