The film 20^th century girl is a South Korean film released and distributed by Netflix on October 6 of 2022, directed by Bang Woo-ri, is a captivating and heartbreaking film that shows how painful and beautiful a first love can be. This film will move anyone to tears with its mesmerizing story and cinematography effects that won’t allow the audience to look away. The story focusses on Na Bo-ra, interpreted by Kim Yoo-Jung, a high schooler to whom her best friend has assigned the important task to observe her crush while she travels to the US to get a heart transplant. However, misunderstandings and unpredictable events take place and Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-Jung) is left with a burdensome decision to choose between love and friendship.

The film excels in many elements but principally in its performance. The lead actors did a phenomenal job performing their roles during the film. Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-Jung) with her positive disposition and trustworthy personality made her immediately endearing to the audience. In addition, Woon-Ho interpreted by Byeon Woo-seok , Hyun-jin by Park Jung-woo and Yeon-du by Roh Yoon-seo  who make of this film a formidable performance by showing their professionalism and experience while bringing us this emotional film mixed with comical moments. The actors do a magnificent job of portraying the personalities and emotions of the protagonists executing their roles with an eye-catching simplicity and authenticity. Their skillful portrayal and dialogue utilized consistently kept the audience on the edge of their seats which helped achieve a perfect balance as the story progressed. Through the dialogue, the actors attracted the audience through their jokes and charismatic interactions in a relaxed way that makes it fit for children over ten years of age.

Cinematography is not left behind in giving us a unique way to see the movie.  The film 20th century girl references 1999, the film captures the creativity and effort production invested in wardrobe choices and the use of electronic devices, this can be seen by Woo-ho’s (Byeon Woo-seok) use of watches and cameras. It also delves into the unique ways characters communicate during an era without portable devices which adds a layer of authenticity to the movie. The incredible camera management by Jo Young-jik uses different techniques and lightning effects to distinguish the drastic transition between the 90s and 2000s. It is carefully crafted by emphasizing nostalgia, using color to impact the overall mood and atmosphere making it unique and exceptional. The soundtrack choices in the movie complement the cinematography of the movie creating an experience that enhances the audience’s immersion in the 90s setting of the film.

During the film the themes that stood out were youth, friendship, loyalty and love. The theme of youth is illustrated by their innocence, unpredictable and childish choices that the characters make at their age.  Throughout the movie, the lead characters develop feelings of love and friendship, making these the film’s main topics. The theme of friendship is mainly portrayed through Bo-ra’s (Kim Yoo-Jung) unconditional support toward Yeon-du (Roh Yoon-seo) showcasing the strength and depth of genuine companionship between the two. Loyalty on the other hand is demonstrated in Bo-ra’s (Kim Yoo-Jung) commitment to her friend Yeon-du (Roh Yoon-seo), representing the sacrifices and challenges they go through. Finally, Love is shown by emotional changes, which create connections with adult audiences that have relatable experiences.

The plot takes place at the beginning of the movie when Yoen-du (Roh Yoon-seo) goes to the US to get a heart transplant but before that she asks her best friend Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-Jung) to spy on her crush since she encountered the boy days before she had to leave. Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-Jung) accepts the request and starts to spy on the boy. As the time goes on, she finds herself developing feelings for a guy she shouldn’t be liking. The movie attracts the audience emotionally by giving value to 1999, an era of huge change. At that time, many people believed the end of the world would happen by 2000. This was believed by cultural religions and technological factors which made it fascinating mostly for people that lived while those events were taking place. Directing goes along with the cinematography of the movie, The director Bang Woo-ri had the magnificent idea of introducing Bo-ra (Han Hyo-joo) in her 30s, letting the public know that the movie was an anecdote from Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-Jung) at the present time, this to prevent confusion at the beginning and allow the audience to immerse on the story. At the end, it goes back to the present where she shows to the continuation of the story and the ending, showcasing the characters and the way their youthful decisions influenced their future.

Claire Lee provides her professional review on the film and shares her opinion on how spectacular the movie setting was. “20th Century Girl” offers local audiences a generous helping of nostalgia, while feeding Westerners’ growing appetite for content from the country that gave them BTS and “Squid Game.” (Claire Lee). Therefore, Lee speculates that the movie “20^th century girl” has been a hit in Netflix because of how the Korean culture has been growing on popularity over the past years thanks to the K-pop industry that opened many doors and captured big audiences worldwide. Lee compares the previous works of the director such as “Architecture 101” and “Twenty-Five and Twenty-One” and states her main goals in each one as well of how she focuses on the themes of friendship and love to attract younger audiences, such as how her main message is about our youthful errors and experiences that are unforgettable and how trivial or silly events can define the route in our lives. Lee makes a connection with the director’s experiences that inspired the movie making a strong emotional appeal. At the end she expresses her disagreement about the ending, even though the movie gave a unique story and amazing cinematography “it could have been better by giving deeper introduction of key characters”, Lee says.

For the second resource, I analyzed a review written by Romey Norton. She appreciates the plot as it values the story’s setting, taking place in the 90’s, reminding her of her high school years. Norton explains how the director, Bang Woo-ri, creates nostalgia by making use of old computers that are being used as the principal medium of communication, adding realism to the story and attracting older audiences. She praises the performance of the actors as some of them made their debut in the movie, and while some of them had not experience their actuation was almost flawless. At the end, Norton recommends the movie and its availability as the movie has subtitles and has been translated to a variety of languages.

While both reviewers share their disapproval of the ending as it did not favor the story, they praise the performance, cinematography and themes presented, based on both reviews, the story certainly possesses uniqueness. Lee says that the movie’s popularity is thanks to the influence of Korean industries, while Norton does not mention this, she just presents the strong points of the film. Based on the two reviews, I agree that one of the reasons why the movie was more recognized, and many people were able to enjoy it, was thanks to the popularity that has grown these years due to K-pop and how South Korea has been known worldwide. However, I disagree that the movie is praised because of its country origin production but because of the production and story that compose the story. Both reviews were detailed and even pointed out details that help the audience value their opinion.

While this film might not be the mind blowing, it goes beyond traditional romantic ways of presenting a youthful love story. This movie does not only share a simple, yet amazing story inspired by a real event, but also how love can be messy and unpredictable. I personally fell in love with the story because it made me reflect on how I treat my friends and the beautiful memories we have created over the years, making me wonder about our future. The ending was not to my liking primarily because one key character disappears at the end which makes the movie deviate and shift the genre of the story, many agreed with my opinion such as Lee and Norton that mentioned they were not convinced with the ending. Therefore, I would rate the movie a nine out ten because it manages to create personal connections with the audience and has an amazing use of the visual elements for people that are more visually attracted, immerging them completely in the story. I would recommend it to those who love romance, melodrama, and tragedy.