One of my all time favorites.

I have absolutely never seen anything like this movie before. You have to see this movie.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

My first Korean movie! A friend suggested, and I finally decided to take her up on her offer. To be honest, I had absolutely no faith in going forward with the movie choice but surprisingly ended up loving it. I think the two main characters did more than enough justice to the movie. Not the best Korean movie out there I suppose, but very much watchable and entertaining. I thought Ji-yeon Lim was very pretty in the movie, and so did the the guy actor, Seung-heon Song. In my personal opinion, guys shouldn't be pretty and doll like as these Korean actors are. The only thing manly about them is the smoking and shaving, if there was anything to shave at all. (maybe I failed to see the stubble) More than anything, I liked the 'The Rose', sung by Aoi Teshima at the ending credits. What seemed to be like Korean lyrics, ended up being her accent.

The movie is set in 1969 and revolves around an Army Colonel Kim Jin-pyong, played by Song Seung Hoon who is recognized as a war hero who served in the Vietnam War. He is married to a daughter of a high ranking official. Song depicts an introverted character who keeps to himself amidst the mental suffering of post-traumatic disorder. However, everything changes when he falls in love with a beautiful young wife of a subordinate. The love story between the two is almost like love at first sight. Yet, it is pure, passionate and grows up to an obsession for Colonel Kim where he even tries to take up his own life at one point. The latter half of the movie flows quite fast and certain areas remain ambiguous to the viewer. The sad ending to the movie makes it more real and compassionate. Overall, the movies showcase how a man can change when he finds his own true love and how it becomes a destruction. If you are a fan of Hollywood movies like Unfaithful or Fifty Shades of Grey, this movie Obsessed is in par with them as per Korean standards. Song Seung Hoon's first movie of this genre and a must watch. I believe his acting must be appreciated more in this movie as this is a very different character compared to the ones he has played before and he does justice. Rookie actress Lim Ji-yeon on the hand shows mature acting and very bold. Highly recommended.

This is got to be one of the most self-indulgent movie I have ever seen. Well self-indulgent for the actor Song Seung-hun. It's pretty much that "oh I can't live without you girl" premise to elevate his popularity with the female audiences. The story is straightforward, I don't even think there needed to be a military background or anything like that. Everything is very predictable for the most part. It's sad when the protagonists are more dis-likable than the side characters. As a matter of fact, the actor and actress that had the side or supporting characters roles did a much better job than the primary. Overall, this is a forgettable flick. And I can see only one reason this movie could sell tickets, it's to see Song Seung-hun with his shirt off. There is little to almost nothing in it for the guys to enjoy.2.5/10

It's rare to find a top-billed South Korean actor like Song Seung Hoon in an erotic romance, which probably explains why 'Obsessed' shot up to the top of the box-office charts when it opened in its home territory earlier this year. But lest you think this is some softcore porn masquerading as artsy drama, let us caution you that it isn't quite as lurid as you think it is, notwithstanding the fact that much of the early buzz has been of the explicit lovemaking scenes between Song and his newcomer co-star Im Ji-Yeon.In case you need a number, we counted a grand total of three such intimate sequences, each of which is depicted with just the right amount of passion to convey the intensity of the love between Song and Im's characters, but doesn't go on too long to veer into exploitation. But though we recognise why they are the movie's selling point, there is much more to this tale of forbidden love than just these three sequences; indeed, we can safely say that those looking only for such lurid pleasures will probably go away quite disappointed, which says a lot about what the movie is not about.Co-written and directed by Kim Dae-woo, the sumptuously mounted period drama sees Song play the decorated Vietnam War Colonel Kim Jin-pyeong, who spends his restless days in charge of training at an army camp in the countryside. Still reeling from the effects of post-traumatic stress disorder following his Vietnam stint, he is also caught in a loveless marriage with Suk-jin (Jo Yeo-jeong), the latter of which wants nothing more than to be pregnant with his child. Jin-pyeong of course has no such ambition, so their sex is more obligatory than anything else.That changes with the arrival of Jong Ga-heun (Im), the wife of Captain Gyeong U-jin (On Ju-wan), whom had recently sought a transfer to Jin- pyeong's unit just so he can be closer to his idol. Jin-pyeong's encounter with Ga-heun begins when he springs to her rescue after she is held hostage by a mentally unsound soldier while visiting the camp hospital with the rest of the wives' club. The chemistry between them is mutual - both are equally taken at first sight by the other and through subsequent gatherings between their families find their attraction growing for each other - but the titular obsession unfortunately is his alone.Throwing caution to the wind, Jin-pyeong stops not only at learning the waltz to impress her but goes as far as to arrange assignments for her husband and his wife just so they can spend more alone time together. Needless to say, it all goes downhill for Jin-pyeong very quickly, especially when in a drunken stupor, he loses control and flies into a rage at both Ga-heun and her husband U-jin in front of all the other men and women - including his wife Suk-jin - in his very own home. It is as much of a climax as you're going to get, as if the restraint of the rest of the movie were ultimately building up to that moment of his outburst.And yet even though it is a slow burn, you'll find the romance surprisingly engaging from start to finish. Kim is no stranger to such tales of love that defies social boundaries - he was the scriptwriter of a similarly racy period romance 'Untold Scandal' in 2003, and wrote and directed 'Forbidden Quest' in 2006 and 'The Servant' in 2010 - and with sensitivity and nuance observes how a carefully controlled character like Jin-pyeong would unravel by the mere act of falling in love with a woman that he loves but cannot own. Right from the start, one recognises how his attraction for Ga-heun would ultimately end in tragedy, no matter of course the moral implications of their extra-marital affair.The fact that their love story is so engrossing is also a testament to the chemistry between Song and Im. There is hardly any doubt at any point that their attraction is mutual, or that the sex between them is really an act of love on both their parts - as opposed to just being borne out of lust. Kim carefully details every glance, stare and smile that passes between the two actors, and his astute choice of close-ups at every turn brings his audience closer to his two lead characters.What is also worthy to note is how Kim fleshes out the artificial world in which his characters play out their dalliance. In particular, the strict social hierarchy that exists as an unspoken rule among the army wives (what with Suk-jin being the camp commandant's daughter) and their subsequent disdain towards Ga-heun who is not just prettier but refuses to stoop to their level of engaging in gossip is especially engrossing - and on that same note, it is admirable that Kim doesn't make Suk-jin out to be some spiteful lady but rather the only one among the rest of the ladies to actually behave friendly towards Ga-heun.Yes, 'Obsessed' may have caught your attention for being the rare Korean drama that has a major star engage in explicit sex scenes on screen, but that should remain an inadvertent selling point rather than its only one. It's not often that you get a classy period romance from Korea, especially one that chooses as its setting the Vietnam War of the late 1960s and 1970s, and 'Obsessed' will have you in its rapture about how love can both consume and destroy at the same time.