Meu Nome é Loh Kiwan (2024)

Bloody, Lonely, Cold, Foreigner, Sad, Hungry…

For the first hour of the movie, I was completely absorbed, watching Loh Kiwan navigate life as a North Korean immigrant in Belgium. Eyes wide open, I tried to catch any information that would explain why he escaped China. I went in blind, avoiding the synopsis because they tend to spoil my fun or mess with my expectations. All I knew was that Song Joong Ki played the role of a broken man trying to survive—survive his sadness, his loss, and the harshness of life.

Then she appeared—the main lead—a little thief who stole his wallet, the last memento from his mother. The plot was “good,” though sometimes slow. It tackled the significant subject of immigration and the lengths people go to for a better life, as well as the individual stories behind each immigrant.

However, the female lead's story overshadowed this focus. More attention should have been on Loh Kiwan's journey. Their love story felt rushed, as if key moments between them were missing. They couldn’t have fallen in love over just a silent meal.

Song Joong Ki did a fantastic job, portraying every emotion convincingly and being sweetly kind. However, the representation of the locals was poor, possibly to emphasize Loh Kiwan’s suffering, but still lacking.

In conclusion, it could have been much better. The ending is open to discussion, so I’m rating it an 8/10.

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Love

I am not going to review the whole film. It is impactful, it is emotional, it is gritty... great acting. I want to comment on the love reltionship part. There seems to be so much discussion about romance part of the movie and how it was not needed at all and even SJK has refused the script 7 uears prior as he didn't see the point of it. My take on this (as a refugee myself) is that often we seek home. Be it a new country and a new community but often it ends up being a person. The connection. Place to belong to. That is why I am completely ok and feel it is important part of the refugee process to have it in this movie as well.

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what should have been a great one , with lackluster screenplay end up an average watch.

Rated it 7/10.
I feel disappointed.
"I’m not an SJK fan but I’m not a hater either. I'm neutral."
" The story was flowing along intrestingly and pretty good showing the male lead's hardships. I was hoping it would continue that way. His struggles for work and warmth and a roof over his head were authentic. "
"The movie seemed to have spent more time on the “love” story and Marie’s drama than on what should’ve been the focus of the story, Loh’s journey to freedom. "

The Fl sounded like a spoiled brat. I didn't like her character. plus, Their love plot sounded illogical.

The gangster scenes was just laughable and the European gangsters very stereotyped.

song jong ki's facial expressions were almost the same. He could have done better.
The Fl's acting was okay. I think she deserves more recognition.

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I would totally recommend it !

I loved it so much ! It was an emotional and super realistic movie about the struggle of refugiees.
Kiwan’s lore is so rough and hard yet he overcame it and found happiness. His mother and his uncle were such good characters and litteraly built what he is now.
I felt so bad for him when the money he got from the sold of jis mom’s body was stolen away from him but gladly he took it back and even met fantastic people afterwards.
I love his colleague (the woman with a sick child) eventhough she betrayed him at some point, she explained why and did everything she could to help him because she felt guilty and because she cared for him. Maybe she doesn’t deserve forgiveness but at least she was sincere asking for it and regretting her actions !
Shoutout to Marie and her parents ! They have so much background : she lost her mother and was consistently having troubles with her father but eventually they reconciled ! I’m also glad that Marie succeeded (with kiwan’s help) to get out of this dark world of the shooting competitions and that one man manipulating her !

Once again, I loved how realistic the movie was depicting drug addictions, depression after losing someone important, how hard it is to be a refugee (proving your origin, earning the right to stay in the other country etc…), escaping a mental and physical abuse etc…

One thing that I did liked a little less was the romantic relationship they developed (Marie and Kiwan) because it felt so unnatural and also like most Kdramas, kinda forced. By forced I mean that Kdrama writers ALWAYS feel like we need to see some romance ugh. But at least they found happiness in each other.
I didn’t liked it especially since we had no real grounds to it, it also occurred right after him waking up from an overdose he did because she said in a way ´get lost’. We basically got a few flashbacks of them hanging out on a market, then them litteraly having sex ?and that was all to establish the relationship for the writers ig ?.

