Her huge, doe eyes downcast, Chae-Ryn bites her lip and feels her knees tremble both with apprehension and excitement. Paralyzed by fear, she could barely lift her head. As she eyes her feet nervously, she sees another pair of feet slowly come towards her. Young-Sae's. She makes a noiseless groan. Everything is about to start. She practically forces herself to look up just in time to see Young-Sae extend his hand towards her direction. Chae-Ryn swallows hard and everything lands in her stomach like a cannonball - her feelings of panic and dread, memories of her mother and sister, her hope that perhaps tomorrow could be so much better. Furtively, she drags her right foot and makes her first innocent step.
My sister and I got home from church earlier than usual today. She had the beginnings of PMS cramps and could no longer stand to meet with friends for GG meeting. The moment we got home, she threw herself into the bed and curled up into a huge ball of arms, feet and a rather squishy derriere (which she likens to J. Lo's insured rear end). As I was throwing my shirt into the hamper, I remembered that I had just gotten a new Korean movie. I grabbed the black plastic DVD case, stood in front of her with the DVD clutched in my hands like a prized war booty and shouted in my loudest voice ever: "Look!" She sneaked a glance at me and the ball she had rolled herself into almost came untangled in an instant. "Play it now, please!" she begged, her voice throaty perhaps due to the pain from her stomach...or the anticipation from waiting for me to pluck the DVD out of its case and load it into the player. I lay on the bed beside her in a pile of fluffy pillows and watched as the movie credits began to roll: Innocent Steps.
The moment I saw the Innocent Steps DVD on sale, I made a mad dash for it. My sister and I have been itching to see this movie ever since the early part of this year, being extremely fascinated with Korean teen box-office queen Moon Geun-Young. Moon was the one of the reasons I did not completely fast-forward the 2000 drama series Endless Love 1: Autumn in My Heart, the other being heart-slayer Won Bin. I had never seen anyone cry so naturally and effortlessly at that. She became more endearing thanks to the 2003 hit comedy flick My Little Bride with funnyman Kim Rae-Won. Her flair for drama has not dampened her feisty and spirited side, which she showcased with Kim. She has the innate ability to act cute without being extra irritating, it's almost synonymous to eating honey without getting stung by bees. She looks younger than her 19 years but when she steps into her acting shoes, I believe she can be at any age at any time.
Moon with Choi Woo-Hyuk in Endless Love 1: Autumn in My Heart (above)
and Kim Rae-Won in My Little Bride (below)
In Innocent Steps, Moon plays the role of Chinese immigrant Jang Chae-Ryn who was brought to Korea as the new dance partner for leading DanceSports instructor and competitor Na Young-Sae (Park Geun-Hyung). With the competition a few months away, Chae-Ryn undergoes intense training under the careful scrutiny of the perfectionist Young-Sae, especially since Chae-Ryn apparently has an almost zero dance background. Under the tutelage of Young-Sae, she slowly learns every possible technique in ballroom dancing and discovers a huge potential for raising a thunderstorm in the dancefloor which she never thought existed. Though this is predominantly a dance flick, there is the unavoidable presence of certain cliches which are necessary to spice things up a bit - a jealous and scheming rival, some form of comedic sidekick and of course, the two main protagonists falling for each other. Nothing you can avoid especially when Young-sae, in an effort to make Chae-Ryn internalize the intensity of the dance, tells her "You must love me when we are dancing." Just typing that got my eyeballs rolling.
Baby-faced Moon as Jang Chae-Ryn
My sister and I were particularly excited about the dance scenes. Looking at Moon Geun-Young's seemingly innocent face, charming smile and hunched posture, it was very difficult to conjure images of her executing the flashy and swift movements that are characteristic of ballroom dances such as the rhumba, samba and the cha cha, let alone looking like one. From the movie stills, Park Geun-Hyung's almost 10-year seniority was also evident. In fact in the movie, he was accused by a friend of "robbing the cradle big-time." But what is amazing about Moon is that she can become a totally different person once she slips into dancer mode. The cute 19-year old flutters to the ground like a silk robe being shed off. A grown up woman emerges, chin lifted, eyes sparkling with newfound confidence. It's not just the smoky eye make-up or the sequined short costume which suits her perfectly. Even in sweats, a t-shirt and ballet flats, Moon could slip in and out of her dancer mode way faster than my computer could switch users. Moon was exactly like Chae-Ryn, it all just lay inside her quietly but ready to burst out at the intended moment in time and slip back into hibernation when the need was no longer present.
Whipping up a frenzy with Park Geun-Hyung who plays
her mentor and eventual paramour Young-Sae
The movie was not just about the looking the part well. It was also about playing the part and it did so brilliantly. The dancing itself did not disappoint. The first dance scene was devoted to Park and another partner. I remember gawking at Park as he swayed to the music, movements swift and sharp yet tinged with hints of gracefulness, knives cutting through an air of clouds and feathers. Moon herself was a sight to behold as she moved her arms, snapped her neck, flicked her hips, kicked her legs and pirouetted across the floor, all to the precise beat of the music. When she was doing the rhumba with Park, it was torture to take my eyes off the sight of them both in such an atmosphere of magic. In an objective note, Moon's rendition of the samba was not as fetching especially since her hip jerks were barely perceptible, perhaps drowned in the rapid execution of movements in the dance. But nevertheless her samba rendition was, in totality, a very entertaining watch.
Young-Sae initially deplores Chae-Ryn's horrible posture (left) which she eventually corrects (right).
The rest of the movie, like I said, could be pretty much likened to lampreys attached to a shark. There is really nothing new about the love story or the slick acts of envy-driven people, although there were times I felt the plot was careening dangerously into a crevice of cheesiness. However I could pretty much let the rest of it go with their heads intact, except for one: the fireflies. When Chae-Ryn arrives from China, one of the first things she removes from her suitcase would be a bottle containing firefly larvae. She likens the metamorphosis of the firely, and the entire process of lying in wait for the perfect time to emerge from its cocoon, to her own awakening and realizations. As early as that, I was not buying the entire firefly story but towards the end realized their rather awkward purpose as homing beacons. I am sorry but the fireflies worked really well for The Classic, my ultimate favorite Korean film. But for Innocent Steps, I wish they were given a more significant job perhaps as guest performers in a flea circus.
But in the end, the story is not about fireflies, eyebrow-crossing dancesports costumes, extremely conventional villains or the nearing overusage of Ajuhssi (Korean for "Mister") committing serious cradle thieving. It is not labelled a dance film for nothing and in that aspect, the DVD player really should be prepared for more meetings with Innocent Steps.
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