Simply A Masterpiece

Good movie but grossly overrated

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

Sunflower, a story about a 30-something gangster getting released from prison and trying to avoid sliding back to the thuggish underworld is a bit surprisingly not so much about being a gangster as it is about importance of family and forgiveness.As Korean cinema generally is, Sunflower is pretty heavy handed and syrupy when it comes to melodrama, though I'm personally one of those who forgive and even enjoy the slightly campy tear jerking occasions. Actors deliver a solid, though not particularly memorable, performances. Cinematography is also fine.The most obvious weakness in Sunflower is the predictability - you can see the conclusion of the movie coming from miles away and it plays out just as I expected it to play. Either way, a decent, watchable Korean flick to spend two hours with, no disappointments or broken expectations there.

This movie is very lackluster compared to the rest of Korean cinema, it is very typical and fits a little too much with a Hollywood title. I'd recommend better movies about gangster's such as New World and Inside Men. I was hoping for more from this movie but it delivered an extremely underwhelming and predictable experience.

Sunflower is a South Korean gangster film that stars Kim Rae-won and Kim Hae-sook.It is about former gangster Tae-sik,who is released from prison and heads back to his hometown to live in a small restaurant with a woman.It was written and directed by Kang Seok-beom.Tae-sik, who cleansed up the neighborhood back alley with his bare knuckle after dropping out of high school, is released on parole. The once sacrificial sheep of Tae-sik's frank Min-seok has become a detective and Tae-sik's henchmen friends have turned on each other's back. As if have forgotten the old days he shared with them, Tae-sik only does what he wishes to do, which was written down on his crumpling small scrapbook. Tae-sik finds a warm shelter in the small neighborhood food joint 'Sunflower', where Tae-sik handed his scrapbook to its owner before. Attempting to leave his past behind, he takes a job in a garage and tries to keep away from the local gangs, most of whom still live in fear of his brutal reputation. When a local politician wants to knock down his adoptive mom's restaurant to build a new shopping mall, Tae-sik struggles to avoid returning to a life of violence. However, nobody believes him but the owner and her daughter of the 'Sunflower'.This makes it an inspirational tale that doesn't glamorize the gangster lifestyle.Aside from that,it tells a story of someone who is about to leave the gangster life behind. It shows the respect that can come with not fighting and earning a hard days pay. The violence is sparse but always brutal without being graphic. It is whom the violence happens to that makes it shocking. But when the film takes the time and effort to humanize and empathize with characters. That is the biggest achievement of this South Korean film.

Tae-sik, who cleansed up the neighborhood back alley with his bare knuckle after dropping out of high school, is released on parole. The once sacrificial sheep of Tae-sik's friend Min-seok has become a detective and Tae-sik's henchmen friends have turned on each other's back. As if have forgotten the old days he shared with them, Tae-sik only does what he wishes to do, which was written down on his crumpling small scrapbook.Tae-sik finds a warm shelter in the small neighborhood food joint 'Sunflower'. Tae-sik tries to live a quiet new life with the lady who runs the restaurant and her daughter, Hee-ju.from the second half onwards the movie becomes more and more melodramatic and bursts of violence is thrown in every now and then. A little bit more common sense would have been desirable."Haebaragi, Sunflower" can't evoke the tears that it was actually expected to deliver.