''Windstruck'' (; "Let me introduce (you to) my girlfriend") is a 2004 South Korean

romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

film written and directed by

Kwak Jae-yong Kwak Jae-yong (born 22 May 1959) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He studied physics at Kyung Hee University. He achieved success with his debut film ''Watercolor Painting in a Rainy Day'' in 1989, but the failure of his next t ...

, starring

Jun Ji-hyun Wang Ji-hyun (; born 30 October 1981), known professionally as Jun Ji-hyun (), is a South Korean actress and model. She rose to fame with her role in the romantic comedy film ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), which became a tremendous sensation across ...

and

Jang Hyuk Jeong Yong-jun (; born December 20, 1976), better known as Jang Hyuk, is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his leading roles in the films '' Volcano High'' (2001), '' Windstruck'' (2004), '' The Flu'' (2013), as well as the television s ...

. The film held its premiere in Hong Kong, attended by Jang and Jun, on 28 May 2004, being the first Korean film to do so. It was released on June 3, 2004, by

CJ Entertainment CJ ENM Films & Television, formerly CJ Entertainment, () is a South Korean entertainment, film production, and distribution company under CJ ENM Entertainment Division. The company operates as a film production company, film publishing house, in ...

and ran at 123 minutes.

Plot

The film stars

as Officer Yeo Kyung-jin, an ambitious young female police officer serving on the Seoul police department. One day while chasing a purse snatcher, she accidentally captures Go Myung-woo (played by

), a physics teacher at an all-girls school, who was actually trying to catch the thief. Later, Myung-woo discovers the stolen purse, but just as he picks it up, Kyung-jin spots him and tries to arrest him again. Kyung-jin is then given the job of escorting Myung-woo through a dangerous district, only to be distracted when she tries to break up a meeting between

Russian Mafia The Russian mafia ( or ), also known as Bratva ( ; ) less as Obshchak (Общак) or Brigades (Бригады) , is a collective of various organized crime related elements originating or/and operating in Russia. In December 2009, Timur ...

and Korean gangsters. With Myung-woo handcuffed to her, Kyung-jin almost single-handedly brings down the two rival gangs (although she is helped when she accidentally causes the groups to start shooting at each other). The first half of the film, told from Myung-woo's point of view, details the couple's growing attraction and love for each other, which climaxes with a trip to the countryside where Myung-woo tells Kyung-jin that if he were ever to die, he wanted to come back to earth as the wind. Soon after, he is almost killed in a freak automobile accident, but Kyung-jin saves his life. The film takes a turn into the fantasy genre in its second half after Myung-woo is accidentally shot and killed by another officer (although the situation is such that Kyung-jin thinks that it was her shot that killed him) as Kyung-jin chases after a criminal. Kyung-jin falls into a

suicidal Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or acad ...

depression over his death and attempts to kill herself several times, almost succeeding when she throws herself off a building, only to be saved when a giant balloon floats under her. Soon after, she experiences visitations from Myung-woo, who appears as the wind, sending her messages and, at one point, he even appears in her dreams in order to give her the will to live after she is nearly shot to death by a criminal. Ultimately the film follows a similar path set out by the American film ''

Ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' with Myung-woo and Kyung-jin communicating and sharing one final gesture of love before he moves on to the afterlife. Myung-woo said that he will whisper, when she hears him whisper in the wind, she will meet someone with a soul like him. Myung-woo told Kyung-jin that he will always be beside her inside a book with a photo left by Myung-woo in the restaurant before he rushed to meet Kyung-jin who was chasing the insane criminal. In the first half of the film, Myung-woo told that his only memory of high school was his high school trip. The book and the photo is found and returned to Kyung-jin in the police station. The photo showed that on Myung-woo's trip, Kyung-jin was nearby. This proved Myung-woo's "I'm always beside you" was true to Kyung-jin. Kyung-jin rushed out to locate the finder of the book, ultimately ending up in the train station, where she is saved by

Cha Tae-hyun Cha Tae-hyun (; born March 25, 1976) is a South Korean actor, singer, television personality, radio DJ and Television director, director. He is best known for his lead roles in the box-office hit comedies ''My Sassy Girl'' (2001), ''Scandal Make ...

's character (credited as The Guy). Myung-woo whispered that The Guy is the one with the soul like him. Kyung-jin whispers that "he is always beside her."

Cast

as Officer Yeo Kyung-jin *

as Go Myung-woo *

Kim Jung-tae Kim Jung-tae (born Kim Tae-wook on December 13, 1972) is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his supporting roles on film and television. Career He made his acting debut in 1999 with the film ''The Uprising'' under his birth name Kim Tae ...

as Kim Young-ho *

Kim Soo-ro Kim Soo-ro (; born Kim Sang-joong on May 7, 1970) is a South Korean actor. Career Early career Kim Soo-ro studied Theater at the Seoul Institute of the Arts and Dongguk University, then joined the Mokwha Repertory Company. In 1993, he mad ...