I LOVED the ending. This project of song joon ki was so good and at the level of his other projects not like ´reborn rich’.
The cast and the acting were ON TOP ! No actual OST though.

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Great Acting and Story about the Struggles of Refugees

I really like this movie. I think this is the best movie of Song Joong Ki since 2012's Werewolf Boy. He always acts well, but I really appreciated his acting here among his recent works. Choi Sung Eun is also really excellent. she has matured in her acting since I saw her in Sound of Magic way back 2022. Seo Hyun Woo, Kim Sung Ryung, and Jo Han Chul are also memorable. It's a good movie that shows the struggles of refugees trying to survive in a foreign country. I said earlier that SJK is really excellent, that's because he acted really well how a person in really bad conditions should act even though he himself has been always comfortable in life.

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Kind of complication to be in another country

It is not bad overall the story and they are like illegal immigrants to another country. Many complications no doubt and many of the parts are like shortcuts thus make it confusing. If you watch this movie it is like today's immigrants whp do not have a citizenship have to stay put and make sure there is no problem. In all countries there are many illegal immigrants where these people have nowhere to run to due to many things, they have to run all their lives. This is what this story is about . I am surprised Song Joong Ki was picked to this movie but anyway it is emotional too. Thanks for the movie and the excellent casts chosen

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Simple story executed well

This has shown me what many individuals face everyday folding from war and oppression as they want better opportunities for themselves so they can live comfortably without stress and worry
The ML loh Kiwan story made me cry from the little things in trying to find his place in a foreign land but faced with many barriers such as friends betraying him nowhere to live and get attacked all because he isn't Belgium. The razor story made me cry the most
Marie was someone acting tough but was as broken as loh Kiwan as of her family history and getting pulled into crime to pay her debt and just needed someone to talk to
The love story was well-paced as they healed each other's wounds and found comfort in one another

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Very corny Western cast.

Yesterday, while watching this movie, I made an interesting self-discovery. To be blunt: I prefer Song Joong Ki's acting in movies more than in TV dramas. His acting in TV dramas is below average, and his facial expressions are the same for sadness, anger, happiness or emotion. In the movies, I see it differently; it seems that the director extracts all the artistic quality he has, and I consider that commendable. Anyway, now I have discovered what bothered me about his acting: the pasteurization that Korean TV dramas suffer. Korea is always more concerned with what the public thinks or will think than with the art itself of the product it broadcasts.

About the drama, I found the synopsis interesting and the events very well developed and dynamic. However, it is necessary to mention the terrible acting of the Western cast of the film, all acting in a very corny way and causing embarrassment in every speech. I wonder how NETFLIX selected this cast, based on what?

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A tale of resilience and patience

A film about illegal immigration, seeking refuge, and the right to live, ‘My Name is Loh Kiwan’ aims at showing us the grim reality of immigration and life as a nomad. Loh Kiwan, played by Song Joong-ki, is a young North Korean defector who is forced to enter Belgium in a desperate attempt to survive. Enduring harsh conditions as the Belgian government determines his fate, he meets Marie, a drug addict seeking refuge from her troubled reality. Their survival amid the odds serves as the basic premise of the film.
The film masterfully juxtaposes the main plotline with a secondary narrative involving Marie’s entanglement with nefarious elements. While this subplot adds depth to her character, it occasionally falters in its execution, with certain aspects feeling less compelling than others. While grappling with technical shortcomings, the film’s central message of hope and resilience shines through, leaving viewers with a profound sense of reflection and empathy for the struggles of refugees. My Name is Loh Kiwan stands as a testament to the power of love to transcend barriers and illuminate the darkest corners of the human experience.

My Rating : 7.5/10

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