My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002) User Reviews

A nice but forgettable fantasy tale

[GSmith9072 · 6/10 · 21 June 2007]

Perhaps due to the fact that I couldn't access the English subtitles with the original Korean voice actors, I found the voice work engorging and mild. Also, I was surprised that a film that deals with the theme of growing up and moving on (a subject that usually gains instant sympathy from myself), didn't particular move me. I compare this film to Miyizaki's masterpiece "My Neighbor Tortoro" where fantastical characters accompany the overall theme of common childhood hardships. In "My Beautiful Girl Mari", the fantasy may or may not exist, but I found it not really relevant to the progression of the story. In fact, the story did have more depth and interest then the images and occurrences that took place in the metaphysical universe in which the protagonists meet Mari, an odd-looking floating female in white. Maybe because of the nature of the film's two protagonists, I couldn't really connect with them connecting emotionally to the nature of the fantasy. Certain aspects in the film's emotion do succeed however, such as the important friendship between the the boys. It makes the film's ending more touching and meaningful. The soft, soothing music also complements the story's tone and animation framework.

"Mari" is interesting due to it's unique artistic style. The animation is not the common type used, and it makes for a more interesting visual appeal. I saw a lot of potential however in the story and deeper meaning of the film, and found it quite lacking.

A worthy effort, but ultimately nothing special

[siderite · 6/10 · 16 February 2013]

The animation looked shoddy from the start, especially facial expressions, but I thought I would give this Korean anime a chance. It is about two close childhood friends that meet when they are adults and reminisce about the good old times. Or at least, this my interpretation of the vague plot. The reality of the film is that these two adults meet, you get a feeling they are old friends, and then there they are, as children, for the rest of the movie.

Now, the story is something of a childhood fantasy, where the two boys find a magical marble that transposes them into an alternate reality. It doesn't happen all the time, only at random moments that seem to have no connection to what goes on around. Then there are bits of school and personal life that defines the characters. It all ends when one of the boys has to leave for Seoul.

I felt it tried to be a Korean Miyazaki clone, but failed. The animation could have been better, but then again, if the story was good, I could have ignored it. The story was good in principle, too, with the childhood friendship, the mysterious girl (I guess she was a girl) from the fantasy world, the fluffy things, etc. However, it was all fragmented, unclear, like they wanted to make a series and then they collapsed all into a anime movie, with only the relevant bits salvaged for the end product.

Bottom line: If they wanted a masterpiece of atmosphere and animation, they couldn't do it. If they thought they were doing something with a deep plot and emotional story, they failed. The result is somewhat in the middle, not one nor the other, and feels unnatural, broken.

A Shameless Excuse To Make Another Boring Anime Film

[ebossert · 5/10 · 20 July 2008]

Like art-house movies, I have a love/hate relationship with anime. Sometimes I'm treated to a magical Miyazaki film, a quaint comedy like "The Girl Who Leapt Through Time", or an excellent romance like "5 Centimeters Per Second." Other times, however, I'm forced to sit through boring tripe like "Serial Experiments Lain" or "Grave of the Fireflies." I'm disappointed to report that "My Beautiful Girl Mari" safely rests within the latter category.

The big problem with this movie is that there's no development for any of the characters and all of the relationships are wafer thin. You barely get to see the boy spend time with his family, which is allegedly the primary cause for his discontent with his personal life. It might have been a good idea to spend a little more time within the household so the viewer gets a better understanding of why this kid is so depressed all the time. And what's with that girl at his school? Did she serve any purpose whatsoever in this movie?

It's no understatement to say that 90% of the running time is dedicated to showing the kid and his friend doing all sorts of dull activities like sleeping, walking around an old lighthouse, and other trivialities. Some of the swimming scenes were good, but that's about it. I don't know about you, but when I was a kid I would actually have fun when spending time with my friends, and a lot of the games we invented could easily fill a number of movies. A child's imagination is quite impressive when attempting to find something fun to do. It's too bad the filmmakers here were content with unimaginative wandering and dull-as-dirt filler material. Watch "Ponyo" (2008) for a more successful endeavor.

But I still haven't even gotten to the worst part of this movie. And let me tell you, it's a definitive black eye to the filmmakers of "My Beautiful Girl Mari." What is it? Quite frankly, there is virtually no time spent in the fantasy realm with Mari. This completely cripples the entire premise of the movie, and one scene in particular makes this perfectly clear. At the 50-minute mark the kid worries about how "all of this might end" even though he had literally spent less than 2 MINUTES with the girl throughout the ENTIRE FILM! That, my friends, is HORRIBLE relationship development.

Don't believe me? Try this. Imagine that you're on a first date. You meet this person at a restaurant, introduce yourself, and then sit at the table. While waiting for the server to bring you your drinks you say, "Gee sweety, I don't know how I'd live without you." Rest assured that you'll never get a second date.

