Editorials 
1
Queer Village
The film has impressive production value. It’s obvious that the people who worked on it paid attention to every detail, especially inserting the rainbow symbol — the emblem of the LGBT+ movement — into as many shots as possible. But precisely because of so many inserted details, the film felt staged to me rather than authentic. The acting, though solid, is at times caricatured for comic effect, but to me it came across as overacted. I admit that in one absurd scene, when the shouting between the characters resembled a rap battle, I felt a moment of entertainment, but the rest of the film didn’t feel like a comedy.The film has a mission to promote understanding of queer differences in a small village, but I’m not particularly satisfied with how things were resolved in the end. Those who believe pride parades can sensitize conservatives and skeptics of queer ideology will probably be satisfied. In general, sympathizers will likely enjoy this film, but it wasn’t particularly convincing to me. If i had understood the motivation of the main character Man-ok better, maybe i would have enjoyed the film a little bit more.
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Girls Fighting
"Run" is an action movie in which the main characters are young women who must fight against the oppression they face at every turn. However, it is not a feminist film, as it also uses femininity to attract the male gaze. In other words, this movie is aimed at guys who want to watch beautiful women while also receiving a mild lecture about treating women with more respect.In essence, this is an indie adult action movie with quite a few fight scenes, but it lacks the charisma and polish of films with better production values. The plot is too basic, and both the acting and the action are not very convincing, so there is nothing particularly special to recommend. I guess, the main appeal comes from the attractive female actresses showing how badass they can be.
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Few cheap laughs
Thirty years ago a Korean film of the same name and similar plot came out, about two people who look alike so people mix them up. The problem is that one of them is a wanted criminal, so the other keeps ending up in many uncomfortable and dangerous situations.This is an action comedy, but below average in both respects. The action is unfortunately quite poor. Not a single punch looks convincing; it’s obvious the fighters are just swinging at thin air. The comedy is relative and depends on the viewer’s taste. There are a few funny scenes, but most of them are childish, which I particularly dislike. At the beginning I even laughed a couple of times at the mismatch between the two lookalike protagonists, but the overall impression is that the entire film is built on a single gag and after that it simply doesn’t know what to do with itself.
The story is poorly developed; the plot progression is unrealistic in the sense that the characters are always exactly where they’re expected to be, without any logical reason.
The epilogue offers a nice short tourist view of Taiwan, so the film can also be watched as an advertisement for Taiwan, but you shouldn’t expect much from it as a movie.
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Responsibility for a Family
If you don’t have enough drama in your family, go and watch this movie. This is a lovely film even though it portrays various unpleasant aspects of family relationships, but every one of us knows that this is a realistic picture of family life. Because family life is not a fairy tale, and misunderstandings often arise among members, especially between generations. What this film particularly focuses on are secrets—hidden things we try to conceal from those closest to us—but is that even possible? Even if it were possible to hide something, would family relationships then truly be sincere?The film also touches on other themes, one of the bigger ones being the break with tradition, the role of parents, and more. It approaches all these themes honestly and openly, without concealment or embellishment, and that is why it is also very interesting to watch. A dose of humour certainly helps as well. I like how the characters are distributed, and whenever it seems that the film is revealing the flaws and negative sides of one person, it quickly shows that the other person is not without sin either—and that is why in a family we need to know how to accept responsibility for one another, even in weaknesses and imperfections. Therefore, I consider this an especially instructive and inspiring drama about family life.
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Foreigner in Korea
Most emotional Korean movie I’ve seen in a long time. It starts slow — to the point that I was struggling to stay awake during the first third of the film — but then I simply fell in love with the main character and sympathized with everything she went through.Even though the film is somewhat slow and lacks big plot twists and excitement, in this case that’s actually a plus. It allows the emotions of the main character, a girl named Hye-seon, to come through much more strongly. She is a North Korean defector trying to adapt to life in the South. and that shows how foreign the 2 Koreas are between themselves. This is a slice-of-life, character-driven movie where the focus is on the experience of living in complicated South Korean society.
Watching how much Korea has advanced, I increasingly see that technology doesn’t necessarily make life easier — it often complicates it even more. Everything is recorded, everything is controlled, everything has its own app and its own rules. I still appreciate, for example, my T-money card that I’ve had since 2009 and still works for all public transport in Korea. But on my last visit to Korea, I rented a car and really struggled with parking in big cities. Also since my foreign card was declined in some stores and the store didn't accept cash i couldn't buy items there.
