Beauty Water is a thriller/fantasy South Korean animated movie directed by Kyung-hun Cho. We all get attracted to beauty, which is also a psychological phenomenon called the ‘halo effect’. Beauty Water (Film) explores this theme conveying that beauty goes beyond being skin-deep. It is based on a popular Webtoon Anthology,Tales of the Unusual, in Korea.
Premise
Beauty Water (Film) revolves around an obese makeup artist Yaeji who is insecure about her appearance, residing in a world where external beauty is everything. She is bullied and made fun of every day by people around her, but hides her rage and humiliation that is only unleashed as an online troll. Going through all this, she receives a mail about a beauty product, “Beauty water”, which can transform her face in just 20 minutes. Although unaware of the product’s powers, her yearn for a beautiful face makes her try the product. After encountering how pretty her face has become, she started craving for a slender and toned body, which lured her to the surgeon who sent her the product.
Blind with the effects that the product has made on her face, she agrees to pay the steep cost of 20 million to the surgeon for a complete transformation of her body. The portrayal of the character while she is asking for money from her parents depicts the weakness and lust for having the perfect body and face.
After coming out of her ugly cocoon, Yaeji’s life completely changed. She started getting all the attention she craved for, changed her name and became a celebrity. But with so many opened doors of success and popularity, Yaeji has unknowingly opened the door to greed and an unending desire. Even a minor change in appearance made her use the product again and again which led to major issues eventually.
When she finally brought her life back on track, little did she know that something worse is waiting for her.
Brief Analysis
Yaeji’s reliance on the beauty product, made her desperate and maniacal. The best part of the movie can be seen towards the end when Yaeji sees her childhood in front of her and finally understands that the chase of false fame and acceptance made her blind to the fact that she already has two people who truly love her for who she is.
Moon Nam-sook has given her voice to the lead character of the movie, Yaeji and has done a wonderful job in bringing Yaeji to life. The depiction of Yaeji’s anger and stress because of the constant bullying has been vividly shown through the voice and is praiseworthy. The makers have also adapted the original storyline to make the movie more believable and relatable.
The background music adds on to the plot, creating the air of suspense and tension among the audience. The scenes and dialogues, though may seem harsh and illogical, bring out the true horrors of the society where people still want to watch a beautiful face and zero figure body on the screen.
Beauty Water (Film) is filled with terrifying and bone-chilling scenes, which will definitely make the viewers think twice about their idea of beauty and how far they are willing to go to achieve it!
Beauty Water (Film) isn’t available for Online Streaming.
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