My Wife Got Married

Story: By chance Deok-hyun (Kim Ju-hyuk) runs into his former colleague In-ah (Son Ye-jin). Even back then he was interested in her but his attempts to approach her were fruitless. However, now his date with her is going very well, the two are enthusiastic soccer fans, although they are cheering for rivaling teams, and they eventually become a couple. Even though In-ah assures him that she loves him, she oftentimes drinks a few glasses at bars and gets home late at night. Deok-hyun can't grant her that much liberty and confronts her. The two break up because In-ah isn't willing to change. But Deok-hyun realizes that he can't live without her. He asks her for a second chance and gets it. He has a plan to restrict In-ah's desire of freedom, though. He wants to marry her. After not giving up for weeks and month she agrees, eventually. The marriage is a happy one, even when the two only see each other weekends since In-ah gets a job in another town. But one day In-ah tells her husband that she loves someone else, but doesn't want a divorce. Instead she wants to marry that man as well...

Review: "My Wife Got Married" gives an astonishingly honest glance at polygamy and the problems that arise along with it. Nevertheless, those who expect a serious and tear-jerking drama because of that will be surprised. Instead the audience gets an extremely fast-paced romantic flick that is captivating thanks to some comedy, a lot of heart and, as it happens, an unusual view on a way of living that in most cases will hurt someone. Also pretty fascinating is the fact that the gender role is reversed here and therefore it's not the man who isn't satisfied with just one woman. Even though at first it is rather difficult to understand the decisions or ways of thinking of some of the individuals, the characters are fleshed out well enough for us to actually be able to get there later on, if we want to.

In-ah is a woman who always gets what she wants simply because she just takes it. What's important to her is keeping her liberty and so she right from the start leaves no doubt that she isn't anyone's woman and that she can't imagine a future with just one man. She lives her sexuality without any restraints and expects of her boyfriend that he accepts this. Even if this means that she cheats on him, which she would never call like that. Deok-hyun on the other hand is a faithful soul who wants a serious relationship. He is rather the passive kind of guy, traditional in his way of thinking and therefore gets jealous very fast when his girlfriend comes home in the middle of the night. And he has all reason for that. When he breaks up with In-ah we can only congratulate him, but sadly things aren't that easily resolved - because there is love involved...

Accordingly, Deok-hyun gives his relationship with In-ah another chance, which is similar to taking poison that slowly carries him off. His jealousy even becomes unbearable for the viewer at some points, while In-ah would wish for her boyfriend to understand her liberal way of thinking. But in fact this is even difficult for a man to comprehend. The movie deserves some praise for turning around the usual role allocation and by that also putting a mirror in front of a man's face which doesn't really reveal anything nice. Perhaps it even woudn't be that bad if In-ah would "only" cheat on her boyfriend. That is because she instead falls in love for a second time!

A woman who loves two men and sees one of them weekdays while living with the other one on weekends. Unimaginable. But that's just what Deok-hyun has to come to terms with. In the beginning the relationship between the two unfolds in a very lighthearted manner, their talks about soccer always remain a common basis of interest and many scenes between them just feel authentic. You soon start to like both of them. Later on we desperately try to understand In-ah, because that is what she requests Deok-hyun to do. Lying and deceiving, like other men do with their wives in the course of the film, isn't anything she wants to do. She wants to remain honest. Therefore, most part of the movie centers around the question whether it is possible to share the love of a woman with another man without jealousy eating away at you over time.

There are numerous throwbacks, but Deok-hyung actually tries to cope with the situation because In-ah means really a lot to him. Somewhere down the road we also stop calling to him to finally let the woman go. As in real life that sometimes just isn't possible. Kim Ju-hyuk ("Love Me Not") and Son Ye-jin ("A Moment to Remember") are great in their respective roles and director Jeong Yoon-soo ("Changing Partners") creates some very beautiful and appealing pictures that capture this romantic drama based on a novel by Park Hyun-wook convincingly. The subject of the film is what's keeping things running until the very end and so you might like the ending or not, you will in any case still give a thought about polygamy. That "My Wife Got Married" manages to do that without going for some easy tears at all is especially impressive and deserves big kudos.

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