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This review may contain spoilers
Love Untangled: Chronicles of First Love
I watched this movie yesterday and was absolutely thrilled — it’s been a long time since I’ve seen something like this, and I realized how much I needed and missed a film that’s light, cute, and fun, yet carries deep meanings and symbolism in its storyline. It’s a way of addressing delicate topics in a softer, more accessible way.
I’ll admit, at first I was nervous about what might happen because I was really disappointed by You Are the Apple of My Eye (2024), which I think was the last high school film that tackled themes like first love. I tried not to get my hopes up, but when I saw Shin Eun-Soo in the cast—oh my God—I got excited (and a little scared they might mess it up haha).
In Love Untangled, set in the 1990s, surrounded by beautiful, nostalgic, and identity-rich scenery, we closely follow the dilemmas of Park Se-Ri, a high school girl struggling with her curly hair. I believe the message becomes especially meaningful for women like me who, as children, felt ashamed of their hair when straight hair was the standard. I spent a lot of time with my hair tied up, didn’t like wearing it down because of the volume, and just like Park Se-Ri, I tried straightening it a few times—only to end up back at square one LOL.
Despite her love-hate relationship with her hair, Park Se-Ri decides to change it permanently to win over Kim Hyeon (played by Cha Woo-Min), the most popular boy in school, whom she met while diving in a spot she thought only she knew. From that moment, her heart is flooded with a typical teenage crush that sees everything through the lens of “love”—all those little coincidences feel like signs from fate.
While trying to find Kim Hyeon naturally, she meets Han Yun-Seok (played by Gong Myung), a transfer student with a difficult life, and that’s when things start to get even more interesting. Personally, I’m enchanted by films that explore the definition and difference between infatuation and love.
Another detail in the movie is that, despite Park Se-Ri’s struggles with her hair, she has a support network—friends she can count on for anything, even her wildest ideas. They’re always in! She’s not a lonely girl at school or at home.
Overall, Love Untangled includes familiar tropes that are executed well. The story is light, sweet, and fun in just the right measure, where small gestures become huge when done with love—and where love doesn’t always arrive like a storm turning everything upside down. Sometimes, it’s as gentle as a sea breeze.
I’ll admit, at first I was nervous about what might happen because I was really disappointed by You Are the Apple of My Eye (2024), which I think was the last high school film that tackled themes like first love. I tried not to get my hopes up, but when I saw Shin Eun-Soo in the cast—oh my God—I got excited (and a little scared they might mess it up haha).
In Love Untangled, set in the 1990s, surrounded by beautiful, nostalgic, and identity-rich scenery, we closely follow the dilemmas of Park Se-Ri, a high school girl struggling with her curly hair. I believe the message becomes especially meaningful for women like me who, as children, felt ashamed of their hair when straight hair was the standard. I spent a lot of time with my hair tied up, didn’t like wearing it down because of the volume, and just like Park Se-Ri, I tried straightening it a few times—only to end up back at square one LOL.
Despite her love-hate relationship with her hair, Park Se-Ri decides to change it permanently to win over Kim Hyeon (played by Cha Woo-Min), the most popular boy in school, whom she met while diving in a spot she thought only she knew. From that moment, her heart is flooded with a typical teenage crush that sees everything through the lens of “love”—all those little coincidences feel like signs from fate.
While trying to find Kim Hyeon naturally, she meets Han Yun-Seok (played by Gong Myung), a transfer student with a difficult life, and that’s when things start to get even more interesting. Personally, I’m enchanted by films that explore the definition and difference between infatuation and love.
Another detail in the movie is that, despite Park Se-Ri’s struggles with her hair, she has a support network—friends she can count on for anything, even her wildest ideas. They’re always in! She’s not a lonely girl at school or at home.
Overall, Love Untangled includes familiar tropes that are executed well. The story is light, sweet, and fun in just the right measure, where small gestures become huge when done with love—and where love doesn’t always arrive like a storm turning everything upside down. Sometimes, it’s as gentle as a sea breeze.
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