as hostage taker * Lee Ki-woo as Prince *

Im Ye-jin Im Ki-hee (; born January 24, 1960), known professionally as Im Ye-jin (), is a South Korean actress. Affectionately called the original "Nation's Little Sister", Im debuted as a teenage actress taking on roles of the "pretty teenage student" i ...

as female cop of police substation *

Kim Chang-wan Kim Chang Wan (; born February 22, 1954) is a South Korean singer, actor, and writer. Early life and education Kim along with his younger brothers Kim Chang-hoon and Kim Chang-ik, began composing music during their mid-teens, and formed the ...

as chief of police substation * Jung Ho-bin as criminal Shin Chang-soo * Jung Dae-hoon as runaway boy 1 * Jeon Jae-hyung as runaway boy 2 * Oh Jung-se as police corporal Jo / prince 1 * Jeon Sung-ae as police deputy * Kim So-yeon as female student * Woo Ki-hong as gangster * Son Young-soon as old woman * Kim Kwang-kyu as undercover cop / prince 3 * Lee Sang-hoon as Detective Min * Seo Dong-won as Moon-ho * Kim Jin-soo as high school student * Min Young as hostage * Lee Jung-hoon as doctor * Kim Jong-min *

as man on train platform (cameo)

Connections to ''My Sassy Girl''

''Windstruck'' shares the same leading actress and director as an earlier popular South Korean film, ''

My Sassy Girl ''My Sassy Girl'' () is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film directed by Kwak Jae-yong, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Cha Tae-hyun. The film is based on a true story told in a series of blog posts written by Kim Ho-sik, who later adapted them into ...

''. As a result, ''Windstruck'' contains several subtle references to the previous film. It is also worth noting that throughout both movies Jun Ji-hyun's characters have an overall cheerful and sassy personality but soon revealing sadness and emotion. Jun Ji-hyun also plays the piano in both movies, where a photo of Jun Ji-hyun from ''My Sassy Girl'' is visible on Kyung-jin's piano. When Kyung-jin is chasing Sin Chang-su she tells a random citizen to act as a steppingstone to climb over the wall, just like when she accidentally steps on a runaway soldier (played by the same actor) when she and Tae-hyun visited the amusement park during her birthday. In the start of ''My Sassy Girl'' she is distraught over a boyfriend that died (though the reason was never disclosed) before meeting

, and in ''Windstruck'' her boyfriend (Myung-woo) died due to hunting Sin Chang-su. The explains why the final scene of ''Windstruck'' in which Kyung-jin is saved by new soul mate (played by

, the male lead from ''My Sassy Girl'') on a train platform, is very similar to the beginning of ''My Sassy Girl'', essentially setting up ''Windstruck'' as a spiritual prequel to ''My Sassy Girl''.

Soundtrack listing

There are several editions of the OST CD made for release in Korea, Japan, and other countries. The original 2005 Korea & Japan versions issued by Trax contains 23 tracks, 17 on disc 1 and the 5 by YouMe on disc 2. Other versions may not have all tracks. The theme song "Tears" composed by Yoshiki and performed by

X Japan is a Japanese Rock music, rock band from Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi (musician), Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power metal, power/speed metal band with ...

, was the first Japanese song to be featured in a Korean film after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. #재회의 테마 eunion Theme#"

Knockin' On Heaven's Door "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film '' Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid''. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, ...

" (Orchestra Ver.) #II명우의 수난 he Passion of Myung-woo#옷 바꿔입기 hanging ClothesStay Pizzicato Ver.) #일하자 et's Begin!Le Piccadilly) - Erik Satie #까페에서 t the Cafe#"Stay" - Maurice Williams & Zodiacs #오프로드 he Road TripStay String Version) #다섯 번째 청혼자 he Fifth Suitor#새끼손가락의 전설 egend of Joining Pinkies#강물 속으로 nto The River#거기 어디야? here are you?#"BK Love" - MC Sniper #"Tears" -

#애드벌룬 - 그의 손 n Ad-balloon - His Hand#종이비행기 aperplane#재회의테마 eunion ThemeFast Ver.) On CD2: #바람이라도 좋아 - 유미 (YouMe) #"

" (ノッキン・オン・ヘブンズ・ドア)/ ユミ (YouMe) #시계를 돌리면 - 유미 (YouMe) #"Wind Of Soul Will Stay For You - 유미 (YouMe) #"Going Back To The..." iano ver.- 유미 (YouMe)

Reception

The film was ranked 8th best-selling Korean film of 2004, selling 2,199,359 tickets. In Japan, the film was released on November 12, 2004, and grossed ."Box office by Country: ''Windstruck''"
. ''

Box Office Mojo Box Office Mojo is an American website that tracks box-office revenue in a systematic, algorithmic way. The site was founded in 1998 by Brandon Gray, and was bought in 2008 by IMDb, which itself is owned by Amazon. History Brandon Gray ...

''. Retrieved 4 June 2012.

References

External links

* * {{Kwak Jae-yong 2004 films 2004 romantic comedy films 2004 crime comedy films 2000s Korean-language films South Korean romantic comedy films South Korean crime comedy films Films about educators Films directed by Kwak Jae-yong CJ Entertainment films 2000s South Korean films