ltspada

My rating: 6/10

The World of Love just wasn't my cup of tea.

Going into this, I expected something much lighter. From the synopsis and the way the movie was presented, I thought I was going to get a funny, spunky coming-of-age story centered around a young woman figuring out love and relationships. Instead, this is a much more serious film about sexual abuse, trauma, intimacy, and the different ways people respond to painful experiences.

That isn't necessarily a criticism of the subject matter itself. I just didn't particularly enjoy the way the story unfolded. The coming-of-age romance I was expecting really wasn't there, and the romantic elements weren't strong enough for me to feel like I got the kind of emotional payoff I usually look for.

The movie does have some interesting things to say about how people judge women based on their relationships and sexual behavior. Joo-in's (main female lead) reputation for dating multiple guys could easily lead people to assume that she was simply "easy," but the story gradually reveals that her relationship with intimacy is much more complicated because of what happened to her. I thought that was an important distinction, and I appreciated that the movie didn't simply accept the assumptions other people made about her. Due to that though I all the more wanted to see her in a relationship where someone cared about her enough to work through that with her.

But ultimately, I didn't find the movie particularly satisfying. It is much heavier and more introspective than I was expecting, and I prefer stories that give me a stronger emotional resolution at the end. I don't need every movie to have a perfectly happy ending, but I do want the major emotional threads to feel like they have actually gone somewhere.

This one left me feeling like the story showed me Joo-in's struggles very clearly but didn't give me enough of an emotional payoff for those struggles. I can see why other viewers and critics responded strongly to the film's themes and its portrayal of trauma and resilience. It has clearly connected with people, and Seo Su-bin's performance received considerable praise.

For me, though, this is a case where I can appreciate what a movie is trying to say without particularly enjoying watching it. I wouldn't recommend it to someone looking for the type of coming-of-age romance or lighter character-driven story I initially thought this was going to be.

Spoilers

The biggest disappointment for me was that I kept waiting for the story to become more of a romance.

I thought Joo-in was going to be this funny, unpredictable, spunky character who would eventually find her way into a meaningful relationship. Instead, the story became much more about understanding why she behaves the way she does and how her past sexual abuse has affected her relationship with intimacy.

That part was actually interesting. Her difficulty with intimacy is connected to her trauma, and her relationships don't necessarily represent the carefree attitude that other people assume they do.

I kept wondering if Su-ho (classmate and petition organizer) might eventually become the person who understood that. It felt all set up for that the way they bickered because that often changes to interest then characters often catch feelings.

Joo-in is so angry with Su-ho because of the petition, particularly because of the way the petition describes the consequences of sexual abuse. I thought there was an interesting possibility there. Maybe he would eventually understand why she objected to it. Maybe he would realize that her reaction wasn't because she didn't care about victims, but because she was fighting against the idea that what happened to her had destroyed her.

I even thought they might eventually become romantically involved. I thought Su-ho might be the person who finally looked beyond the rumors and the surface-level version of Joo-in and understood what was actually going on with her.

That never really happened.

And that was disappointing because I felt like the story was setting up the possibility of that kind of emotional connection.

The petition itself becomes especially interesting when you look at Joo-in's character arc. She has such a strong reaction to the idea that sexual abuse destroys a person. I think she desperately wants to believe that it didn't destroy her. She wants to believe that she is still completely in control of who she is and how she lives.

But then the movie spends so much time showing us the ways in which the abuse has affected her.

Her relationships with men are complicated. She wants intimacy but has difficulty with it. She seems to want a boyfriend, but she doesn't seem capable of establishing the kind of emotional connection that would lead to the relationship she actually desires. Her behavior makes more sense once you understand what happened to her, but that understanding doesn't make the situation any less sad.

And that's where the ending really lost me.

I don't like "soft" endings. I prefer endings that are well thought out and actually wrap up the major emotional threads of the story. I don't need every character to get a perfect happily-ever-after, but I do need to feel that the story has brought its central emotional journey somewhere meaningful.

There was a positive consequence to Joo-in finally revealing what happened to her. Other people were encouraged to acknowledge and expose their own experiences with abuse. I appreciated that. It showed that her willingness to speak could help other people find their voices.

But what about Joo-in herself?

She still doesn't have a boyfriend, even though she seems to want one. There isn't really anyone who comes along and truly understands her. We don't get enough of a sense that she has overcome the barriers that have made intimacy so difficult for her. The movie gives us the possibility that she may eventually heal, but it doesn't give us enough of that healing to feel like a resolution.

That's what bothered me most. The entire story showed us Joo-in's struggles, but there wasn't enough emotional payoff for those struggles.

In a strange way, the movie almost proves the point that Joo-in was fighting against. She didn't want to believe that sexual abuse could destroy something in a person's life, yet the story shows us how profoundly it has affected her ability to have the things she seems to want. She wants connection. She wants love. She wants intimacy. But by the end, she hasn't really gotten those things.

I didn't need the movie to suddenly pair her off with Su-ho and declare everything fixed. That would have been too easy. But I did want some indication that Joo-in had moved forward personally, not simply that her disclosure had helped other people.

That distinction matters to me. Helping other people is a wonderful outcome, but it doesn't substitute for resolving the central character's own emotional journey.

So while I understand why the movie's ending was viewed by others as hopeful, I didn't experience it that way. To me, it felt unfinished.

And that ultimately sums up my reaction to The World of Love. I can recognize the thought and sensitivity behind the story, and I understand why it has received so much critical attention. But I didn't particularly enjoy it, and I didn't get the emotional resolution I wanted from it.