My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		4.5

My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman August 27, 2025

People get old. There's nothing you can do about it.

Old age ain't for sissies.

Only one of the above quotes has been (rightly or wrongly) attributed to Bette Davis, but both of those quotes together probably give at least a somewhat apt description of this absolutely charming documentary, and it may be salient to note that the first quote above is actually uttered by one of the two focal people profiled, Byong-man Jo*. Jo is approaching the venerable age of 100 as the documentary unfolds, and he has been married to his wife Gye-Yeul Kang for some 76 of those years. Director Moyoung Jin spent an incredible fifteen months with the couple as their mortality (especially Jo's, almost a decade older than Kang) becomes unavoidably imminent.

*I'm defaulting to how this disc's cover transliterates the names; several other online sources have the names transliterated differently.

Jo and Kang had evidently already become unlikely Korean superstars courtesy of having appeared on a television show, but this documentary is in every sense an "up close and personal" look at an elderly couple living day to day in rather spartan circumstances. There's unexpected silliness (the two delight in throwing leaves and snow at each other at various seasonal changes), but also some provocative if at times allusive commentary on the vagaries of growing old and exactly what that ends up meaning, both physically and emotionally. What's so beautifully captivating about this pair, though, is how free of absolutely any serious animus and even any petty squabbling they are.

My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

My Love, Don't Cross that River is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Film Movement with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. There's no technical information imparted in the insert booklet (unfortunately per Film Movement standard operating procedure), and I haven't been able to dredge up any authoritative information online, but per the documentary's very ethos, this looks very much like a home movie a lot of the time. The high definition imagery has some excellent detailing and a nicely robust palette, but there's an undeniable digital look to the proceedings, and I'm wondering if at least some moments may have been captured at 720 rather rather than 1080, as there are occasional ebbs and flows in clarity and fine detail.

My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

My Love, Don't Cross that River features Dolby TrueHD 5.1 and LPCM 2.0 options. The surround track noticeably opens up ambient environmental effects, which are constant due to the glut of outdoor material. The score (which I found a bit overwrought and even treacly at times) is also well placed in the side and rear channels. All spoken material is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English subtitles are available.

My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (HD; 11:56)


• My Love Don't Cross That River Trailer (HD; 1:39)

As with many releases from this label, the main menu also has an About Film Movement option that brings up a text box with information.

The sleeve has an inner print with more information about the "100 year old lovebirds". An insert booklet contains an essay by Justine Smith. The original exclusive Vinegar Syndrome release evidently had a slipcover, but the review copy sent to me did not.

My Love, Don't Cross That River Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Several years ago my wife's father, then in his nineties, became infirm enough that we had to place him in hospice, at which point various family members started a basically round the clock vigil with at least one person in the room with him at all times. It was frankly the closest I had ever been to that kind of impending death, and it was both a beautiful and haunting experience. Something a bit similar is in store for viewers in the final act of this moving film, but there's so much joy before the inevitable sadness that the lasting impression left is rather unbelievably profound. Not to sound too corny, but kind of like life itself, My Love, Don't Cross that River is both uplifting and heartbreaking in about equal measure. Technical merits are generally solid, and maybe especially for those either getting a bit long in tooth themselves or who have weathered the slings and arrows of a long marriage, My Love, Don't Cross that River comes Highly recommended.