But back to the film — the way it’s shot, with lots of scenes cut off mid-way and constantly adding new details, builds in a steady upward trajectory. By the end, I didn’t want the movie to finish. Still, I can say it found an excellent moment for a touching ending. It feels like there’s a lot more footage that was shot, and I would love to see an extended version of this beautiful movie about a beautiful soul who continues to move forward in life despite all the obstacles. Hana is a true inspiration.
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A Lesson on Plants and Life
For what it is, it is a nice indie movie. A simple story about a friendship between a little girl and an old man (a Silkworm and a Bee). The English title is not very representative of the movie, so I prefer the original Korean title: 비밀의 화원 – Secret Flower Garden, because the movie is more about plants and flowers than animals. Still, we can say that it is simply a movie about nature and life in general, and the plants and animals serve as an allegory for life.There are also drawings and songs, so I would say that the movie uses a lot of subtle elements to connect the story and stir emotions. The fundamental purpose of the movie is to teach us to be more gentle toward all life, because we depend on it. We are all connected. I liked the message, so I liked the movie too.
P.S. I even noticed an image of Jesus in one short but meaningful frame of the movie.
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Utopia of Love
Can love last forever, or is that just an illusion or a utopia? This beautiful movie is an ode to love, presented in an artistic and rich way, offering plenty of details that each enrich the topic of love. In our time, it has become almost a rule that marriages don’t last or don’t work as intended, and each failed relationship seems to influence others to fail as well. In that environment, is it still realistic to believe in love?I really liked the topic of the movie and how it was explored — with no definitive message, but instead open to personal reflection and conclusion. I also appreciate the style of the movie, which is a little unusual yet very artistic, while still remaining mainstream and entertaining. The filmmakers made the movie special without making it too weird. But most of all, I liked the characters. They had a special aura about them, especially the female lead, Mi-jeong. She is so naturally beautiful, without any need for makeup — something that has sadly become the standard for women today.
This movie is slow and graceful, just like a pavane (a piece of music and a dance), and it feels like a ray of light, inspiring viewers to take a leap of love — honestly and naturally. There is eternal Love above us all.
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Give me a Hug
It is both realistic and unrealistic to portray a teacher who loves his students so much that he hugs them every day as a greeting. In this movie, we have a teacher who becomes so attached to his small, young students that they become real friends. Of course, this does not go smoothly, because his approach to the students provokes many people—the students themselves, other teachers, and the parents. I liked that this movie reminds us of something we are losing in our society today: the human touch. We are becoming more professional and more distant so that we can do our jobs well, but our relationships suffer. One hug can truly heal a person.The title of the movie, Last Homework, points to the unusual homeworks that the teacher gives his students, which is more about life lessons than solving grammatical or mathematical tasks. I wish there had been more of these assignments in the movie, because they were quite inspirational. Instead, the movie drags a little in the final part in its attempt to evoke emotions from the viewer.
The acting was not top-tier, but it was good enough for this kind of movie. The children deserve special praise for their performances. All in all, this is an educational drama done right.
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If there is God...
I hope you won’t watch this movie for Christmas. The title, Christmas Carol, may mislead those searching for a film to lift up the holiday spirit. Instead, we are given a gut-wrenching story about a crime that was never properly addressed—one that becomes more and more depressing as the events unfold.I feel this movie is made for people of faith like me, to provoke our religious ideas about God’s providence, His blessings, forgiveness, and redemption. The film asks: If God is real, how can you believe and trust in Him when He allows such terrible things to happen? But I would say that the pain and anguish we feel in the face of evil are themselves proof that there must be some higher justice. In the end, I really liked this movie, even though I don’t think I will want to watch it again.
The main actor, Park Jin-young, plays both himself and his brother, and he was truly pushed to the limit to authentically express and convey the emotional reality of his characters. The other actors were good as well, but he displayed a rawness of emotion rarely seen on screen. So even if only for his performance, this movie is worth seeing.
Now, let us sing a Christmas carol. Which one is your favourite?
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I understand punk now
his experimental art movie is a mix of real life and fiction, following a young punk group in a diverse city where several incidents occur, and the group members try to make sense of them. The image of Bruce Lee keeps appearing, and it seems to have something to do with the incidents — or perhaps it’s simply an attempt to find answers that ultimately can’t be found.It’s hard to talk about this movie because there is no clear plot, only images and scenes that contrast with each other. We hear a lot of punk music, and between scenes, various foreigners introduce themselves in their own languages. For me, punk as a genre is just noise — but maybe that’s the point: to make noise, to let everyone express themselves loudly, to give a voice to those on the margins of society. So this movie is a punk commentary of our society.
