Manufactured Emotion and an unrealistic tale

Rating: 7/10 (18 December 2005)

I read comments on this IMDb, most with 10 out of 10 rating. Therefore my expectation was high, but I came out with an annoyed and disappointed feeling.
The characters are very likable but the story is very weak. The love between these two main characters is idealized, in my opinion. First of all, such love cannot survive over 20 years. In the movie they are still deeply in love with each other. While such love is plausible but it is simply not real. With 50% divorce rate in this country in mind, and as someone who has been through such process, I see how love can change over time, drowned by daily mundane tasks and familiarity between two people. It is a miracle that a romantic love can survive 10 years, not to say 20 years. In the movie, the two main characters maintain their love through secretive meetings once a while. Such love may be able to survive because it contains no daily context, and no struggling through life through shared effort together.
I do like the music and cinematography very much. Every shot is very powerful. However, the writing and story is so weak that a skilled director cannot save it.