It's really a shame, because the animation in this film is gorgeous at times, but the whole project falls in on itself with an uninspired script. Did the filmmakers not know that the premise they're attempting to sell is the conflict between reality and fantasy? Don't you think it would be a good idea to fully develop the difficulties of reality and fully develop the comforts of fantasy? Neither of which is given enough attention here. What we end up with is lots and lots of dull filler. Why do some filmmakers feel the need to make anime films as bland as humanly possible? It's no exaggeration to say that the title of the film should be changed from "My Beautiful Girl Mari" to "My Boring Life."

A cautious, profound tale about letting go and moving on

[BrianThibodeau · 25 August 2004]

MY BEAUTIFUL GIRL MARI (2002) Call this the not-so-WONDERFUL DAYS, if you will, a sentimental, perceptive tale of a young boy, Nam-woo, coping with the loss of his father (which probably has even greater resonance in a patriarchal society like Korea's), the illness of his grandmother, his mother's new boyfriend and the impending departure to the city of his best friend by retreating into a world of fantasy where he meets the title character, a mute girl who becomes the only character in his life with any sense of permanence: his mother is trying to move on, his grandmother has a very pragmatical sense of her own mortality, his best friend will be continuing at school in another city (something repeated in the present-day opening sequence, in which the friend announces again that he's off to study abroad, underscoring the sense of separation we all feel from even our closest friends with the passage of time).

It's ultimately a cautious, profound tale about letting go and moving on, something the main character deeply wishes he could avoid, and something that can stir-up similar childhood memories in even the most hardened cynic.

Director Lee Sung-gang wisely shuns conventional Japanese and western animation styles to create something entirely new and heartbreakingly beautiful in its deceptive simplicity. Computer animated but approximating traditional hand-animation in a wholly original style, the film boasts an absolutely gorgeous muted colour palate that brightens whenever Nam-woo enters the world of his mind.

In many ways, I prefer the honesty and simplicity of this film to the high-tech sheen of WONDERFUL DAYS, which suffers from a painfully straightforward story.

Why am I crying? Memories of childhood done right

[dbborroughs · 9/10 · 30 December 2004]

Its been a week since I've seen this movie and it still haunts me. In its way its one of the finest animated films I've seen. Its not perfect and I'm not certain that its for everyone but for those who it clicks with will find that they have found a new friend.

The story is told mostly in flashback.It concerns the summer when two boyhood friends were just about to be separated. As they prepare to be apart for the first time they find their lives are changing rapidly. Added into the mix are flights of fantasy, perhaps, as first one and then both boys are pulled into a strange world.

What exactly transpires isn't wholly clear, which is fine, since this is essentially the memories of one of the adults of that magic summer. What happens, fantastic or not is simply reported as real, and we are forced to sort out if its real or not. Memory plays tricks and we don't remember everything, or even always correctly. You could say that how one sees the film marks what sort of person you are.

This is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. There is a quality to the films images that has rarely been equaled in animated film. Several times the sheer beauty of what I was seeing brought me to tears.

The best part of the film is how it makes you feel like a child. Things transpire and you FEEL what its like to be a child. This is not an intellectual knowing that this is what its like to be a child, rather the film physically makes you FEEL what its like. I can't explain it other than to say its pure magic. I've seen literally tens of thousands of films and I've never felt like this ever.

Perhaps the only downside to the film is the odd nature of the telling. As I said things are not always instantly clear with what's happening. This is particularly noticeable at the start of the film where are characters are adults and they speak rather obliquely about whats going on. There is also several moments in main narrative where things seem a bit odd. While the oddness passes there is a lingering feeling, oh so very very minor, that something is amiss.

But the flaws are minor quibbles. This is one of the great animated films and proof that not all the best animation is coming from America or Japan. If you get the chance see this movie. There is something very special about it.

Definitely foreign

[estreet-eva · 2/10 · 5 December 2011]

Truthfully, I was lost trying to follow this South Korean important but I suspect it didn't make that much sense in the original Korean. It seemingly deals with a boy who finds a magic marble (I wonder what that would be worth on Antiques Roadshow?) which grants him entry into a magic realm where the furry Mari flies around on a big...uh dog maybe? The fantasy realm takes Jun-Ho out of his rather poor, rural world where his parent own a fish shop. That's about it as far as the plot goes but yet the 86 minute running time still crawls on by. Having said all that, it is a beautiful exercise in animation particularly the opening seagull sequence.

