Hello Stranger Movie Recap

Gawd, how I love this movie. I love the leads. I love the plot. I love the humor. I love the drama. I love the twist. I love the ending. Aahhhh, there’s so much to love!

“Hello Stranger” will tickle your funny bone. It’ll touch your heart.  It’ll make you wonder.

Movie Recap

The film is about two strangers who went to South Korea. I wasn’t joking when I said they were strangers! The writers didn’t even bother to give them character names! So yeah, I’m having a hard time recapping. Using my creativity and ingenuity, I shall call them Girl and Guy. Haha!

Our story starts at the airport.

Girl (Nuengthida Sophon) says goodbye to her possessive boyfriend, Jim. Hmmm, she’s acting strangely stiff. Why? Becoz she lied that she’s travelling with her friend, Meow when in truth, she’s flying solo to attend a Korean friend’s wedding, Min-Ah.

Guy (Chunthawit Thanasewi) has just been dumped (a fact nobody can refute as it is clearly written on his forehead). And to mend his broken heart, he joins a 7-day guided tour to South Korea. Since he’s too tanked-up, his friends were kind enough to ditch him at the airport WITHOUT his baggage! Haha!

Girl, being the Korean drama fanatic that she is, enjoys every sweet minute of the trip. It’s quite the opposite for Guy. Being the prosaic guy that he is, finds the tour unbearably boring.

That night, Guy decides to cure his boredom. Wearing the hotel bathrobe as his only coat, he drinks some soju and feasts over a local delicacy. Imagine his disgust when he learns that he IS actually eating a DOG! Mwahahaha!

He drank too much that he gets lost and sleeps outside the lobby of a backpacking hotel where Girl lodges. And becoz she can’t bear to leave a homeless stranger freeze in the cold, she drags him inside and covers him with her jacket.

Guy wakes up and crams! He needs to go to Grand Ambassador (his hotel) ASAP! And since, he’s bad with directions, Girl is forced to take him there. But then, she mistakenly leads him to Grand Embassy! Mwahaha! Thus, he misses his tour coach and is stranded in Seoul for two full days.

Guy blames Girl for his misfortune and creepily follows her around. Thinking that he’s a gangster or something, she runs for her dear life! And amidst the running and eluding, Guy nearly gets arrested. Haha! And so, Girl grudgingly helps him out… again!

He begs that she tag him along, as this is his first time abroad, doesn’t know where to go, doesn’t speak English and most of all, doesn’t want to eat dogs anymore. Haha! Finding his reasons valid and logical, she agrees.

And after a few minutes with him, Girl is convinced she’s with stupid! Haha!

Guy is actually beginning to enjoy the trip… until he notices that she’s taking him to lame drama scene locations. And then, he begins to complain and babble.

Guy: Watching movies that makes you cry as if someone just died, stories of babies switched at birth,or two people who just meet for a few days and fall crazy in love, plots where women pretend to be men but no one could ever see through their lame disguise. It’s so over the top!

Haha! Oh my, he just summarized every freakin’ Korean series.

Girl defends it’s not over the top, it’s called romantic. Still, he doesn’t get it. Women don’t know the difference between romantic and cheesy.

Night came and they decided to watch a show, but since there’s only one ticket left, Guy can’t watch it with her. After the show, Girl is evidently amused and amazed. She keeps on talking and talking about it. Guy, as usual, remains passive. They continue the witty argument until they agreed to make a bet. If ever Guy could eat a live octopus, she would drink a bottle of soju! Game on!

Eventually, he painfully succeeds. Later, he finds out that she’s a terrible drunk!

The following morning, she wakes up in his hotel room and freaks out. Making it worse, Jim calls and he already knew that she’s not with Meow. They quarrel and split up.

Understanding her pain, Guy cheers her up. And together, they engage in an outrageous spree… drinking 1 liter of Pepsi straight out, trying fashionable clothes, buying couple’s outfit, riding drop towers, clubbing.

