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The drama is about the small happiness that the people of today enjoy, following Jin Soo, who works to overcome everyday stressors with 12 small sources of happiness, and his romance with a woman, Jung Soo, who appears to him during his time of modest happiness

Set during the end of China's Cultural Revolution in a small village in Yichang City, Hubei Province, a pure love unfolds between beautiful city girl Jing Qiu and handsome young villager Lao San. Jing Qiu, who lived a difficult life due to her father being labelled a "right winger," is sent to the village at the age of 16 and meets Lao San, who has a promising future due to his father's high ranking military background. Even with the divide between their social backgrounds romance blooms between the young couple, but will their love ever become fulfilled?

Toire no Hanako san is a very scary and effective adaptation of the Japanese manga of the same name. Although many horror/suspense cliches are trotted out: the ouija board (although the Japanese version, kokkuri), whispered voices, an animated doll, and a group of kids that look like they stepped right out of a Japanese version of 90210 and always go into that darkened room when they shouldn't, the movie worked. It was an original touch how the opening narration explaining the events was played over candid shots of the young students with black strips superimposed over their eyes so as to "protect" their identities from being linked to the events that transpire. The quick glimpses of "Hanako san" (we never really see the wholly reanimated version)build tension throughout the film a la the original Alien, and the climactic scenes in the crematorium were very unsettling. It's possible this film might one day come to the attention of someone in the US film industry and be re-tooled and adapted for a US audience.