This movie can’t truly be described; it just has to be seen. So I don’t have anything more to add here.
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So many characters, so little story
From the start until the end of this movie, I couldn’t really understand the direction it was going in. The movie begins by introducing all the characters with short clips and then slowly tries to connect them, but it doesn’t quite work. It’s a mix of many elements that, in my opinion, don’t fit well together. It seems as if the director incorporated every idea that came to mind without considering what would actually work for the film. Watching this movie feels like scrolling through social media posts, and in the end, you’ve just lost two hours of your time.Yes, there is a romantic storyline, but it’s overshadowed by unnecessary side plots, strange behavior, and lazy comedy. Even the kiss between the two people in love feels forced and unnatural. I’d say this movie is watchable, but it’s not very romantic, and the comedy isn’t funny—so I can’t recommend it.
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Human Touch
A Day With My Son is a beautiful human story about family, relationships, and, above all, the human touch — something we have less and less of today (in 2025), when most of our interactions happen through messages and screens. That’s why family remains the greatest treasure a person can have: to have a mother and a father, a son, a daughter, and to be able to look each other in the eyes and hold each other’s hand.The protagonists in this movie don’t speak much to each other. The lack of spoken words is replaced by inner voice-over narration, through which we can hear their thoughts and feel their emotions. This approach adds an original tone to the movie, along with a few small fantastical elements involving animals. In this sense, the film is more a work for reflection than for pure entertainment.
While watching the movie, it wasn’t clear where the story was heading, and since it is quite slow, I began to feel bored in the middle. But the final act revealed what it was truly about, and the film left me with a warmth of love and faith that is hard to describe. I can only say that this movie made my heart grow an inch bigger.
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Concert for Dogs and Cats
Let me say, the cat on the poster for this movie is a perfect representation of the documentary, which shows the care for stray cats and dogs in Baeksa, a mountain village. Both humans and their pets struggle to survive in this place, but the animals suffer even more when their owners abandon them. So, one guy came up with the idea of making a concert for the animals?!In my opinion, it is silly to prepare a concert for dogs and cats—the concert is for people. But if the concert raises awareness about treating animals better, then you could say it is also for them. The movie did that for me: it made me reflect on stray cats and dogs—or rather, wandering cats and dogs. It teaches us not to be afraid of them and to help them, which gives the movie a noble purpose. Still, I struggle to accept the idea that animals are equal to humans, as the film seems to suggest. They are, after all, still pets. If they ever made a concert for us, then I might reconsider.
As for the concert itself—it was nice, and the documentary allowed us as viewers to enjoy it. The film also includes some cute short animations and beautiful live video portraits of animals. This is where the movie works best: portraits of cats and dogs accompanied by beautiful music in the background.
Still, I can’t understand why people put clothes on animals. My dogs would never accept wearing anything, since they always look for a way to cool down.
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2035: The Green What?!
The official title of this movie is 2035: The Green Light (2035 더 그린라이트). The film is a hybrid of a “fake documentary” and a sci-fi thriller, set in the year 2035, ten years after the hypothetical unification of Korea. The plot revolves around NXN journalists who are filming a documentary about the mysterious green light that appeared in 2025, and we see everything through their camera.But I must say, I didn’t really like the movie. The first part was okay and somewhat funny, but the second part was very confusing and exhausting to watch. The two reporters just can’t stop talking—even in situations where their lives might be in danger and they should remain silent, they keep making unnecessary noise. Also, the theme of a unified Korea wasn’t explored at all, so in a sense it felt like a wasted premise. The film also fails to present anything convincingly futuristic from the year 2035; instead, the scenery looks like it’s from 2015.
Anyway, this is a somewhat unique film, and I’m glad I saw it—but I don’t think I’ll be returning to it again.
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Watching plants
This is an interesting minimalistic indie drama with a lot of space for reflection. The main character is the owner of a Cafe Bar turned into Plant Shop, who works with plants and makes tea at the same time. His character is very distant and he speaks through narration because he is not very good in communication. The narration reveals his life story and how he came to appreciate plants but I had a lot of issues with his interaction with the customers. He serves them well (even though i didn't see him washing hands between working with dirt and making tea) but he keeps them at distance from himself. He doesn't show kindness or hospitality, in fact we don't see a lot of his emotions. I would expect more from a film that has "warmth" in its title. The various plants that we see during the film are more interesting to watch than the main character.Still, if you like plants this is a nice watch. If you have a plant in your life, you might also reflect on your friendship with it. And if you don't like plants, you should force yourself to watch this film or, even better, go into the nature and hug a tree.
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