Kind of enjoyable though it really makes no sense.
Steal My Heart is a cute little romantic comedy from South Korea whose plot makes absolutely no sense. So, provided you can ignore the impossibility of just about everything in the film, you’ll probably enjoy the movie. It has cute characters and some occasionally wacky moments that will catch you by surprise. All others who want a film that makes sense are advised to proceed at their own risk!
Ho-Tae (Joo Won) is a brilliant young criminal profiler. However, his attempt to capture a serial killer is not quite the success he hoped it would be. Although he was able to perfectly predict who the killer was and where he would be, just as the police are about to capture him, an errant driver runs over the killer—killing him in the process! Believe it or not, this is a very funny scene. However, now Ho-Tae has to locate the hit-and-run driver, as she sped away and the cops couldn’t catch her. Ho-Tae quickly locates the criminal but is shocked to see that she is his lost love—a woman he hasn’t seen nor heard from in a decade. And, because he has so much old baggage surrounding this lady, he can’t bring himself to arrest her and looks for excuse after excuse to delay the inevitable.
During this lengthy period, he even lets her stay at his house and Ho-Tae assumes that Yoon Jin-Sook (Kim A-Joong) is the sweet and innocent lady you see in his flashbacks. However, over time, he comes to realize that she is not quite so innocent. First, he learns that she doesn’t even have a driver’s license. But, more importantly, it turns out she’s already a wanted woman—and is a master thief. In fact, she’s so good that she even offers classes to would-be thieves! Although much of the film made little sense so far, once Ho-Tae realizes she’s a career thief he STILL hides her. And, in the process of trying to reform her, he ends up getting drug into her world of crime. Soon, the police are not only looking for her but her male accomplice…a man who looks just like Ho-Tae! In fact, it IS Ho-Tae but his co-workers haven’t come to realize this.
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How all this eventually works out makes zero sense—zero. But, if you suspend your brain and only look at the film as a slight rom-com, you probably will be able to wade through all the insane plot twists. Just don’t think about any of this, as you head just might explode!!
The actors and director (Lee Hyun-Jong) did a fine job with what they were given to work with. However, Lee Hyun-Jong ALSO wrote the film. He had a great eye for dialog but the plot often made little sense and, to me, would have been a much better film had some of the weird story elements been worked out better—such as Ho-Tae’s promotion at the end (huh?!?!). Not a bad film at all but not one that without problems.
Review by Lead Entertainment Writer & Film Critic, Martin Hafer
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