Synopsis
This movie adapted from a popular radio drama by KIM Young Soo made the headlines even before the production since the producer paid a large amount of money for the original to defeat his rival producers. The film deals with a big family: a grandfather who loves to play janggi (Chinese chess), a caring father, a nagging mother and incompetent two sons and their wives, an unmarried sister-in-law and a cheerful kitchenmaid. Along with the family life, various incidents over the marriage of the family's youngest son and a country girl unfold. The first part of the film is composed of episodes about the loving couples who finally succeed in marrying despite the opposition from those around them. The second part is a moving story that the whole family is impressed by the true heart of the new daughter-in-law from the country. The family regain their happy life. In the movie, the causes of family trouble are the persistent mother-in-law, the incompetent sons and their incorrigible wives. By describing the unbending and good character of the new wife, the film emphasizes that the happiness of family life is based on the gentleness and spirit of self-sacrifice of woman. In New Wife , the sarcasm and witty criticism which the director LEE Bong Rae has shown in other movies seem to be reduced, but the film is full of witty lines and funny episodes as it is adapted from a radio drama. In those days, dinner time was handled importantly in family dramas as all family members could get together at that time. For all that, the dining scenes appear too frequently in this movie. Unlike the previous dining scenes full of trouble and arguments, the film ends with the scene showing the mother-in-law and two daughter-in-laws who never showed up in the kitchen before are busily working with the new wife. (LEE Gil Sung)