This review might be a little unorganized, simply because I didn't type all of it at once. However, I think you will get the general idea. I don't really enjoy going into detail about the entire plot since there's a synopsis for that, but I like addressing finer pieces of information which people may find confusing or miss by accident. Either way, I hope you'll understand my thousand word rambling.Nowadays, we rarely see time travel films that retain logicality and full consistency throughout, but Il Mare does it all by avoiding (or correctly abiding by) the confusing laws of time paradoxes. Those who love movies involving shifting elements of time will love this one too, although it doesn't transport people, but instead, items placed inside a mailbox. The magical mailbox of Il Mare, the house built by the lake, serves as a portal connecting two very special individuals who carry close resemblance to each other — in the way that they are both living in solitude — yet are dimensions apart; literally, Eun-joo and Sung-hyun exist in different time periods setting them two years apart.In simple terms (or maybe not? :p), "You can't change your present, but you can change your past's present" is the alternate-time-line concept portrayed by the director. The plot line is thought-provoking and requires a considerable amount of understanding, either by watching Il Mare again, or by utilizing careful attentiveness the first time around. This is a positive feature of the film, as it becomes worthy of repeated watchings and also leaves the viewer to contemplate about future events, but some may find it frustrating. The principle of alternate time lines branching off is shown in the ending where the two correspondents meet up in Sung-hyun's reality, while Sung-hyun is forever inexistent in Eun-joo's time-line. For those who have trouble understanding this, it means that Eun-joo, in the 21st century, could not alter the past to change her current state (by preventing Sung-hyun's accident), as the tragedy had already been witnessed.She COULD, however, alter the past to change HIS present (completely unattached to her time-line). This meant that in Sung-hyun's life, he could and did meet up with Eun-joo. I think this idea of alternate time lines is the director's way of introducing a happy ending. Il Mare is still sad with it, if you think about Eun-joo being eternally heartbroken in her "era", but the story ends up with one-half of its original bitterness. Future events are definitely debatable, as well as the question of whether Eun-joo meeting the alive Sung-hyun would impact Eun-joo's time-line, but that is in itself an entirely different topic and can be saved for another day.The only minor inconsistency, well actually, disturbing detail, would be that if I were Eun-joo, I would at least be a little spooked by a random guy making several appearances in my life. Without knowing him, Eun-joo meets Sung-hyun not once, but multiple times in 1998: the first encounter with the earmuffs, the second while meeting her boyfriend Joon-hi, and the final scene after Sung-hyun receives her letter to prevent his death.Everything was visually astounding, from the spot-on camera work (loved the "Cola-cam") to the beautiful Korean scenery. I must say, I would very much wish to visit the shooting location of Il Mare one day to see if the house is actually there.There is also an underlying theme (my personal thoughts) describing the fact that something which has gone should not be changed. Fate meddles with whoever tries to sabotage the events that were meant to happen, as portrayed when Eun-joo knows about the Sung-hyun's father dieing from the book, but getting hit by a car "by accident". The mittens given to Eun-joo float away into the sea by chance (which also acts as a symbol for the disappointment in Syung-hyun not appearing and him drifting away), while the recovered tape recorder smashed onto the ground. What was or wasn't meant to belong was deliberately corrected. In the same way, Eun-joo brought more destruction to others and herself, alienating the ones she cared about even more when she selfishly tried to change her past. When she finally accepts her present situation as unavoidable, a happy ending follows. This theme is an encouragement to hold onto those who are currently beside instead of those who have gone.Some may ask about the dog, and why Cola appears in both time lines. This is, again, open to imagination. My take on it is that when Sung-hyun died, he left Cola in the house, and the authorities or the local landowner probably gave it to the next tenant — Eun-joo. (However, this leaves a discrepancy where Cola is seen running out of Il Mare which belonged to Eun-joo at the end of the film, when it really should have been Sung-hyun's if he was alive. Or maybe he simply gave Cola away?) Some notable scenes that were intriguing included the funny spaghetti scene, where the two throw strands of pasta at the wall, and the one where he puts a letter into a wine bottle... "Wine is supposed to get better with age" — so does a broken heart.I love films where the directors don't simply just feed the story to the audience, but allow it to require some thinking to make the overall movie experience a tad more interesting. In the end, I can't help but hope for the best of both their futures because it really is a fascinating story. While this will disappoint some by not showing too many tear dropping scenes, it will satisfy those who are looking for a refreshing story. I think that this film was executed in a good fashion, and finished quite well, as it could have easily gone awry with the plot. Il Mare is an enjoyable movie and probably will stay as one of my favourites for a long time.

Il Mare is a film about love story between two people separated by time. It touches the theme about long distance relationship. The plot is original and refreshing. In fact, Hollywood picked it up and remade it into a film that reunited the stars of Speed,Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock,entitled Lake House. The acting was excellent. Both Lee Jung-jae and Jun Ji-Hyun,were great as lovers writing letter to each other and sending it to the mysterious mailbox. The cinematography was commendable as well. The ending can be very sad and the last scene may provide confusion to a lot of viewers. But overall, the film is a must-see not only for Jun Ji- Hyun fans but for people who have appreciate great love stories. How does Il Mare compare to the Hollywood remake,Lake House?Il Mare was a lot better than The Lake House. Here are the reasons why.1. Il Mare keeps the audience guessing as to what is going to happen next while the plot is clichéd in The Lake House.2. You care more about Han Sung-hyun and Kim Eun-ju in the Korean version as compared to Alex and Kate in the Hollywood version. Credit that to Jun Ji-Hyun's performance as she has the ability to make you sympathize with her characters in her films. While in the Hollywood version, Keanu Reeves is not fit for any kind of romantic leads for he is more suited for action films like Speed and the Matrix.3. There was more emotion in the Korean version as compared to that of the Hollywood version. You know that the leads do care a lot for each other. 4. The Korean version focused on both leads and their loneliness while the Hollywood version involved more characters which made the viewer felt less for the emotions of the leads.5. Finally, the use of mailbox and writing letters was probably still common in South Korea during 1997 and 1999 in the Korean version while the use of email,google and the internet was already a way of life in the United States during 2004 and 2006 in the Hollywood version which made the plot of The Lake House less realistic and presented more plot holes. For movie fans, check Il Mare instead of The Lake House.

I haven't seen The Lake House with Sandra Bullock and Keanu reeves, but I have seen it. Il Mare is the Korean film that predates it by six years and is the same story. Like many great Asian films, another has been remade in America.Jung-Jae Lee (Typhoon) plays a budding architect estranged from his father and he moves into a house that his father designed and built. He finds a letter in the mailbox presumably from another person who has lived in the house. But, it is new and he is the first person there! Gianna Jun (an incredible beauty!) is the woman who rents the house two years later and is corresponding with the first owner through a magical mailbox.It is a sweet and tender story with absolutely brilliant cinematography and hauntingly beautiful music. And, of course, it has the cutest dog you can imagine named Cola, who binds the two together.A Sci-Fi ending to a sweet romance.

Having accepted the premise of two people living in different times and communicating with each other, there are still serious problems regarding the handling of this premise. Besides this, the script is not void of consistency problems. The remade movie with Reeves and Bullock has a far superior script and therefor is a better and more convincing piece of art work. The subject matters Il Mare is dealing with are indeed quite romantic. But this is true for a lot of mediocre TV-work, which is on par with European or American standards. To be a really good movie, there must, in my opinion, be no consistency problems. I can love a movie, and this does not necessarily make it a good movie. I do not like Il Mare, but I kind of love The Lake House due to the subject, the production values AND the very well done script.