We follow a woman who works at a post office. She is a lonely woman, and then she finds a kitty and brings it home. She tries to take care of the kitty. But how can she take care of the kitty when she’s having problems taking care of herself and living a normal life?
This Charming Girl was the first movie Yoon-ki Lee directed. He’s an interesting director, and I’ve planned to watch all of his movies ever since I started with My Dear Enemy, which I really enjoyed. And I have to say that This Charming Girl is even better than My Dear Enemy because this is a really sad story about a woman who experienced something terrible when she was young—and she can’t escape the past, even if she tries.
So the protagonist is a loner, and she doesn’t have any close friends. She was about to get married, but she pulled out at the last second—and that sounded dirty if you catch my drift. You have a sick mind, and I have to politely ask you to leave my review. After that, she hasn’t been in a relationship because she was attached to her mother, who died—and that broke her completely. Then she meets a man at work, and she finds him interesting. She even invites him home to meet her cat. I’m not joking. So will she turn into a “normal” woman, or must she face the past and make a life-altering decision?
This is a really sad movie that touched my icy heart. I felt so sorry for the protagonist, who seems like a genuinely good person—but that doesn’t help much when an evil person ruins her future. The scenes with her and her mother, and her longing for her mother, are really heartbreaking to watch. The movie is well-directed, and it never wastes your time, even though it has some long scenes. But those long, sometimes static scenes work—especially the one where she’s eating and waiting for someone. You feel her loneliness. She is completely alone in the world. That scene made me so sad, and it also made me love the movie even more.
The acting is great, especially Kim Ji-soo, who plays the protagonist and has to carry most of the movie on her shoulders. You also get Hwang Jung-min in a smaller role, which is always great. But it’s Kim Ji-soo who carries the movie, and she is fantastic—especially toward the end when it’s time to face the past and make a choice that can turn her life upside down.
I didn’t expect to like the movie as much as I did. But it touched me in the right spot—and no, I don’t mean that spot, you sick pervert! It’s not a movie for people who can’t stand slow films with a protagonist who doesn’t say much. She may seem boring—but that’s because you’re young and stupid. It’s a movie for grown-ups who don’t need a little teaspoon to be fed the theme of the movie, the sadness, the darkness, and how messed up the world can be. It creates a small universe that pulls you close to the protagonist and sucks you into her sadness. Just enjoy it, because it’s a great movie!