The German start date of the Korean production “Hear Me: Our Summer” by Sun-ho Cho was well chosen at the beginning of April: Spring is slowly coming through, and maybe some days even feel like summer. This leads to an increased release of happiness hormones, estrogen and testosterone, creates the famous spring fever – and of course the joy of the final summer breakthrough increases from week to week. “Hear Me: Our Summer” is the perfect film for this transitional period: bright, airy, happy.
The stars Hong Kyung and Roh Yoon-seo are real charisma bombs and let the sparks fly during their romance. It's easy to forget that the remake of the 2009 Taiwanese film “Hear Me” actually only has one original idea: there is hardly any spoken dialogue, most of the time the conversations only take place via sign language – but that only makes the film even sweeter. If the makers hadn't added a stupid twist in the last few minutes, we would probably be dealing with a perfect feel-good film.
The newly in love Yong-jun (Hong Kyung) and Yeo-reum (Roh Yoon-seo) chat with sign language.
Yong-jun (Hong Kyung) has finished school, but still doesn't really know what he should do with his life. So he initially works as a delivery boy in his parents' restaurant. One day he brings an order to a swimming pool and comes across a group of deaf girls, including Yeo-reum (Roh Yoon-seo). Yong-jun is immediately smitten with Yeo-reum. Coincidentally, the two meet again on the street shortly afterwards:
Her scooter is broken and the young man, who also knows sign language, knows what to do. Without further ado, the vehicles are swapped: she rides his scooter, he takes hers to a mechanic friend. But it doesn't just stop at breakdown help: the two of them understand each other better and better, do a lot together, gradually get closer and realize that they are at similar points in their lives. But one day Yeo-reum suddenly pulls away from Yong-jun for no reason it seems…
The beauty of a special language
There is no antagonist, no major dramatic development, even the small dramatic peak in the last third quickly dissipates. “Hear Me: Our Summer” instead devotes a large portion of its running time to the slowly blossoming relationship between Yong-jun and Yeo-reum. The fact that, despite the basic simplicity, the action quickly takes you emotionally and entertains you incredibly well is largely due to the aforementioned use of sign language, which forces the actors to work much more with their facial expressions. While facial expressions are only a side effect of spoken language, here they are essentially the focus. They convey everything that is otherwise expressed with the voice.
In other words: The (subtitled) words are taken to another, more intense level here. Of course, sign language in film itself is nothing new. But because “Hear Me: Our Summer” relies so consistently on gestures, it conveys a whole new sense of the beauty of this type of conversation. You also get used to it so quickly that you're almost a little irritated when someone speaks again in a passage.
“Hear Me: Our Summer” makes every effort to convey the experience of deaf people to the audience.
The chic production is also impressive: one of the most beautiful scenes takes place in a club where Yong-jun takes his girlfriend and her competitive swimmer sister Seo Ga-eul (Kim Min-ju). When the trio enters, the loud music is almost completely faded out, only the dull frequencies of the bass drum can be heard. You literally immerse yourself in the acoustic world of the deaf. After a trip to the bar, Yong-jun leads the women to the speakers and asks them to put their hands on the membrane and feel the music. The sound is turned up again for the audience before the trio heads to the dance floor.
Hear Me: Our Summer could be so thoroughly wonderful, a heartwarming, superbly acted, feel-good film. Unfortunately, there is a “twist” shortly before the end that not only doesn't seem very coherent, but also raises the question of how seriously the authentic portraits of deaf people were actually taken before.
Conclusion: Too bad, too bad and again too bad. While it certainly isn't original in every way, Hear Me: Our Summer still definitely had the makings of a great feel-good romantic film. Unfortunately, the ending, which is not only surprising but also surprisingly stupid, leaves a bad aftertaste.