Of course, they won’t forget to UNlock the “Locks of Love” she locked at Seoul Tower. Phew, whatta tongue twister! Haha! She tries to break the lock using a saw, but then it didn’t work. No worries. He brought a hand drill! Haha! Love this scene. 🙂

After hours and hours of pure fun, they take a rest and look at the stars in the middle of the streets… lying! She’s still heartbroken though.  She asks if he already saw real snow. He has not. She asks again. What will he do if he sees snow? Quickly, he answers “eat”! Haha! Or better yet, he’ll spell out his name with pee. Mwahaha! It’s her turn. What will she do then? She readily answers that she’ll get naked in the falling snow. She likes to know how cold the winter really feels.  He laughs. Funny, she told the same story with Jim, but he said she’s being ridiculous. 😦

Guy’s Tour Group returns from the countryside but he decides to continue the tour with Girl. They still don’t know each other’s name. Guy guesses that her name is May (short for May-Rai meaning liquor). Haha! And Girl counters his name must be John (short for John-jud meaning homeless). Haha!

They agreed to stay strangers. It’s better not to know each other’s name. If they do, they can’t say what’s on their mind freely. Guy agrees. So that means, he could say whatever he wants and she won’t be mad? And he begins to call throw insulting words at her. Haha!

Guy: Mustache girl. Elephant ears. Flat chest. Thick body. Short legs. Dark elbow. Rough knee. Huge face. Monkey-look alike. You smell of dog and have a buffalo brain. Your dad’s dead. Your mother-in-law passed away.

He asks if she didn’t get hurt. She smiles. Not at all. When he walks away, she calls him an A**hole. Haha!

They went to Min Ah’s place. As for introductions, well, Girl remains as May and Guy is named Dhang (common dog name). Haha! Not their real name, of course. At least, now, they have a name!

Dhang tries to call his EX-girlfriend but she won’t talk to him. May gets nosy and asks what really happened. At first, he ain’t telling anything. So, she pretends to call DJ Aoy and DJ Chod (her favorite DJs in Bangkok) and ask for help. He plays along. May acts as the DJs and Dhang as the problematic caller.

Turns out, Dhang’s girlfriend of 8 years broke up with him. So, could they really do something about it?

May: Maybe we could if you’ll just stop being a pain in the butt.

Haha! Love this girl.

They broke up becoz she wants to marry. He loves her but ironically he can’t offer her marriage. How could a guy like him marry somebody?  He can’t even take care of himself. But still, he can’t stop calling her. He wasn’t able to tell her he wanted to marry her now just yet.

Aww, May is touched. Who knew this stupid guy could be romantic?! Haha! In that case, if Ex-girlfriend won’t answer his calls then he should write his proposal. With May’s encouragement, Dhang sends a Will-you-marry-me? post card.

But they were too late. Dhang bump into some friends and they inform him that his EX-girlfriend is about to be married. Dhang is shattered. All hopes just flew out of the window. He drinks one glass to many and acts like a total jerk at Min Ah’s wedding. Once again, he blames May for urging him to send the post card and making a fool of himself.

He cools off at some casino. May finds him there, and this time, she consoles him. They play poker. He let her bet, but boy, she’s so darn UNlucky! Haha!

May is feeling down and ashamed. Surely, she’s a jinx. Dhang assures she’s not. As proof, he wagers all the chips. Dhang: “No one can keep on losing. We must win sometimes”. Cue slow-mo. In the end, they still lost. Haha! It’s official then. She really is jinxed! Haha!

Unexpectedly, the guy next to May who kept on winning becoz he’s betting on the opposite of her bets, gives her another chip. And to their surprise, she wins. She wins 3.6 million won! And what would you do if you win such a huge money? Ahhh, spend it grandiosely! Buy expensive clothes and rent a convertible!

