20th Century Girl

Good visuals and nostalgia trip but cliché till the end

I actually rewatched this because I had zero recollection of the plot or anything else and I didn't have it on my watchlist here to remember. One quarter into the film it came to me why I didn't remember anything of it and the whole plot came to my head.
Cliché can be entertaining and enjoyable, I've watched cliché series and films in the past I enjoyed, even cheesy ones for the guilty pleasure, but this film falls in the frustrating cliché category.

This is one is of mixed feelings for me and clearly quite forgettable. I like the visuals and the nostalgia trip, although I would say it doesn't dwell as much on the nostalgia as other titles (like 25/21 does) and some times I felt the filter or post editing they did was a bit on the heavy side. For me this movie would get a higher score if they hadn't gone that route with the ending but I do understand why they thought it was a good idea to put it there to tie it all up into the theme.
This whole film is a big nostalgia trip of overused plot devices in romantic dramas of the period in any media, the plot device of friend asking MF to get closer to her love interest to learn about him... or the plot device of romantic male interest leaving the country or dying is a classic, but it was equally frustrating and bad at the time than it's now (I'm still salty about how many shoujo mangas and animes used this, seriously). It's one of those things that simply shouldn't come back because mostly it's just sad for sadness sake and lazy at this point (like the amnesia trope). This is not the only title in recent years to follow the nostalgia trip by reusing bad plot devices that were not liked even at the time.
The classic of miscommunication among characters is also something that makes this quite frustrating to watch at times (MF with the best friend). And equally tiring is the girl that is thin, eats a ton and it's also socially clumsy and cute without knowing it... but I can forget this last one this time simply for being the classic in a "nostalgia remake".

Here it does have the tag of melodrama, I'm not sure I would classify this as such since only the ending is. It's nostalgic, dramatic and romantic with a frustrating cliché ending.

Would I recommend? Not sure, I liked the acting, the aesthetics, the cute moments, the colours and the story is generally watchable most of the film even with the clichés, but the ending is very frustrating and annoying so if you decide to watch it take that into consideration and watch it for the trip.

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20th Century Girl

I do not understand why the show has been getting so many bad comments— if you only have bad things to say, I believe you are overcritical and picky.

Why I like this K-movie:

The end was unexpected. Even if you have watched a kdrama or kmovie with a similar ending it does not make it boring in any shape or form. Personally, I never watched a movie with a sad ending, so this came as a shock to me!

Each and every actor/actress really brought their character to live and made it very unique.

The movie basically illustrates the life of a teenager whose love and youth were at its prime on the 20th Century, and that’s where it remained. After the twentieth century, she had to deal with the memory of her first love which apparently left her behind in the 20th century without any sort of contact.

What could be better:

1. I do not understand why they had to make an appearance of teenagers stealing and showing interest for shows Rated R. I do not think that this should be normalised. Teenagers are literally losing their innocence and it is sad.

2. Maybe I skipped some parts and missed it but…. How did he die? Car crash? Natural death?! At least let us know. Apparently he died in 2001… but weren’t they meeting in 2000? Maybe I misunderstood or missed it, so if that is the case, apologies.

3. While the tape of the 20th century was rolling and showing the people, it would’ve been nice if it also showed how they were doing. E.g:. How are Hyun Jin and Yeon Doo as a couple?

Conclusion:

I have no further comments other than “well done”. This was a very well produced movie.

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Outdated yet bittersweet

Romantic comedies have been both a topic of interest and ridicule over the years. It is ridiculed by those who find it to be a candy-glossed version of reality. It is praised for its heartwarming rendition of romantic fantasies that feel wonderful to witness on a silver screen. Bang Woo-ri’s ‘20th Century Girl’ is a bit of both. The movie seemed to be alternate of Twenty Five Twenty One, with a small change in the end.

The eye to detailing in the film is well done. We are in fact taken on a ride down the memory lane. As heart-warming as the 20th century romances looked like, relationships were also marred down due to lack of cell phones. Relationships were forgotten, first love rarely became last love, friends lost touch and the yearning.. never ending. The climax of the film is a painful example of how things were different back then.However, the film quite stretches itself way more than it should. Quite unlikely for a repetitive culmination of that kind, it’s indeed the climax that works in favour of the film. Although the whole movie felt cliched, it does have some old school vibes and the feeling of first love being a teen.

