[HanCinema's Film Review] "20th Century Girl"

It's been nearly four weeks since "20th Century Girl" came out on Netflix on October 21st. The nostalgic melodrama's popularity has been fairly consistent, being the top-trending movie on HanCinema and a constant fixture on the Netflix Top 10 on Flix Patrol, peaking as the streaming platform's second most popular movie on October 25th before finally leaving it on November 6th. Official Netflix figures give "20th Century Girl" 35 million viewed hours to date.

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The plot is fairly straightforward. Bo-ra is played in the present day by Han Hyo-joo, and is introduced doing a beauty cream advertisement. But we quickly flashback to 1999, where Bo-ra is played by Kim You-jung in Cheongju. Teenage Bo-ra agrees to the request of her best friend Yeon-doo (played by Roh Yoon-seo) to spy on her crush Hyeon-jin (played by Park Jung-woo-V). Incidentally, this also requires Bo-ra to spy on Hyeon-jin's best friend Woon-ho (played by Byeon Woo-seok).

You can probably predict what's going to happen next just based on that description. "20th Century Girl" shows no particular ambition in the screenwriting department. Whether the movie even needs to is an open-ended question. If you like nostalgia based shows like "Reply 1997" or Korean Wave style melodramas, there's a good chance you'll like "20th Century Girl" too. All your favorite South Korean cultural touchstones are here, including a trip to Gyeongju and its lighthouse.

I responded to the backward looking palette of "20th Century Girl" a lot more negatively than I was expecting though. There's just something very cynical about the whole presentation, despite its inherent idealism. Bo-ra is a quirky, obviously attractive girl who seems incredulous at the idea that any boy, let alone two, could like her romantically. Hyeon-jin and Woon-ho are likewise both outrageously perfect, and constantly look like they stepped out of a fashion catalog.

None of the characters in "20th Century Girl" are flawed in any way. At worst they have misunderstandings, mainly because they're dumb young people who have to communicate with beepers and stationary phones. And even these are so easily overcome that the script has to resort to a freak accident in order to maintain the tragic tone necessary for a proper melodramatic ending. The movie is predominantly full of so much hope and optimism it honestly makes me feel a little sick.

The thing about all the great nostalgia shows and melodramas that have come from South Korea is that they had a strong understanding of what makes life fickle and fragile. They took place under dictatorial governments and economic catastrophes. They grappled with death and mortality as an unavoidable part of growing up. What changes Bo-ra from Kim You-jung to Han Hyo-joo? How did those teenage experiences turn her into the woman she is in the present day? "20th Century Girl" doesn't have a good answer for that. She loved, she lost, and now she sells beauty lotion. This isn't a worthwhile character arc, nor is Bo-ra much of a character in her own right save for being a cipher for the viewer.

Review by William Schwartz

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"20th Century Girl" is directed by Bang Woo-ri, and features Kim You-jung, Byeon Woo-seok, Park Jung-woo-V, Roh Yoon-seo, Han Hyo-joo, Lee Beom-soo. Release date in Korea: 2022/10/21.