Inspired by her personal experience of growing up in the 1990s, first-time director Bang Woo-ri pens a charming nod to the yesteryears with her endearing debut about puppy love, friendship, and sweet nostalgia, which premiered at the 27th Busan Film Festival.
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It is 1999, and seventeen-year-old Na Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-jung) is a high school student who makes a pact with her bosom buddy Yeon-du (Roh Yoon-seo). It all started when the latter discovers that she has a crucial heart condition that required immediate surgery abroad. However, she unwillingly falls for the school jock, Baek Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo.) and decides to stay behind to pursue him. That's until Bo-ra agrees to play both Cupid and Sherlock, sleuthing out all there is to know about her best friend's new love interest for her, until she gets back from the surgery. As time passes, Bo-ra commits increasingly audacious antics that see her bumping heads instead with Hyun-Jin's buddy, Poong Woon-ho (Byeon Woo-seok). And from there, love blossoms.
But what is a Korean rom-com without a sad twist? And no sooner than when Yeon-du returns home does reality set in and threatens to ruin the friendship between the girls forever, when they find out that Baek Hyun-jin might not be who they think he was after all. After a strange art expo invitation falls into the hands of Na Bo-ra twenty years later, she fondly recalls her first love.
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Stereotypes and the usual tear-jerking aside, “20th Century Girl” charms with its humour and change of pace from the usual sappy nature of other “Winter Sonata”-type crying marathons. Woo-ri's commitment to replicating her younger years is a show of stellar attention to detail, with iconic mainstays like camcorders, “Dance Dance Revolution”, and the chunky but funky first-gen iMac making their appearances. 90s kids are sure to swoon in sweet nostalgia.
And speaking of kids, Kim Yoo-jung, “Korea's little sister”, adds to her resume from her child actor years with a lovable performance displaying incredible comedic timing; like a “sheep in wolf clothing”, she dials up the funny to stalk the man of her bestie's dreams. The same, sadly, cannot be said of her screen partner, Byeon Woo-seok, whose stiff and expressionless performance undermines the already scant chemistry between the two leads.
Following that, an overly dramatic second act (where more than one person experiences fainting spells), bogs down the appeal of “20th Century Girl”, where the sudden swerve of tone transitions the bright and cheerful turn of the century into the dark and moody modern years that stands out so awkwardly that you almost wish the entire movie would just stick to its guns and ride on its wave of good vibes only.
Nonetheless, Bang Woo-ri's first feature is an evocative throwback to the time we left behind-with its retro framing, light textures, and usage of key props-but this sweet ride takes a few nasty bumps along the way, as it gets closer to the revelatory conclusion, by which time most of the magic had already fizzled and you're left quite empty. But in the end, things tie up unexpectedly, making you think about the ones around you and the fragility of love and friendships. And perhaps that's the warm feeling it was going for all along.
