Pure at Nineteen
Honest and hardworking Han-il finds a puppy has followed his dog home. Attaching a note to the puppy's collar, he sends it back to where it came from. The next day, the dog returns with a thank-you note from the girl who owns it. Thus begins Han-il's and Ji-ae's correspondence via puppy-mail. Eventually, they meet and it is love at first site for the pair. However, Ji-ae parents are very protective of their daughter and she has to sneak out to meet Han-il.There is a reason for Ji-ae's parents to be worried about her. She is dying of cancer and everyone around her knows of the fact except Ji-ae. When the puppy-mail system finally fails and the dog delivers Ji-ae's letter to her father instead of to Han-il, her parents do their best to drive him away from their daughter. All differences are set aside however when Ji-ae must have an operation that may prove fatal her.Director Kim Ki-duk has about 70 movie credits to his filmography, and was at his best with his war movies, 5 MARINES (1961) and SOUTH AND NORTH (1965), and his sci-fi movie YONGARY, MONSTER FROM THE DEEP (1967) may have been the earliest widely exported Korean movie to the west. In PURE AT NINETEEN, he does manage to create some memorable moments in its final 15 minutes and even to generate some suspense, but by then it is too late. Nothing in the film gets more creative than the improbable puppy-mail system. (Given the implied distance between the couple's homes, that puppy must have been part homing pigeon)There is a missed opportunity to examine class differences when Han-il jumps to the conclusion that Ji-ae's family does not like him because he is not wealthy, but the audience and Han-il quickly learn that her parents are treating him badly because of her disease. The entire film is an inoffensive and rather bland romance which, unfortunately means it will probably remain among the forgotten movies of the pre-SHIRI age of Korean films
