Heaven’s Postman Quick Sketches and a MoonSun comic

It’s sort of ironic that I decided to do some “quick” sketches a couple months ago since I was short on time, and didn’t end up finishing them until now. They technically took very little time, but I never seemed to get around to painting them, even though it only took a matter of minutes.  Normally when I do my little watercolors I always finish two in a day, and I’ve just learned the hard way that I should never start something and save the rest for later. It’s practically a miracle for me to pick something back up, and then when I do all my motivation is gone, so it feels like work.

Last night while I was laying in bed thinking about the Moon That Embraces the Sun, an image of a fat little moon and sun futilely trying to embrace  one other popped into my head. Their arms are too short for their rotund bodies! Of course a crescent moon can hug a sun perfectly well (assuming you don’t get too logical and start thinking about the fact that a crescent moon is just a full moon with a shadow over it). Anyways, I obviously only spent a few minutes on, but I couldn’t help but sketch it up.

Heaven’s Postman is far from my favorite movie, but it’s so dang pretty that I would’ve happily watched the whole thing on mute.  I absolutely loved the directing, the colors, and all the off-kilter camerawork.

I’m really not big on shows that deal with the afterlife, but I found this one fairly enjoyable, especially in the beginning when I didn’t know if Jae Joon (Jaejoong) was inhuman or crazy (I wish it had been a mystery longer).

I also enjoyed the morality struggle both characters went through, regarding their treatment of the people who left letters in the mailbox.

I watched this movie so long ago that I honestly don’t remember a lot of detail (blame my memory, not the show) but I will comment on one of the most common complaints, which is that the romance is unrealistic. Jae Joon kisses Ha Na (Han Hyo Joo) and offers her his heart very early on, but I think that scene is frequently misinterpreted. When they kissed, I think it was because he was attracted to her in that moment, and I think they were both mutually acknowledging their loneliness. I didn’t feel like they were professing their undying love or making any grande gestures, but instead were admitting that neither of them had experienced love properly before (either romantic or otherwise) and wanted to make a fresh start. For me, that whole scene was more sad than anything.

When Ha Na found out the truth about Jae Joon, I don’t think she was mad because she loved him (although she certainly had some feelings for him). I think she was upset because for the first time she had someone who cared for her, but just as she started to cope with life and find happiness, she found out that the one person who cared wasn’t even “real”. Their relationship makes  a lot more sense when you realize that they’re not supposed to be madly in love, but that on top of their developing romance, they’re also just two lost souls trying to help each other find their way.

I loved the first half of Heaven’s Postman, but I must confess that I wasn’t crazy for the ending. I didn’t mind how the movie ended, but instead how that ending was executed. It’s difficult to do a movie that involves the afterlife without becoming disrespectful or hammy, and I thought that most of Heaven’s Postman struck just the right tone and could’ve been enjoyed by almost anyone. Some of the scenes toward the end were rather tactless, and felt like they didn’t fit with the rest of the movie.  They were unneeded, and left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth.

I also didn’t think that the epilogue was needed, and felt that the movie should have ended with their reunion hug. I felt like Heaven’s Postman was a movie about new beginnings, and didn’t actually care what happened next to the characters, even though I cared about them (if that makes sense). The scenes of their future lives together just felt like fan-service that didn’t work thematically, and I think I would’ve walked away from the movie with a much greater sense of contentment if I hadn’t watched them.

All that being said, it’s still a good movie, and it’s certainly worth watching for the visuals alone.

I actually have a digital painting planned of Ha Na by the mailbox, and I did the pencil drawing months ago, but I probably won’t scan it and do the rest for a while since I have too many other drawings on my to-do list.

And speaking of my to-do list, here are the things at the top of it (subject to change!)…

• A watercolor of The Moon That Embraced the Sun (probably Hwon with the umbrella in episode 1).
• A Goong watercolor, but I still don’t know which scene from what episode and need to download more.
• A digital painting of Tree With Deep Roots (Episode 19 when the two leads are talking to each other in the torchlight next to a jail cell).

Since I’m helping Softy with Moon/Sun and OB recaps over at Cadence, I’ll probably be doing about one drawing a week for now. I’m also going to start dropping in to a figure drawing session, hopefully beginning next week 🙂

I’m not really sure what to do about TheMu. I wasn’t able to recap it while I was out of town (against my best wishes) and I’m not sure if I should bother now, particularly because I wasn’t thrilled with the last couple episodes. I don’t want to be negative and ruin anyone’s enjoyment!

Anyways, thanks to everyone for their patience while I was being a delinquent traveller. The videos of the day are a Heaven’s Postman one by BluexBird1234, and a multi-drama MV by LonesomeMultiAngel. The included dramas are (deep breath): City Hunter, Boys Over Flowers, Mary Stayed Out All Night, 49 Days, Run Mackerel Run, Man of Honor, My Girlfriend Is A Gumiho Dream High, Myung Wol The Spy, Playful Kiss, My Girl, Personal Taste, Cinderella Sister, Lie To Me, Flower Boy Ramyun Shop, Heartstrings, You’re Beautiful, Secret Garden, The Return of Iljimae, and Scent of A Woman.