Director: Seo Eun-young
Starring: Yeo Jin-goo, Kim Hye-yoon, Cho Yi-hyun, Na In-woo, Bae In-hyuk
Country of Origin: South Korea
Two students separated by time find the right wavelength to establish an inconceivable personal connection.
Despite a difference of two decades, college junior Kim Yong (Yeo Jin-goo) and sophomore Mu-nee (Cho Yi-hyun) somehow stumble upon a ham radio frequency which allows them to communicate.
It is suggested a lunar eclipse stirs something in the sky as the pair remarkably tune into the same signal.
Both attend the same university, Kim Yong in 1999 and Mu-nee in 2022, and despite an obligatory period of confusion eventually strike up a heartwarming friendship.
Sweet without the need to urgently seek out a sick bag, the bond they form leads to a series of improbable discoveries which link them inextricably.
Kim Yong falls head over heels for freshman mechanical engineering student Seo Han-sol (Kim Hye-yeon) and seeks out dating tips from the streetwise Mu-nee, who has a crush on fellow student Young-ji (Na In-woo).
Although focused primarily on Kim Yong, played with charm and conviction by Yeo Jin-goo, the narrative rotates from the past to the present using a split screen as the two protagonists make their feelings clear.
Although a remake of the 2000 film of the same name, it should be judged on its own merits.
The time travel theme is handled capably by director Seo Eun-young, especially in its humorous moments. Technology and terminology play equal parts in lightening a story suffused with just the right amount of saccharine. A joke which brings together the 1999 thriller Shiri and a modern-day voice activated personal assistant really hits the mark.
The naive and innocent intricacies of Korean dating are also captured with accuracy and panache. Even as it encroaches on sanctimonious ground Ditto still manages to get its message across and might even provoke tears as everything is decoded in an emotional final act.
Despite Cho Yi-hyun’s earnest portrayal of Mu-nee and Kim Hye-yoon’s winsome performance as Seo Han-sol, it is elusively quick turtle Mok-man that steals part of the show as a background player in an endearing tale of destiny which unfolds over the airwaves.
Stephen Kasiewicz 