Movie Review Secret: Untold Melody (2025)

 

Secret: Untold Melody | 2025 | 1h 43m
Genre: Music/Romance | Country: South Korea
Director: Seo You-min | Writers: Seo Yoo-Min, Yoo Seung-Hee
Cast: Do Kyung-soo, Won Jin-ah, Shin Ye-eun
IMDB: 7.3
My Rate: 8/10

Yujun and Jeong-A's meeting brings significant changes to their lives. The music they play together fosters love between them, though a secret almost destroys everything.

Synopsis:

Yujun (Do Kyung Soo) returns to Korea after failing a piano competition due to an injury he sustained. Yujun then returns to music school where his father is also a teacher. In Hee (Shin Ye-Eun), one of the students at the school, takes Yujun on a tour until they stop at an old building where pianists practice. Yujun tries to look inside the building.

The sound of the piano is heard from one of the rooms. That's where Yujun first meets Jeong-A (Won Jin-A), a mysterious woman who will change his life. Jeong-A turns out to be in the same class as Yujun. Their interactions become more frequent, leading to feelings of love between the two. However, Jeong-A often skips school and doesn't have a phone to be reached. This makes it difficult for Yujun to contact her.

Yujun, who was previously traumatized and avoided playing the piano, rediscovers his love for the piano thanks to Jeong-A. Yujun plays the piano more often, making his father happy to see him. His father gives Yujun concert tickets and Yujun plans to invite Jeong-A to watch together. However, on the day they've been waiting for, Jeong-A doesn't show up. Yujun feels deeply disappointed.

Will their relationship end well?

 

Review:

Secret: Untold Melody is an adaptation or remake of the Taiwanese film titled Secret (2007). It has a similar core storyline, but there are some adjustments and plots that slightly differ from the previous film. Some differences include the background of the main characters, both Yujun and Jeong-A, the characters of the characters like Yujun's father and his friends, the added plot about Yujun's mother who is a pianist, Yujun searching for Jeong-A by going to the student union, and some other small details. Some of these plot differences strengthen the story, but some are also considered unnecessary.

The plot about Yujun's mother could be a good addition, but it's not handled well enough because it's only shown briefly and seems meaningless. The interaction between In Hee and Yujun is also not shown much, making it difficult for viewers to capture the process of growing feelings of affection and misunderstanding between In Hee and Yujun. His father's scenes are also too many, which actually don't mean much either.

There are some additional plots that provide meaning. Yujun's background returning to Korea provides quite an important meaning that is not just an addition. The addition of a dramatic story near the end of the story that may not be found in the first film. Although the ending might be better if it stopped when they met, it feels like it would give a deeper meaning to the audience after the intense scenes presented before.

The acting of the cast is actually good enough. Unfortunately, the chemistry between the main characters is not shown well. The romance that should have appeared didn't reach the audience and seemed flat. There are no meaningful events and lasting impressions in the interaction. Besides that, the story and scene transitions seem less flowing and broken. It seems like there are many stories that want to be shown while chasing a limited airtime.

There will definitely be adjustments from the first film made in 2007 to the film made in 2024, as well as adjustments to Korean culture. The more modernized time background is seen from the use of more sophisticated mobile devices, more modern locations, slightly contrasting with the use of more dominant brown colors that give a sense of the past. In addition, with the change in time background, the use of bicycles as a means of transportation feels a little less appropriate. This makes the time background a little blurry.

However, the lighting shown is quite good. By giving a dreamy and romantic impression in some scenes. The camerawork and camera movement techniques are also good, so they can capture important moments and details. The choice of songs and musicalization is also not inferior to the main film and still captivates the audience.

Another small drawback is the use of makeup and wardrobe. The significant time difference is not visible, especially for the characters of Yujun's father and Jeong-A's mother. A time span of 20 years should give a significant difference in someone's appearance, but this is not noticeable.

Actually, overall, there are many things that feel different. However, this article will not elaborate on each of these differences. Feel free to watch the movie Secret (2007) to compare. However, even though this film has been presented quite well, it is still not up to expectations. This film is felt to be unable to surpass the main film, especially in making the audience moved by the heartbreaking story.

 

Memorable Scene:

When Yujun competes in a piano competition to get the music score. This scene shows a pretty intense piano playing ability. As a music lover, you might feel that the scene shown is quite stunning and leaves an impression.

 

Memorable Dialogue:

"Meeting you is a miracle."

 

Ending:

Plot Twist

 

Recommendation:

Worth to Watch

 

(Aluna)