May shares that she had been in movies before. She’s just an extra but still, she’s proud of it. In any casem girl like her could never be a leading actress. Presto! Dhang had an excellent idea. She could be one if she wants.

Surprise-surprise! Dhang planned a dinner date with Bae Yong Jun just for May. She can’t believe it. THE Bae Yong Jun! Dhang laughs. Of course not! He couldn’t afford the real thing, so he asks the waiter who looks like Bae Yong Jun to pose for him. Ahaha! Nevertheless, she’s moved.

They finally see some snow. May satisfies her curiosity and gets naked in the snow. He helps her put her snow beanie and magic sparks. The moment is too overwhelming and romantic. He can’t help it. And he kisses her. Yay!

Some awkwardness and dead air later, May mutters the courage to ask if he likes her. He does. He likes her as a girlfriend? He’s not sure. She’s disappointed. Okay then, she appreciates his honesty and now, they should travel on their own. Dhang is baffled. Why? If she has a problem, then she better speak out. There’s no need to be separated like this. May insists it’s for the better.

They had an ugly argument. He angrily leaves her with the car. After a  few minutes and the car hasn’t pass by, he runs back. He finds the car alright, but she’s nowhere to be found. He panics! He even cries in his frustration.

He returns to the hotel and yells at the receptionist. He’s getting edgy, you see? Good thing, she got back safely. She doesn’t know how to drive. Thankfully, someone gave her a lift. He immediately hugs her. He says sorry for being stupid, a loser and a jerk.

Dhang: When I said I’m not sure. I really don’t know what the hell this feeling is. When I’m with you I’m so damn happy. And when you asked to separate or when you’re gone I feel really empty. Is this what they call love?

May: How can you love me? We don’t even know each other. You don’t even know my name.

Dhang: You’re right I don’t know you. But I know this one person. She drank a liter of Pepsi. When she rides a motorcycle, she always fall asleep. And when she gets drunk, she can do a back flip. I also know that I have to be with her. I will probably be jinxed for the rest of my life. And if I gamble, there’s no way I could ever win anything. But you know what? I’d still love to see her everyday. Is that person you?

Ahhhh! Weeeeh! Sweet!

It’s time to travel back to Bangkok. They haven’t taken any picture together so May kindly asks a young lady to take it for them. And alas! Guess who’s the young lady? It’s the EX-girlfriend, Koy (Warutaya Nilakhuha). Why now?! She received the post card he sent. And nope, she’s not engaged with somebody. How could she when he’s the only one she likes.

There’s nothing May could do but leave. After all, she’s just a stranger.

This is heartbreaking!

At the plane, Dhang tries to clear things up. He says sorry for everything. She understands too well. This is goodbye. They won’t be seeing each other. There’s no reason to.

May: We are just two broken-hearted people who met abroad, feeling cold and lonely. All emotions may just be our imagination. How would you know if they were real. It was you who said that cheesy love like in the movies doesn’t exist in real life.

And they part ways. He accidentally drops the chip she gave as a souvenir when she won at the Casino. He could only cry.

More than a year passed. They haven’t meet. He still remembers her. And she still listens to her favorite radio program (DJ Aoy and DJ Chod).

Surprisingly, one night, a caller named Dhang relays his love story… their story!

Dhang: She told me that our feeling might not be for real. I don’t know. But if my feelings were not for real then I probably wouldn’t feel it for very long. But it has been over a year. I still think of her all the time. I wish I could meet her everyday. Do you think I should stop being crazy like this?

The DJ advices that he confess what he feels. Dhang wishes he could. But he doesn’t know her. The only thing he’s sure of is she’s an extra in a movie. And there are thousands of movies. It’s sweet that he tries to find her by watching movies.

The DJ then asks for his name. Maybe they could help him if he tells them his name.

Dhang: My name is…

Such an epic ending! Mother of all cliff-hangers! Mwahahaha. Until the end, we still don’t know their names. 🙂 Cute!