Movie Digest
They began with a brief introduction of each of the film’s four central characters, Si-Yeon (Seol Si-yeon), Yeon-woo (Bae Yeon-woo), So-Jeong (Park So-Jeong), and Song-hee (Han Song-hee). Since she had just started at their middle school, Si-yeon was shy when she decided to join the photography club. However, following a funny incident involving a contact lens, the other three girls quickly welcome her, and it doesn’t take long for the four girls to hang out together outside. However, they are not especially interested in learning how to use cameras to take pictures, and neither is the teacher supervising them nor the other club members. The supervising teacher merely plays movies during their club time. Each student receives an outdated analog camera from the teacher before the school year ends, and they were instructed to use it to capture images as part of their summer homework. The phrase “end of the world” appears in the assignment topic. What does the world end entail? They must snap images of what is on earth?
The Feel-Good Part
The movie frequently takes a break so that viewers can pause for a moment to admire the pictures the cameras captured. We find ourselves drawn to the movie’s peaceful and reflective mood as we think more about how our four young girls will recall these fleeting moments that have been captured on camera.
The Disappointing Factor
The film’s naturalistic and straightforward direction about four little girls may make it seem dry and simplistic to certain people.
In-Depth Analysis
Our four young girls eventually came up with a plan while debating where to designate “the end of the world ” for their summer schoolwork. They need to ride the subway to Sinchang Station, which feels like “the end of the earth” because it is at the southern terminus of Seoul Metropolitan Subway Line 1. They will spend a short while there before returning to Seoul. Once there, they will search for anything noteworthy enough to be photographed by them. Naturally, they quickly come to understand how unprepared they are. They have trouble getting the special subway train that would take them to Sinchang station right away, and it soon becomes apparent that this station is not quite the terminus of the underground line because the railroad continues past it. Later, when the train has stopped, they can see the station’s old location, but at this point, when it seems so deserted and abandoned, they start to doubt their summer work. A minor stroke of lousy luck causes our four females to start exploring more in the countryside near Sinchang Station, and the film quietly follows their relatively uneventful excursion.
Star Power
The four young actors in the film deliver graceful, genuine performances that sparkle with authentic spontaneity under the capable direction of first-time directors Kwon Min-Pyo and Seo Han-sol. The directors also handled and modulated the group acting of their four young actors.
Overall Opinion
It is a compelling South Korean debut picture. It’s a movie that’s worth watching.
