Life is full of “first loves and last chances.”
20th Century Girl, written and directed by Bang Woo-ri, is a South Korean coming-of-age romantic drama. It stars Kim Yoo-jung as Na Bo-ra and Byeon Woo-seok as Poong Woon-ho, and you can find this movie right now on Netflix.
20th Century Girl takes place in the 1990s and follows a teenage girl named Bo-Ra. Her best friend, Kim Yeon-Du, asks her to follow and get information about her crush, Baek Hyun-Jin, while she is away for surgery in the U.S. As she gets closer to him, Bo-Ra falls in love with his best friend, Woon-Ho, but things take a huge turn when her best friend returns home.
This movie is one of my favorites for many reasons. The actors have a lot of chemistry, and although it may seem like a basic romance movie, a plot twist towards the end makes it significantly better than other movies in the genre.
It also has a very nostalgic feel to it, as it beautifully recreates the South Korea of thirty years ago, featuring camcorders, pagers and dial-up internet. This really brings the movie to life and sets the whole vibe.
The two main actors, Kim Yoo-Jung and Byeon Woo-Seok, make the story very believable through their acting and insane chemistry. I feel like it’s rare for two actors to have such an obvious spark in their first movie together, but they make it work. Additionally, this connection between the two leads makes you want to root for their relationship as well.
However, I personally was not satisfied with the ending of the film as it was very unexpected and tragic. While watching, you really wanted a different outcome, but the twist towards the end will leave viewers devastated.
But I still recommend this movie, because it has both fun and exciting moments, as well as emotional and melancholic scenes. The movie portrays first love and shows both the excitement and awkwardness that come with it. It explores friendship and girlhood through Bo-Ras’ commitment and dedication to making her best friend happy and the consequences she faces because of that loyalty. And lastly, the unexpected ending creates a bittersweetness to the film and makes it very memorable.
Overall, 20th Century Girl is definitely worth watching, and I highly recommend checking it out. It really stands out from other teenage romances due to its sincerity and nostalgia.
And if you enjoy this movie, you should definitely check out Love Untangled, Twenty Five Twenty One, Twinkling Watermelon, and Extraordinary You.
