…THE PLOT is simple enough — Adult Na Bo-ra (an excellent but underused Han Hyo-joo) receives a package in the mail that makes her reminisce about its contents and their story. The years flash back to 1999, when her best friend Kim Yeon-doo (played by newbie Roh Yoon-seo) did not want to miss out on getting to know the cute boy she met right before she was due for a heart surgery. Enter teenage Bo-ra (played by the delightful Kim Yoo-jung), who is ready to glean every ounce of information she can about Baek Hyun-jin (Park Jung-woo) for her friend. In the process, she also meets Hyun-jin's best friend Poong Woon-ho (Byeon Woo-seok), and YouthTM ensues.
Kim Yoo-jung is lovely and fresh-faced as ever, but her mostly nuanced performance also conveys the years of experience she has in the industry. Byeon Woo-seok does his best, and there are moments when it is clear he has leading man potential (most of those moments heavily feature his dimples). The film itself is pretty slow paced, and takes its time with the small moments. Retro is the overall theme, from the Y2K outfits to the golden tones of 1999 to the presence of standard Kdrama tropes in the film. The slo-mo, misunderstandings and noble sacrifices, overly loud 'tummy rumbling' noises being the only way to indicate hunger — they're all present and correct.
While the scenes between Bo-ra and the people around her are beautifully shot and full of warmth, one can't help but wish this had been at least a limited series instead. Director Bang Woo-ri has done a decent enough job with her debut feature film (and adds even more proof to the statement that men written by women will always be superior), but the writing does not allow us to be too invested in the stories of its main characters. Emotional investment is essential for any sort of payoff in case of obstacles to our characters' journeys, and while female-led films like Om Shanti Oshana have managed to pull this off, Twentieth Century Girl feels like each character needed at least 10 more minutes worth of personality building.
That being said, the film is still a steaming bowl of retro comfort soup. You see, cliché or not, the truth about time is that it is, in fact, fleeting. And one reason we are all suckers for nostalgia and watching other people's youths play out on a screen is that we have no way to change how we lived our own. We want to see other people experience love, joy and regret the same way we did. We want to know we weren't the only ones who made mistakes, who quibbled with their family, or never got over someone we loved and lost. As long as the screen shows us some form of who we wish we were, we will keep watching. If you had 16 hours to spare on that watchlist, I would definitely recommend Twenty Five Twenty One. For similar feels in a two-hour sized capsule, Twentieth Century Girl is your answer.
Bring ice cream and Kleenex.
Twentieth Century Girl is streaming on Netflix.
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