This is the first movie of Park Hyung-sik that I have seen since he became my new oppa. It’s other title is “Two Rays of Light.” I was able to stream it from YouTube. It is a short film, all of 30:48 minutes but it packed a very moving drama of two young visually impaired individuals. It was uploaded by Samsung Electronics on YouTube last Dec 21, 2017 and it has garnered already a huge following of TWENTY FOUR MILLION views.
I learned from one blog that this is actually a promotional movie that featured Samsung’s visual aid application for the visually impaired called “Relumino.” But I didn’t know about this before I watched the short film so while watching this film, I wondered about the unusual longer air time and fuss given to the use of a device that helped in improving visibility.
But I would have to congratulate Samsung for this soft sell marketing because I did not notice the film had a hidden commercial interest. In fact, before I did find out about Samsung, I saw it more as an advocacy for the plight of the visually impaired, in particular those with retinitis pigmentosa (RP) which according to Wikipedia is a “genetic disorder of the eyes that causes a loss of vision” for which there is no cure.
I like the film for the following reasons:
In the story, Insoo (Park Hyung Sik) and Sooyoung (Han Ji Min) met at a photography club for the visually impaired and through the club’s activities, fall in love with each other.
The powerful performances of the lead stars.
PHS and HJM were outstanding. Their acting were subdued but you can feel the intensity and the chemistry between the two. For a moment, I really thought that HJM is a real visually impaired person because of the way she moved her eyes to look in opposite directions, at times looking cross eyed too. PHS also had that expressionless look in his eyes, reminiscent of blind people.
Awareness of the plight and conditions of the visually-impaired.
I have a soft spot for the visually impaired especially for those with RF as I have a similar disease although mine is of a different type because it is not a genetic disorder. That’s why I found the the film uplifting, seeing how the two lead stars are engaged in “normal” jobs that are atuned to their visually challenged situation. HJM is engaged in scent testing while PSH is a piano tuner. I am happy that the visually impaired can still live independently and learn to function normally in Korea. The support group provided by the photography club and the therapy thru photography made me curious if such a therapy also exist in my country.
All in all, this is a must see film. I think I will watch it again.
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