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Lee Jung-jae has been a household name in South Korea, but after Squid Game, he has shot to global fame. Fans are rediscovering the actor’s other notable words, and here’s one movie that you need to watch. It is a tale of fantasy and romance that spans two years, and has a letter box at the middle of it all. The movie is titled Il Mare. It was the first Korean film ever remade by a major American studio.
A romance across time and space in Il Mare
Il Mare tells a melancholic love story between two people separated not by distance but by time. Jun Ji‑hyun plays Eun‑joo, who moves out of a beach house named Il Mare and leaves a Christmas card in the mailbox. Lee Jung‑Jae’s Sung‑hyun moves in two years later and receives the letter. Soon, they realize they’re communicating across years and fall in love despite never meeting.
The Hollywood remake, The Lake House, kept this premise intact but changed details. In the remake, Sandra Bullock plays a doctor and Keanu Reeves an architect. The setting is shifted to a house on a lakeside, and the holidays move from Christmas to Valentine’s Day. Even the interior design adapts—bathrooms with mirrored walls, staircases to the water, and floating architectural flourishes.
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