When the cast and crew conveyed Sweet & Sour as realistic romance, they kept the details of how endearingly and awfully it could get genuine.
Sweepingly romantic but with a tasteless ending can be the apt description in the love stories featured in Netflix’s latest original Korean film. At the end of the day, it leaves a message of how love can change agonizingly in a fleeting moment.
It could be small things you overlooked that led to the relationship failures. Or it could be the choice not to communicate. Either way, it is always important to stay committed in a relationship without complaints and excuses.
- Romance/Addictive Meter:
- Overall Rating:
- Main Cast: Chae Soo Bin | Jang Ki Yong | Jung Soojung
Sweet & Sour Quick Plot Recap
The seemingly contradictory title alludes not only to the first sugary stages of love but also to its bitter end, as will surely come with the passage of time. Sweet & Sour features rising stars Jang Ki Yong, Chae Soo Bin, and Krystal Jung.
Jang Hyeok (Jang Ki-yong) and Jung Da-eun (Chae Soo-bin) become a long-distance couple when Jang-hyeok gets a new job opportunity. Their once sweet relationship changes as the distance impact them in more ways than one.
Sweet & Sour Movie Musings *Spoiler Alert
Viewers would literally taste the candied and biting moments chronicled in the two featured romance stories of Sweet & Sour. Delineating the strain of keeping a long-distance relationship, it expounds on how a breakup is mutually decided just how falling in love is.
Jang Hyuk and Da-eun both agree to their setup thinking about their future. Eventually, the physical burden coupled with the work stress results in less meaningful time spent with Da-eun. Feeling neglected, she found solace and friendship with a patient who gave her the comfort she so badly needed.
At first, making each other’s life at their workplace hard, Jang Hyuk and Bo-yeong eventually become closer. After resisting her insinuations to cross the line, his routine relationship with Da-eun reached the inevitable saturation point. Eventually, they engage in a romantic interlude. But Jang Hyuk realizes his previous relationship runs deep.
Unavoidable Misgivings of People Involved in a Love Triangle
Usually, an infidelity-themed story incites rage because there’s a side of the love triangle marked to be more blamed. Sweet & Sour equally presented the viewpoints that led to the bliss and pain of the love triangle featured in the narrative.
Conclusively, commitment and communication failures leading to relationship fallout were conveyed. The scene where Da-eun and Jang Hyuk lay down all they did and what they could have done in their relationship would ring familiarity to anyone who experienced a breakup.
Sweet in the Highs, but has a Sour Aftertaste
Jang Ki Yong, Chae Soo Bin and Jung Soo Jung presented two types of familiar romance: the safe but deeply entrenched and the exciting but worth taking the risk.
While we couldn’t ask for more of the lead actors’ portrayals, Sweet & Sour literally lived up to its title and gave us a sour ending. We definitely got the message that cheating is bad, but it didn’t give us a gratifying ending.
The surprise flashback revealing Da-eun finding comfort with another man put a belated twist that not at all salvaged the story’s engaging first half, to be honest. But it did emphasize another relationship reality of how a stable relationship can falter, not just with “someone new” but also with “someone who can be there always”.
Still, the bland crowning conclusion can be ignored. For the most part of the movie, at least it gave ample doses of humor and entertaining scenes.
Sweet & Sour is streaming on Netflix.
Photos: Courtesy of Netflix
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