Late Blossom (2011)

There are those rare films that can easily and effectively touch your heart. Films that really resonate long after the 60 or 120 minutes are up.

Even more rare are films that can make a grown man cry.

The 2011 Korean indie Late Blossom (I Love You/그대를 사랑합니다) is one of those films.

Late Blossom eloquently tells the stories of four people as the sun sets on their respective lives; milk delivery man and widow Kim Man-seok (Lee Soon-Jae, Flames of Desire), Ms. Song (Yoon So-jung, Reversal of Fate) who has lived alone most of her life, and married couple Goon-bong and Soon (Song Jae-ho, I Believe in Love and Kim Soo-Mi, Unstoppable Marriage).

Man-seok runs into Ms. Song (whose first name we will learn later in the movie) one fateful morning as he heads out for his milk deliveries and she pulls her cart of paper and cardboard she collected to sell to pay for her everyday expenses. Though his cursing and grumpy exterior may be a turn off to many, Ms. Song finds he is soft and warm on the inside.

Meanwhile, Goon-bong, the manager of the neighborhood parking lot, alone takes care of his wife who is suffering from Alzheimer’s after their three children have left them to start their own families.

Together, the four learn and teach each other about life and love.

The film presents an honest look and subtle look at the lives of grandpas and grandmas and those who haven’t been blessed with children and grandchildren of their own. Stories that transcend culture.

Late Blossom is a love story at its core; examples of the power of love (and that is not a cliché). How love can be strength and weakness at the same time, but always meaningful. How love knows no age nor time.

The film is emotional and touching, but is just as fun and witty. A mellow, yet engaging story that definitely leaves a mark.

Its cast of veteran actors effortlessly and beautifully makes these characters come alive, warmly inviting the audience into the lives of these four characters in this small Seoul neighborhood.

In just under two hours, the film takes the viewers on an emotional and powerful journey, from the first scene and the sweetest of first meetings to the bittersweet final act that truly exemplifies the power of love in everyone’s lives.

Late Blossom is an incredibly moving film, warm with a huge heart and brimming with sincerity that will resound in audiences in any stage of life.

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