In this week’s movie review, we are diving into one of the films mentioned in our podcast ‘What A K-Drama!’. Let’s talk about ‘The Box’.
Directed and written by Yang Jung-woong, ‘The Box’ shares the story of Ji-Hoon (Park Chanyeol) a musician who is unable to perform in front of people, and Min-su (Jo Dal-hwan), a no longer successful producer who is trying to make it again.
Min-su overhears Ji-hoon playing his guitar and singing while at his job. As a former producer he sees something special in Ji-hoon and decides to ask him to join him and perform in ten different locations.
Ji-hoon agrees reluctantly and they both embark on a journey of self-discovery, in which he busks and performs while being inside a refrigerator box, trying to overcome his stage fright.
The Music
‘The Box’ features EXO’s Chanyeol performing very popular and rearranged songs from Korean and Western artists. This film was basically created to captivate viewers with Chanyeol’s incredible talent.
The film really does a great job at a musical aspect, serving Korean and International fans with well-known songs like Billie Eilish’s ‘Bad Guy’ or Coldplay’s ‘A Sky Full of Stars’, and local artists from Korea like Park Ju-won’s ‘Captain N 7’ or Eco bridge’s ‘When I am in Busan’.
Fans wanting the best of both worlds would undoubtedly enjoy this production. Another aspect I loved was the sets, for each performance they created a unique atmosphere and it was just amazing to watch.
The Acting
This is Chanyeol’s first solo acting gig (if we don’t count EXO Next Door) and I felt he did a great job portraying his character. His chemistry with Dol-hwan was great, and the duo performance he had with Kim Ji Hyun for the song ‘What A Wonderful World’ was just stunning.
I would have loved seeing a bit more depth in his acting, but maybe we will get to that in the future if other roles allow it.
Dol-hwan’s performance as expected was great, he has been in the industry for years and did not disappoint.
In a nutshell
‘The Box’ is a musical movie with a touch of feel-good genre, the movie flows organically and at a steady pace, making viewers enjoy the journey of the two main characters while listening to incredible music.
You can listen to the soundtrack of this film here, and make sure to watch the trailer below.