A quiet requiem to a beautiful childhood we all remember

[hektorthillet · 10/10 · 24 April 2006]

"My Beautiful Girl Mari" tells the story, or requiem if you will, of young Nam-woo's fast approaching adulthood, and the growing fear we all experienced growing up of ending up alone if we ever left that fantasy world that is our childhood were imagination is always company in the most bitter of days. We are softly submerged into a memory-like setting as the movie opens with what I would describe as one of the most haunting and calming intro montages I have ever seen in an animated film of this nature. You fly away on the path of a seagull, and for a moment you're thinking of your own life and memories with no motive; as Lee Byeong-Woo's opening score paints familiar images and summons warm thoughts of a beautiful memory that's past.

You are introduced to Nam-woo, a young boy living a simple life in the beautiful coast of South Korea. There we meet other simple subjects like his young caring mother, his pet cat Yo, his grumpy grandmother, and best friend Jun-ho. They are all at a turning point in their lives. Nam-woo's mother is starting to date again after her husband's death. The grandmother is ailing quickly and trying to guide in the right path those she will leave behind. Nam-woo himself, deals with abandonment issues, after the death of his father, the though of his mother moving on with another man therefore forgetting him and his father; and the upcoming departure of his best friend as their lives as kids end and adulthood begins. As with most kids Nam-woo finds comfort in his own fantasies embodied by an angel-like girl and the world she inhabits who represent a more enduring and lasting bond. But as reality happens and nature runs its course fantasies fade, and Nam-woo must move on with the rest of his loved ones despite his wishes that the things he loves would never leave him.

This is probably something most of us still deal with … things and people in our lives we refuse to let go. The character Nam-woo embodies that notion in a most realistic and gripping way. His loneliness and refusal of closeness with others by fear of abandonment is something many kids his age experience and later endure as grown ups. And I like very much the approach of this movie to these issues, in where there is not necessarily a happy compromise or an absolution; instead a world of options and question marks we might or might not figure out for the sake of the rest of our lives.

Exquisite animation, haunting score, reflective subjects, and a calming escape for the mind are all part of what this work of art has to offer to those seeking something more meaningful in animation. Reminiscent of other great works such as "Whisper of The Heart", and as refreshing and inspiring as a Ghibli film; this beautiful story from Korea shows that everyone out there has visions of animation just as pure and resonant as the big boys.

A Magical profound Fantasy

[lyrast · 10/10 · 8 December 2009]

I watched a Korean anime film "My Beautiful Giirl Mari" and it is really quite magical. It's an emotionally demanding film which requires the viewer to enter two worlds—apparently diametrically opposed. One is the inner world of the imagination of a child. A world where the rules don't apply, where one is carried on cushions of clouds. The other is the external "real" world that we perceive around us with our senses and is ruled by apparently immutable physical and social imperatives. It is the conflict of these two perspectives which drives the film and gives it its remarkable emotional power.

Perhaps the most poignant way we see the differences that underlie the two worlds is in the conflicting forms of love relationships that the film explores. Nam-woo clearly loves Mari. But even he admits that this love is impossible and can never be fulfilled. His relationship with Mari becomes a symbol of the search for beauty and love and joy which drives our being but which can never be satisfied. Mari is that unobtainable Grail for which we all search but can never obtain.

Against that is the love of Nam-woo's widowed mother for the young fisherman. Here is the love of the earth. The love which is part of the cut and thrust of living—a love which {as the grumpy Granny points out} is simply necessary.

As I said, the two universes seem separate. But at the climax they intersect. At that focal point we see that the two worlds are, in reality, complementary. The adult needs the fantasy universe as much as the child needs to relate to the external world around him or her. And in this magical conclusion we see the true unity that is needed to be truly completely human.

A cautious, profound tale about letting go and moving on

[BrianThibodeau · 30 August 2004]

Call this the not-so-Wonderful-Days if you will, a sentimental, perceptive tale of a young boy, Nam-woo, coping with the loss of his father (which probably has even greater resonance in a patriarchal society like Korea's), the illness of his grandmother, his mother's new boyfriend and the impending departure to the city of his best friend by retreating into a world of fantasy where he meets the title character, a mute girl who becomes the only character in his life with any sense of permanence: his mother is trying to move on, his grandmother has a very pragmatical sense of her own mortality, his best friend will be continuing at school in another city (something repeated in the present-day opening sequence, in which the friend announces again that he'll be studying abroad, underscoring the sense of separation we all feel from even our closest friends with the passage of time). It's ultimately a cautious, profound tale about letting go and moving on, something the main character deeply wishes he could avoid, and something that can stir-up similar childhood memories in even the most hardened cynic. Director Lee Sung-gang wisely shuns conventional Japanese and western animation styles to create something entirely new and heartbreakingly beautiful in its deceptive simplicity. Computer animated but approximating traditional hand-animation in a wholly original style, the film boasts an absolutely gorgeous muted colour palate that brightens whenever Nam-woo enters the world of his mind. In many ways, I prefer the honesty and simplicity of this film to the high-tech sheen of WONDERFUL DAYS, which suffers from a painfully straightforward story.

