Our Love Story (2016) — Lee Hyun-ju
A bittersweet coming of age love story.
A shy Fine Arts student has never fallen in love until she does, with another girl. From this moment on, events take a fast pace, though always centering on their relationship. Everything in her life is drawn into this new romance and she is taken over completely by feelings she’s never felt before. And it’s fine, until it’s overwhelmingly not, and her work and relationships, love and friendship-wise, seem to fail. Even though focusing on the character of Yoon-ju (Lee Sang-hee), the film also depicts how the other girl, Ji-soo (Ryu Sun-young), deals with her own sexuality.
The film was beautifully shot, with soft colors that portrait the naivety seen in Yoon-ju’s actions gradually darkening as she has to face reality. But the way the events succeeded one another, without a deeper investigation on the ‘whys’, gives the impression that by the end of the film something is missing. Maybe it was intentional, as the director didn’t want to aim at the details of the relationship itself but solely on its progression. How something that seemed like paradise can turn sour in a matter of seconds. Nevertheless, this is director Lee Hyun-ju’s first motion picture, yet not her first lesbian-themed work. Her debut in the cinema scene was with a short called “Ordinary Family”, that dealt with a lesbian girl who has to manage between her sexuality and her role as daughter.
Actually, in “Our Love Story”, as well, one of the reasons the relationship between the girls starts to fall into pieces is the fear Ji-soo feels towards her father finding out she is a lesbian. Family is central in accepting who we are to ourselves and to the rest of society, because of that its support for those who doesn’t fit what is socially expected of them is essential. And in Asia, where family fidelity and hierarchy is rule, this is even more important. Director Lee Hyun-ju knows this for a fact and this is clear in her work.
It’s determining that films and other media productions tackle not only this but other subjects in homosexuality in South Korea, and Asia for that matter, as this kind of media is still rare in the mainstream there, especially a good film such as this one. Having its first lesbian TV drama aired in 2011 — a very criticized, both positive and negatively, show called “Daughters of Club Bilitis” — South Korea entertainment industry is still shy on LGBT+ content, but if more high quality productions are made, especially drawing attention of international audiences and critics, it will certainly flourish.
“Our Love Story” could be a lesbian love story passed in any country of the world but offers a glimpse into this reality in South Korea. It’s a beautiful film, well assembled and played by actress Lee Sang-hee, who was nominated for Best New Actress in the 38th Blue Dragon Awards — one of the most popular film awards in the country — , which also awarded director Lee in the Best New Director category.
