Love at the End of the Century (2023)

"Don't cry and laugh at the same time"

Ms. Apocalypse began in the waning days of 1999 when everyone was worried the Y2K bug would send the world crashing down. A mousy bookkeeper who was punished for becoming entangled with embezzlement left behind the old century and built a new life in the new century with someone completely unexpected.

Yeong Mi is a bookkeeper at a tech company where she develops a crush on recent hire Do Yeong. She discovers he is not collecting the money on his truck route. Instead of turning him in, she works extra jobs to replace what he’s stolen. When Do Yeong turns himself in, she is arrested as well for covering up his crime. After her release from prison the only person who comes to meet her is Do Yeong’s wife. Yu Jin is a paraplegic due to a hereditary disease and confined in a wheelchair. She makes Yeong Mi an offer that the newly released prisoner cannot turn down.

I liked the premise of the film though I wasn’t always satisfied with the implementation. It came across as low budget and there were awkward edits with pertinent pieces of information left out or glossed over. Director Im Seon Ae put her efforts into developing the relationship between a very odd couple. Yeong Mi was given her derogatory nickname by male co-workers who said she looked chaotic. And the film’s hair and makeup department did their level best to make Lee Yoo Young appear unattractive. Yu Jin’s acerbic attitude hid her fears and vulnerability. Im Seon Woo accomplished a difficult performance using only her face and voice. Both characters had been taken advantage of and/or shunned by loved ones. The two should have been adversaries but found they had much in common, including kind hearts.

Y2K had people on pins and needles with Yeong Mi and Yu Jin suffering more from their families than the threat of nuclear war. In the new millennium*, Yeong Mi’s life transformed from black and white to vibrant color. The two outcasts gradually learned to trust themselves and each other even as long buried secrets and betrayals rose to the surface. With another woman to count on, they had substantial emotional growth and gained a friendship in the process. I wanted more from the ending and wished that certain transitions had been smoother and better explained but applaud a film that showed the healing power of female relationships.

7 August 2026

*Date Note: The new millennium and century didn’t actually begin until 2001.

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sacrifice

I just watched Ms. Apocalypse and it left me with so many thoughts.

It’s not just a story about unrequited love, betrayal, or mistakes—it’s about motherhood, sacrifice, forgiveness, and the unexpected bonds women form through pain.

A woman nicknamed “Apocalypse” falls in love with a married man without knowing. After prison, she is taken in by his disabled wife, and what could have been rivalry turns into an unusual companionship.

This movie reminded me that even in brokenness, women’s strength shows in their ability to endure, forgive, and heal. Truly moving. 💔✨

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