Cloud USA

— Written by Stephe Thornton, Managing Editor ^@@^

R2B Return to Base account: A Tale of the Three Ajummas (September 6, 2012)

Like Rain, R2B: Return to Base brings people together who would usually never meet or speak with each other.

I’ve been to see Rain’s Korean summer blockbuster, R2B: Return to Base, five times now here in Atlanta. Yes, five. So far.

The first time was just to get it out of my system. We have anticipated this film since early fall of 2010, when he was filming KBS TV drama The Fugitive: Plan B with the Media asking, Will Rain put on that Red Scarf? Will Rain star in a new Red Muffler remake? (It’s been nearly two years to the day that those rumors started.) We’ve waited since the announcement came from CJ E&M that yes, he would. And since early 2011, when he began R2B filming and behind the scene glimpses came filtering out. Summer 2011, when R2B filming wrapped. October 11, 2011, when Rain walked into army boot camp, snagged for two years by the R.O.K. military. After a full two years of waiting for R2B to finally drop in Korea, and then having it not only come to the U.S. a mere week after that but to the ATLANTA METROPOLITAN AREA with ENGLISH SUBTITLES, it was either be there on opening day or bust.

It really didn’t matter where I had to go. It could have been hours away at the other end of Georgia, or across the border into another state. Terri and I drove to NYC last fall for SM Town at Madison Square Garden. You think we’re not going to drive to RAIN?

The second viewing was for my review of the film (which I’m in the process of writing now, please stay tuned). The third and fourth times were to gauge audience reactions (also a part of my review) and for fun. The fifth time (and any hereafter, R2B is in the third week of its limited release here) was totally for my personal enjoyment (again, fun). Rain being larger than life in his latest project, on a movie screen that I can drive to, is an amazing occurrence that I never thought would ever happen. His talent shines like new money in this movie, as do his cast mates’, and R2B itself is a romp of doggone good entertainment. You laugh, you cry, and you laugh again. Heheh.

You know, it would have probably helped English-speaking moviegoers to know that R2B was Korean WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES. Fail. 😦

When I arrived at the AMC Colonial 18 in Lawrenceville last week on September 6 for what I thought was the final showing of R2B, I certainly didn’t expect anyone else to be there. It was a weekday, early evening, barely past rush-hour traffic, and most people (who weren’t still stuck on the roads or on the job) would be at home feeding their kids and trying to unwind from another hard work day. But as I walked into the theater, I heard loud talking. Loud talking, in Korean. I froze at the stairs when I saw the two ajummas (아줌마) sitting in the middle of the theater in the semi-darkness. They quieted, and stared back. I stared at them. They stared at me, probably thinking I had wandered in the wrong door. After all, I’m a large Black woman and R2B is straight-up Korean, kind of a strange combination when you think about it. I stared at them. They stared at me. I stared at them. They stared at me. Finally, I snapped out of it, went up the stairs past them, and found a seat where I had a great panorama of the screen.

While waiting for the movie to start, I got comfy-cozy, had some snacks, and listened to the ajummas talk. Loudly. 🙂 Only a few words that drifted up to me made sense, seeing as I’m a mere grammar student at this point. “괜찮아” (gwaenchanh-a, it’s okay)… “네맞아요” (nemaj-ayo, yeah that’s right)… “우리차” (uli-cha, our car)…” 저쪽 이상” (jeojjog isang, over there, over yonder)… I thought I caught a couple of 비s up in the mix too, but they were talking so fast…

R2B started and I was a happy camper, even more so because I realized that, with the ajummas being loud, I could catch some their reactions. They were quiet when Rain came on screen for the first time, but chuckled and laughed at his antics and those of his cast mates’ throughout the film. They guffawed at the whole glider scene, chattered excitedly over aerial combat, cracked up at his reaction when he finally got a date, and seemed properly somber during the suspenseful parts. They got really quiet when I laughed at Rain with the Korean cartoon tears on his face (I think an American finding that funny probably freaked them out).

All too soon, the movie was over and singer Heo Gyu was crooning the ending theme “Closer To the Sun.”

I looked down below me. I didn’t see anyone. The ajummas had been so quiet the last half-hour, I assumed they had snuck out close to the end, so I checked my phone, grabbed my tote and stood up to leave. Turns out they were just really short women, because that was when they popped up out of their seats, turned around, and stared up at me.

I stared at them. They stared at me. I stared at them. They stared at me. It was like déjà vu, man, and it was starting to get weird, so I tried the first thing that came to me. I waved. And they waved back.

That was my cue to not leave the way I’d come in, but to cross the theater and leave with them.

Their first question was, “You like Korean film?” Me: “Oh, yes, for a long time.” Ajumma #1 was digging frantically in her purse, I wasn’t sure why. Ajumma #2: “This film has famous singer, you know?” Ajumma #1: “Yeah, famous singer from Korea. L-l-l-ain.” Ajumma #2: “Bi. You know Bi?” Me (Ajumma #3) (with a chuckle): “Ooooh, yes. I know Rain, all right.” Hahaha! Hilarious, right? Picture me so tickled, I was grinning like this at that question:

They were all too happy to prime me on Rain as we strolled out into the carpeted corridor. “This is his film, yeah.” “He’s in the Army now, yeah. In the Army.” They seemed quite proud of him. “He’s a good singer. Really good.” “Oh, so handsome! Real cute, yeah.” “Actor, he does everything.” “He’s the best dancer. The best. Real sexy. Like this here…”

That’s when Ajumma #1 (who also could have been a Halmeoni)(할머니) proceeded to bust a move right there in the AMC that looked something like minute marker: 0:37:

Ajumma #2 cracked up at her. I just lost it when she tried to do an abbreviated “Hip Song” grind. 😀 Talk about awesomeness.

They were very surprised when I told them I’d been a Rain fan for nigh on seven years and considered him a real talent.

After we hit the Ladies Room, we talked about the new CJ Entertainment film coming to the AMC in September, Masquerade (starring Lee ByungHun), and how I became interested in Asian culture as a child, how my Air Force vet father adored Seoul when he served there and sent us home everything from clothing to furniture to dolls in hanbok, and how much both ladies had enjoyed R2B.

Out in the parking lot, as we separated to go to our cars, Ajumma #1 finally found what she’d been searching for in her purse and gave it to me—a pack of Orion Gosomi premium biscuits. “For you. They’re really good.” Talk about making my heart happy! I love how eager the Koreans I’ve met have been to share of themselves, their culture, and simply help me out, even if they could barely speak English. That’s what life’s all about, folks. (She was right. Those crackers were delicious.)

Like Rain, R2B: Return to Base brings people together who would usually never meet or speak with each other.

This has been a tale of three ajummas and one Korean film. And how, when anyone steps outside of the norm with a smile and a wave, they can help make the world better.

— Stephe @cloudusa.wordpress.com / CloudUSA.org

~ by Cloud USA on September 11, 2012.

Posted in Bi Rain, Bi Rain movie, Bi Rain News, Bi Rain R2B: 리턴투베이스, Bi Rain R2B: Return To Base, Cloud USA, Jung Ji Hoon
Tags: Bi Rain movie, Bi Rain R2B: 리턴투베이스, Cloud USA News, Hangeul student Stephe, Jung Ji Hoon, Korean Culture, korean entertainment, R2B North American opening, R2B: Return To Base, rain bi, Rain fan account