Keys to the Heart is a movie I did not expect I would cry my heart out. When I read the title for the first time, I thought it would be a cliché romantic story about capturing someone's heart. However, the movie proved to me otherwise, and it is not what I expected it would turn out to be. I loved how the director gives a glimpse of the character's past without spoiling the whole story, which intensifies your curiosity, and the same time it retains you asking for what-ifs. The story was incredibly realistic and will give you certain realizations. Somehow, this movie reminds me of Tony DeBlois, a musical savant who is blind, who has the same condition as Kim Jin-Tae's.
SYNOPSIS. // Kim Jo-Ha, unemployed and a former Welter Weight Asian Champion, was accidentally reunited with his mother Joo In Sook and his unknown brother, Kim Jin-Tae, who has level 2 autism with exceptional talent in piano. The story starts with his mother offering him to live with them. He was hesitant at first since he was estranged from his family. However, after being a vagrant for years after finishing his military service, he accepts his mother's offer with the condition to stay out of each other's businesses. It was a win-win situation for both Jo-Ha and In-Sook, for the latter gets to reconcile with her older son. The former gets to stay in a lovely apartment and eats foods without paying anything. But patching up his relationship with his mother keeps him from staying with his family. For all the years of being away, Jo-Ha has grown a feeling of resentment towards In-Sook for undoubtedly leaving him with his abusive father.
Jo-Ha pushes his boxing career even in his 40's, although a bit old and rusty, he still has the speed for an aged man. He usually takes out his problems with boxing, which later on caused his accident. Luckily for him, he was bumped by Han Ga Yul, a former piano prodigy who was sympathetic enough to pay his hospital bills and pay him for the damages.
The Kim brothers had their differences and could not quickly get along, given Jin-Tae's autistic behavior. One night, Jo-Ha accidentally hit Jin-Tae, who passed out afterward. Eventually, the brother's dissimilarity was not the root cause for Jo-Ha and In Sook's relationship to farther drift away. It was In Sook's favoritism towards the younger brother and her apathy towards Jo-Ha's feelings. //
When I watched the movie, I realized that their film industry produces many quality cinemas with great content and successful actors and this movie is not far from it. Park Jung-min, who played the character of Jin-tae, was the one who stood out the entire film from my standpoint. He delivered the character very well, judging from his speech pattern to his facial expressions. He also gives justice to the character as a piano prodigy. All I could say is that the piano scenes were remarkable. You could feel the actor's emotion that he is trying to portray in playing Chopin's and Mozart's pieces. Grace is the perfect word to describe the overall presence that it gave. As someone who also plays the piano, it indeed looked flawless. I must say that there may be parts of the movie where his acting seems slightly off from the character. Nevertheless, he pulled out what the condition looked like. Park Jung-min must be admired for his excellent acting skill.
I also enjoyed Lee Byung-hun, who played Jo-Ha. His character went from a down-and-out violent boxer who gives flyers on the street in the morning and sleeps in a book café to fulfill his needs to a man who initially has a golden heart covered by his past trauma left misunderstood. He may seem arrogant and shows no concern about his family, but deep down, we know that it is not what he truly is. Of all the plots in the movie, his character development was my favorite. The mother, In-Sook, act by Youn Yuh‑Jung, was a great actress as well. Her character was an abused wife who would instead choose to commit suicide than indict his husband and live a better life with her children. Her character plays a huge part in the story, and it mostly centers around her. Somehow, I felt that there is more than she could give to ace her character.
As someone who watches several movies with different genres, it was easy to predict what will happen in the next minutes. I think anyone who was seriously watching the movie straightly for an hour did easily predict the ending. A dying mother who wants to reconcile with her oldest son, an autistic piano prodigy who will soon be recognized and a once apathetic man takes care of his dying mom. The foreshadow was easy to spot, but the director did great in showing pieces of the character's past. Coincidence also plays a big part in the story. There was much give and take like how Han Ga Yul, who happens to be a former piano prodigy whom Jin-Tae's idolizing, met Jo-Ha in a car accident and later helps the autistic pianist to play in a concert. In meeting Jin-Tae, she was also able to regain her passion for music that she once lost.
As much as I have wanted to expand the movie's details further, we were cut short for the film only runs for two hours and barely explains more of Jin-Tae's condition. Moreover, if someone would watch the movie briefly, they could have mistaken it for an action movie since the first minutes shows of Jo-ha's boxing career. Furthermore, the movie was no surprise, the scenes were predictable, but the cast actings are on-point, which gives off the film its greatest strength.
Keys to the Heart is a Drama/Comedy movie that will teach you the value of family. A quote from the film that struck me was, "Strangers become family too when they live and eat together," I realized in this part that no matter how things get broken, they can always be mended the way they were before, which is beyond amazing. Most of the show's scenes focus on the mother and son relationship, which makes the other characters a mere plot device like Jin-Tae's, which I was hoping to have more spotlight. Although In-Sook portrays a loving mother and has a large part in treating Jin-Tae's condition, she was neglectful for Jo-Ha's feelings, which farther caused his emotions to drift away.
INSIGHTS. What I would like to highlight was the mother's love and care for his autistic boy. She made sure that he could live a life like an average person and supported his piano passion. I knew from the moment when I watched Jin-the play the piano that he is extraordinary. She even built a separate place to hone his skills and work overtime to ensure her child's future. A remarkable moment for me in the movie was when the two brothers learn to accept each other's differences. Jo-Ha protected his younger brother from bullies and even taught him self-defense. He was able to let his younger brother experience things that are out from his routine and shelter. Jo-Ha took care of Jin-Tae, who was once a stranger to him and thought of ways to make him happy.
Kim Jin-Tae is an extraordinary person. Although his disability prevents him from doing things that a healthy human can, it did not stop him from becoming a prodigious musical savant. His family did not let his disability define him as a person, and it is the same as what I expect to learn in our SPED course. We do not get to see and call these people by their condition; instead, we see them as a person, as the same human being, who are held by their disability. During our previous professional education subjects, we tackled learners' diversity. We would often hear the line that "Everyone is unique," or no child was born the same. As a teacher, we are challenged to consider our student's differences. Learn how to address a child with exceptionalities and teach him/her how to reach his/her needs in the most effective way that we can muster. If we are guided accordingly, we would deeply understand our learners' situations who deal with their disabilities or learning difficulties.
Overall, the movie is very heartwarming with a great message about family reconnection. It shows autism, domestic abuse, family separation, and how it affects a child. The cast's acting will surely tear your heart out, and you will enjoy many character developments. I highly recommend this movie for people who wanted to watch films with a mixture of comedy and drama. The movie Keys to the Heart truly suits its title that warms anybody's heart.
Watch and Enjoy the full trailer below!
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