The Blue in You (Korean: 그대 안의 블루; RR: Geudae an-ui beullu) is a 1992 South Korean romance film directed by Lee Hyun-seung. It stars Ahn Sung-ki and Kang Soo-yeon as two window displayers with conflicting viewpoints who fall in love.
Ho-seok, a window displayer, encounters Yoo-lim running towards him in a wedding dress. Impressed by her determination to find love while working, they become colleagues through a thorough contract. Despite their disagreements, Ho-seok admires her passion for work and hopes she establishes herself as a hardworking woman. However, Yoo-lim meets someone new, falls in love, and gets married. A misunderstanding caused by his view on work leaves Ho-seok frustrated, and he leaves for Italy. During her married life, Yoo-lim receives a videotape from Ho-seok of her work, and she finally reunites with him in Italy. She decides to leave her husband and Ho-seok behind and start a new life on her own.
The film started principal photography on June 2, 1992.[1] After finishing filming in Italy, post-production began in November of the same year,[2] taking place in Japan.[3] The movie's art staff was composed of professional designers and creatives; Lee himself was originally a visual designer.[3][4] Post-production saw the use of color grading to shade scenes in hues such as blue, purple, and red, though flashbacks were left as originally filmed.[5]
The Blue in You opened on December 25, 1992,[6] and was the sole domestic film screening at the end of the year.[7] The Korean Film Council included it in its selection of 5 good movies from the first half of 1993.[8] By the end of 1993, the film had accumulated an audience of 153,000 people.[9]
Critics at the time praised the film's visual direction. A review in the Kyunghyang Shinmun said its "dynamic camerawork, varied composition and angling, and speedy scene changing" differentiated it from other Korean films.[10] Movie critic Yoo Ji-na stated that the movie's artistic direction "proves that how a movie is made is as important as its themes and story."[11] Kim Young-hye praised the film's visual elements as well, but expressed that the film "failed due to a weak sense of theme."[12]
The film's feminist message was widely debated over. In The Dong-a Ilbo, reviewer Lee Seung-jeong stated the film "depicts well the changing of women to fit into the illusion of conventional happiness," though she voiced that the female lead's self-discovery only through the male lead revealed "the director's lack of departure from a patriarchal viewpoint."[13] Nam In-young criticized the film's feminist angle, stating that the main female character was "by no means a woman who breaks through social and institutional oppression on her own."[14] On the other hand, Yoo Ji-na said of the ending: "While it is true that Yoo-lim establishing her identity under Ho-seok's control might hurt a feminist's ego, the director may be intentionally showing that in order to secure women's agency in a male-dominated society, there must be many male feminists with progressive thinking and understanding of men's vested interests."[11] A debate on the film's feminist themes was held on January 12, 1993, with the director and various film critics in attendance.[15]
^ abYoo, Ji-na (January 1993). 처연한 푸른빛의 공간 미장센 이현승 감독의 『그대안의 블루』 [A sorrowful blue mise en scène, director Lee Hyun-seung's "The Blue in You"]. 격월간 영화 (in Korean). pp. 76–77. Retrieved 2024-02-29.
