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12 out of 12 people found the following comment useful :-
Heart-warming story of life, 16 September 2001
9/10
Author: Thomas Giammarco (giammarcoken@hanmail.net) from Jeonju, South Korea

I am not generally a fan of romantic movies, but there are exceptions to every rule. For me, this movie is it. The romance between the two leads is not contrived or forced in any way. It develops naturally between two people who meet together daily. Anyone who has ever experienced a crush can identify with Hong-yeon. She searches for hidden meaning in her teacher's every action which she happily interprets to suit her fantasy. This movie is filled with warmth towards all of its characters. There is no enemy per se, just every day people. The scenery is memorable and matches the emotions of the film well. Watch the ending carefully as the credits begin to roll. It is there you can find the true conclusion to the film.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
Teen girl loves her teacher in winning Korean period piece, 25 August 2004
Author: Brian Thibodeau from Sarnia, Ontario

THE HARMONIUM IN MY MEMORY (1998): Sweet, simple, efficiently directed tale of a naive country girl, circa the late 1950's, who gets a crush on her newly-arrived teacher, an engaged, educated city boy who at first dismisses her silly efforts to impress him as so much childish infatuation, but soon comes to realize, thanks to a convenient development in one of the secondary characters, how much she really cares.

Excellent use of rural Korean backdrop and music, with a wonderfully believable performance by Jeon Do-yeon as a rural beauty coping with the bittersweet pangs of a seemingly hopeless crush.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
A warm "memory" piece about infatuation, 4 October 2008
7/10
Author: J Chang from United States

Harmonium in My Memory is a film from the early Corean film-making renaissance in the late 90's, featuring a couple actors who would go on to star in more acclaimed films. Harmonium itself is a quaint film, but an enjoyable one, featuring the story of a country girl who becomes infatuated by her newly arrived teacher, who himself develops an infatuation for his simultaneously arrived colleague.

The film doesn't play out within the conventions of expected Hollywood style story-telling; many scenes do not exist to further the plot, but rather, the piece is often more of a mood/memory piece, displaying often warm observations of a time now past in the mind of the character. While the actual story components don't amount to any sort of filmic catharsis, there is a bit of joy in how the story is told and it captures well the feelings of youth, as well as a natural sense of the environment where the characters grow up.

One thing that I did wish was that the film would weave tighter to either the girl or the teacher, as it becomes hard to tell the perspective of the film or whose memories we're wading in. Although we're bookended by the woman who was the girl, so much of the film is in the teacher's perspective that it becomes confusing at times and also probably providing more details than necessary--further editing could have made this film tighter.

The film does suffer a little from seeming slight. It doesn't come across as something compelling--a must watch, but rather a nice warm film to watch. As such, I can't strongly recommend it, but if you're looking to see a charming example of a schoolgirl crush or wander in the memories of growing up in the Corean countryside, this is as good a place as any to go. 7/10.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Seemed a little pandering to me, 14 August 2008
5/10
Author: sitenoise from http://sitenoise-atthemovies.blogspot.com/

I love Do-yeon Jeon and what I love about her is that she always appears completely genuine in performance. In this film, however, her every move is riddled with acting. It's hardly her fault as she is given the mighty task of portraying a fifth-grade girl. What is that? Ten years old? Eleven? Her character could be seventeen for all I know, given the poverty and functional illiteracy of her community, but she's still a fifth-grader. All the self-conscious insecurities and pouting of a girl that age—not to mention a girl that age whose day to day life is overwhelmed by a mad crush on her new twenty-one year old school teacher—all the mannerisms are forced. But enough about that. No use crying over spilled milk, or, thank god in this case, unrequited love.

The Harmonium in My Memory is a sweet little nostalgia film set in rural South Korea sometime after the war around 1960, give or take, centering on the teachers and students at a community school. Many of the students can't afford basic school supplies, are often rowdy in class and prove to be quite a handful for the rookie teacher played wonderfully by Byung-hun Lee (A Bittersweet Life; Joint Security Area). It's the youthful idealism of Lee's character who wants to treat the students with respect and tolerance set against the older teachers' old-school values of beating and discipline that serves as the film's basic theme. The other likable character in the film, played by Mi-yeon Lee, is another young teacher who takes her students outside to make noise and run off steam, much to the chagrin of her elders. She's Lee's love interest, and she and he share a passion for music, providing for many a musical moment in The Harmonium in My Memory. "Don't Break The Heart That Loves You", sung by Connie Francis, captures the torchy milieu of these characters perfectly—perhaps a little too easily.

The Harmonium in My Memory isn't a bad film, but expectations are extremely high for Do-yeon Jeon, and she disappoints; all the characters in the film are cliché; the use of dramatic music seems like a shortcut to emotions the characters aren't capable of making us feel; and the ending is manipulative, tacked on to make us get happy about a film that left us empty.

And what's the deal with kids bringing stool samples to class?

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Good but I was the wrong audience for this film, 20 April 2009
6/10
Author: dbborroughs from Glen Cove, New York

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Memory film (barely) about what happens when a new teacher comes to a small rural village in Korea in about 1960 where he woos one of the other teachers and has is the object of a crush by one of the students. A look at the rural life from inside and outside the village with a strong romantic thread through out.

For what ever reason this film didn't really resonate with me, it was a good slice of life film, but for the most part it just didn't blow up my skirt. The performances are good and the film really seems to capture a specific time and a place (or is it overly idealized owing to memory?) but for what ever reason it just was there. Perhaps it's because I'm not a girl or perhaps the film was just outside my experience. More likely its that the film seems to set up as an almost typical coming of age story similar to the ones that were made in Hollywood during the period that the film is set. I was never a big fan of those, so its little wonder I'm not a big fan of this. This isn't to say that the film is bad, its not, rather its to say that the film almost pre-selects its audience, with those not liking romantic coming of age films less likely to be enthralled.

Worth a look if it's plot makes you curious. (I only picked it up as a VCD in Chinatown for a buck because it kept appearing on my Amazon recommends list).

One word about the ending- the film ends with a shot of a photo that reveals what happened after the main story ends. It maybe hard to see on video who is in the photo so you may want to check the message boards here at IMDb or elsewhere.

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typical romance, but very nice details, 26 December 2000
8/10
Author: skrwl from Republic of Korea

This film's story fits right in with the Koreans' great love of cutsey romance movies--which may turn off a lot of more jaded Western viewers--but its attention to detail is a great strength. All of the scenery and props create a beautiful, believable portrait of Korea in the days shortly after the Korean war. For anyone who's familiar with modern-day Korea, it's a very interesting look back. Also, the original music on the soundtrack is excellent and appropriate throughout the film.

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