Lighthouses, marbles, and flying fish.

[anthropomorphisminc · 10/10 · 28 October 2002]

South Korea is a country mostly known in the animation industry for provided low cost labor in the completion of animation from other countries. Mari Iyagi is one, bright, shining attempt to show the originality and amazing work that Korean animators are capable of. It's a lone gun in the ambitiousness of such a project, and sadly, due to it's disappointing box office figures, may be for a long time.

To describe the visual style of the film, I can only say to take a little touch of Samurai Jack, a heaping helping of Myazaki, and a dash of Waking life (minus the lack of fluidity in animation and pretentiousness of story) to flavor. Then realize that doesn't begin to describe the unique look of this film, that can't be classified as traditional, digital, or 3d. It's a remarkable blend of Flash, Traditional, rotoscoping, and 3D Studio Max that captures both realistic environments and fantasy worlds like none other. The story builds up nicely, until it reaches the end and never goes anywhere, but for all the times it made me laugh out loud, feel for a character, or gape in awe, I forgave it.

It's not looking as though this film will get much of a release outside Korea, but if you ever get the chance to see it, don't let it slip by.

One of the most beautiful animated films ever made

[Rectangular_businessman · 10/10 · 31 August 2020]

How come such a wonderful film like this is only rated 6.6?

Personally, I loved this movie a lot. I think it is one of the most beautiful films ever made, not only from a technical standpoint, but also in the way in which it marvellously captures the innocence and vivid imagination from childhood without doing it in a corny, schmaltzy manner as many Hollywood flicks tends to do.

If you like the films from Studio Ghibli, then there is a strong chance you will enjoy this movie too.

I've seen it in the UK!

[jaysondh · 10 May 2004]

Just as the above user states - a unique and visually stunning animation piece from Korea! Highly recommended!

Namoo, a young boy living with his mother and grandmother, explores an old lighthouse with his friend Junho and his cat, Yeo. They discover a mysterious marble which transports them to a rich and vibrant fantasy world.

Unavailable outside of Korea? - Well, I recently (May 2004) imported the Region 3 DVD to the UK from Hong Kong for a very low price. Beautiful cover - that's what initially grabbed my attention! I'm certainly glad it did! My copy's entitled "Love Fantasy* My Beautiful Girl, Mari". Seek it out!

It grows on you

[jpb58 · 20 September 2009]

This was my first-watched Korean anime, from director Seong-Kang Lee, called My Beautiful Girl, Mari (2002). The artwork and the music are truly beautiful. This looked different from much Japanese anime I've seen. In many of those anime they seem to try and hide Japanese facial features (i.e. minimize slanted eyes). In this film the children look Korean. I think it's refreshing.

The story is about a withdrawn boy named Nam Woo whose father committed suicide. His mother is starting to date again and he's feeling neglected and ignored; even when the mother tries to arrange outings for her and her son and her new love interest Nam Woo has to be cajoled into going. He'd rather stay home and play with his cat.

The boy has one close male friend; they are almost like brothers, however this friend is about to go away to boarding school, leaving Nam Woo feeling even more deserted by the people he loves. His grandmother has a heart attack and is sent to the hospital. Possibly another death in the family.

Dealing with all the angst of growing up is never easy and so begins the strange adventure, whether real or imagined - it's never fully revealed, between Nam Woo and a beautiful voiceless girl who appears before him whenever he visits the top of the local lighthouse and rubs a marble with a tiny female image inside. Mari lives on the back of a giant white-pink dog who appears in the sky like a cloud. She takes Nam Woo on beautiful journeys and helps him to heal from his loneliness and sense of abandonment.

Nam Woo's friend's father owns a charter boat and one day he's out doing an extra run to make money for his son's school tuition, when a huge storm appears over the water and shoreline. Nam Woo implores his friend to come with him and they run to the lighthouse, hoping that Mari can stop the storm and prevent the man's death. But Mari won't come when Nam Woo rubs the marble. The lighthouse is breaking up and it looks like a tidal wave is about to hit. Suddenly a bolt of lightning hits the lighthouse and Mari descends from on high, spreading a veil of peace, light, and beauty around everyone, calming the sea. The friend's father is saved.

The friend goes off to his new school on the train, and as a parting gift Nam Woo hands him a little box. Inside is the treasured marble.

Several years pass and Nam Woo and his friend are grown men. They have jobs in different parts of the country. The friend makes an effort to visit Nam Woo however -- and at the train station where they say goodbye the friend hands Nam Woo back the little box with the marble inside.

Perhaps My Beautiful Girl Mari was a little slow at the start, but it's a dreamy, relaxing picture and so you should be prepared to be in a quiet room when you watch it, without disturbances, so you can enjoy its particular style of magic. 9 out of 10. If you love anime, don't miss it.