In short, 20th Century Girl is a one time watch. If you’re a nostalgia merchant and if you dig yearning and doomed romances, the film would work for you. The biggest quip of 20th Century Girl is that its just another forgettable love-story that banks way too much on yesteryear love, since we have seen a few of this kind in dramas over the years, with more effectiveness in the story.

My Rating : 6.5/10

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Okay. Mixed feelings..

I like how the story takes place in the late 90s and it's a romance movie. Although, I was hoping for more romance between the main characters. There was a lot of events going on and it felt really quick. Bora was a great main character. Honestlyyy, I was kind of confused with the guys because their hairstyle looked very similar, so I couldn't tell if she was with Hyun Jin or Woon Ho. It took me the first half to figure out who they were. I was irritated with Yeon Doo when she confronted to Bora because she blames Bora for being in the middle of the mess, but she's always the one who's asking Bora to do things for her. Like sis you better work for it yourself. Later on, she makes up for her petty confrontation, so I guess she was a decent character. Character growth in a few minutes. Again, a lot of things happening but things get resolved really quick. I didn't really care about the music. I wouldn't watch this again because it wasn't much of a happy ending, but I'm glad I've seen it.
I'm not sure how I feel after finishing this movie. I was expecting more chemistry between Bora and Woon Ho. They had their moments several times, but it felt too quick and I wanted to watch them together longer. I wished the guys had more personalities in order for me to tell them apart. The only plot twist I liked was when Yeon Doo told Bora about the guy she likes. Everything else was random and the bare minimum of drama. The story was cute and sad but not memorable.

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It is not exactly a bad movie, although it also would not be classified as a masterpiece.

The actors were all just as adorable as they could possibly be, and they did a fantastic job of making me care about their characters, but the writers apparently brainstormed this one after a Soju binge. When the entire story hinges on miscommunication and emotional manipulation, then the writing is sloppy and lazy at best, and an insult to the intelligence of the audience at worst. I'm easy to entertain and will happily suspend my disbelief for a hand of god here and there in an otherwise well-crafted tale, but the eye-rolling factor was already high, and then the ending of this movie had me cursing BS.

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TOLD MYSELF I WOULDN'T CRY BUT STILL DID.

*This is my opinion, you are entitled to have your own opinion! :)*
i literally have no words for this. i just like idk. it's left me with an empty feeling and i just cant stop thinking about them. honestly i would've given this movie a 10 if it wasn't for that flipping ending. also i took so many notes about this movie so im going to share them with you. honestly, if you want to cry, watch this. i don't usually cry because of movies so i told myself this would be an easy watch for me. (i knew the ending btw and i just wanted to see what people meant by "it's so sad") despite literally knowing the ending, i poured my heart out watching this movie 4 times.

firstly, the acting is really good. kim yoo jung did a great job but she's definitely better in my demon. and byeon woo seok also did pretty good. honestly, idk if i like how he looks here more or how he looks in lovely runner more. the casting for this was really good, both the main leads are really attractive and good actors. and tbh the FL could've worked with hyun jin (SML) too because their friendship was really funny lmao.

i honestly wonder, in the start how they didn't notice her literally following them around??

LIKES:

so i have a few moments that i found funny and some cliche. firstly, lmao when hyunjin was in love with her and basically asking her out and she tried so hard to make him not like her. literally went to the point of talking about how much she farts. and when woon hoo and her were about to kiss but a fucking plum hit her on the head.

the plot twist though, her friend getting them mixed up and so bo ra had to keep her feelings a secret. im happy yeon-doo wasn't a stuck up bitch about it and let bo ra have him.
and gosh, this movie had SO MANY sad moments where i was either tearing up or bawling my eyes out. like when he wrote her a letter talking about his feelings and he dropped it on the floor bc she just rejected him. and him waiting for her all night at her house. and when he was leaving and said "i'll definitely come back for you," LIKE MY HEART??? and then after time passed and they weren't in contact anymore, bo ra thought he flat out ghosted her when he was DEAD.

DISLIKES:
i hate the fact he had to die. the ending was so unnecessary i hate it. this movie is so good, its a 9 but the ending just flat out ruined it. why couldn't they just end up happy? and together? married? now bo-ra's love life is ruined and love's probably too traumatic for her now. and when joseph was saying, "The happiest moments in his short life were when he was with you," I SOBBED. and then the video tape at the end, i cried during that too. why did the writers make him die.??? i swear

OVERALL:
it's amazing except for the ending. so i give it a 9. i still 100% recommend it just be prepared to CRY. and after you cry, watch lovely runner to heal your heart (i haven't watched it yet but im pretty sure he doesn't die in that)

have tissues and enjoy watching!

