When I Sleep (2022)

Imagine a series, with three women's stories told against the backdrop of a situation they're in together. That's what this is, only streamlined into a two hour film. It's done remarkedly well.

Parts of their stories are shortened through dialogue, but the conversations are grounded in everything else. The kind you might have with a friend or a sister after you overhear a phone conversation or something happens. The framework which makes this all work is well-constructed.

Together, it's a film about women's experiences in So Korea. The men don't come off well - it's also a film about toxic masculinity and the ways men bully women, abuse positions of power, or just don't get it. In one storyline, it's also about the ways men bully other men and perpetuate those patterns.

All of that fits with what I've read and heard about sexism and social pressure in So Korea. It's a bit of reality in the face of endless lovely handsome oppa series.

It's not a bleak film however. The end feels a bit out of place but I can understand why. It told its stories and it was time to wrap things up. All that was left to say was the words of three women, supporting and looking out for each other.

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