Soulmate (2023)

Soulmate (2023)

NR

Two childhood friends find their soulmate in this stunning, tearjerking drama

7.4

Movie

South Korea
English, Korean
Drama, Romance
2023
MIN YONG-KEUN
Byeon Woo-seok, Heo Ji-na, Hyun Bong-sik
124 min

TLDR

I literally reviewed the original Chinese version, so I already know how this will go… but why am I still crying?

What it's about

When they were 12 years old in Jeju Island, Ahn Mi-so and Go Ha-eun promised to never separate. When they were 18, Ha-eun got a boyfriend, and Mi-so moved back to Seoul, breaking the girls’ friendship. Now, they’re both 27, meeting years after they last spoke to each other.

The take

There are some connections that transcend definition, becoming more important and fundamental to one’s life than that of a romantic relationship. Not many people are lucky to have experienced it, but nevertheless it’s true. Soulmate is the Korean adaptation of the 2016 Chinese directorial debut, and while it’s faithful to the source material, there’s a focus to this rendition that elevates the film, with a greater emphasis on the titular soulmates rather than the boy that tore them apart. Because of this, Soulmate is much more emotionally devastating, neatly shifting some character revelations in order to grant the weight each moment deserves.

What stands out

They decided to focus more on the girls rather than the guy, and it’s not a big change, but it makes the film feel more tonally consistent all throughout.

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