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Happy ever after......NOT

The story starts off as a typical high-school drama. We have two girl best friends and two guy best friends, though not much screen time is devoted towards the later two. The main character played by Kim Yoo Jung is a happy, guy beating, food loving person which seems to have populated the recent Kdrama. But above all, she is a loyal friend who steps aside her love for her friend and who can blame her. Her friend just had a heart surgery.
Based on the synopsis, you might think how can Kim Yoo Jung character fall in love with the person her friend had already set her sight on and the thing is, she did not. Due to the mix up of name tag and no SNS to spy on the people you like, this creates the conflict inside Kim Yoo Jung character to choose between friendship and love which moves the plot forward. While watching, you might fell if they just talk it out everything can be solved (and it does, surprise Pikahu face), you need to understand that these are teenagers going through their first love so these are acceptable.
So, it is basically a cliche high-school love story with no surprises, you would think. But the thing that bugged me from the start was they showed the adult character for Kim Yoo Jung, played by the talented Han Hyo Joo, who seemed single which pointed at something dramatic will happen. The ending was not what I expected, It is not a happy ending this cliche filled story hinted at and you are filled with sadness and red eyes from all the tears that pour out your feelings.
So, if you are looking for a fluffy love story where the characters end up happy ever after, this is not it. But if you have some tears to spare, you should definitely watch this movie, with some napkins around of course.

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A first true love never end's in our heart till the end!...?❣️?

It's really a good movie to watch who loves a school love story😍because it's really a good story line to watch with a happy feel in starting but in last it will be very opposite 💔😭in first I thought it will be make a cute love story but it will keep this movie in my heart to not forget🚶🏻‍♀️but literally it's very good to watch for all👍🏻and it's good to watch in little bit different story line with lot of emotions and value of friendship !....✌🏻and most of the person wants this type of friend in every situation till the end and unforgettable first love will be want for a lot of person in the world ❣️

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I thought it was a light-hearted movie yet it ended up tragically

Queen YooJung made it again. I actually miss watching YooJung and I haven't seen her on both movies and dramas for a while so I really got excited about this new movie. And as usual she delivers. I missed her youthful appearance in a show. I still can't see her doing mature roles. She's still teen and a high school fairy for me.

Enough of YooJung though, let's get int the plot. I was actually ecstatic watching the first hour. I saw myself giggling, laughing and relating to the characters. It took me back to those high school crushes days that everyone might have experienced. Then I get that along the way, conflict must arise and I kind of predicted it from the beginning. Everything is all good until after WoonHo left. I felt like they should've ended it there but they just thought it would be nice to have a twist. I didn't feel heartbroken that he died. I feel mad that I was hoping a happy ending yet they gave me a tragedy, It's my personal agony though.

If you've been reading through this, I hoped you've watched the movie already because I basically spilled everything here. I warned though that spoilers are here. I still loved the movie though and myghad, there's a lot of oppa's here. I never thought of Byeon Woo Seok until this movie. I just discovered a new oppa to add on my list. Anyway, overall. This is still a fairly good movie to watch so I still highly recommend it specially for fans of YooJung.

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A deep and complex look at a traditional love triangle

Well paced. Interesting. Heartfelt. Emotional. Just a few words to describe 20th Century Girl. The movie does well setting the groundwork for the relationships that are built throughout its runtime.

This movie tells a deep and lifelong story about lost love in a short amount of time. I hope that more Korean dramas have pacing more on par with what we saw here. It never dragged its story with filler and continued to move forward at a pace that kept it fresh and interesting. Obviously, like most K-Dramas a lot of the issues that come up between our characters is as a result of an egregious lack of communication skills, but the motivation for the misunderstanding was plausible, so it gets a pass here.

Otherwise, I greatly appreciated the change in tone later in that movie and how it wasn’t so heavy handed with showing us too much. Sometimes it’s better to leave things up to to audience interpretation rather than have it spelt out so obviously, as tends to be a cliché in romantic K-Dramas. The ambiguity of the twist might be divisive, (depending on your tastes) but achieves its intention. Furthermore, maybe we could have spent a little more time with the other leads, but that’s a small nitpick in an otherwise fine movie.

I generally think they focused their attention where they needed to and that this is definitely a movie worth watching. If you’re looking for something a little different in the genre of Korean “romantic comedies”, definitely give 20th century girl a try.

Recommendation: WATCH

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