As a child, is there anything more demeaning at school than getting picked last for dodgeball? Actually, don’t answer that.
In the sun-dappled opening scenes of The World of Us (2016), elementary school is a battlefield where friendships are forged and broken with alarming speed. Sun (Choi Soo-in), a shy and observant girl, finds herself on the fringes of the popular clique, yearning for a connection she can't quite grasp. When new student Jia (Seol Hye-in) arrives, radiating a confidence that Sun admires, she sees a chance to forge a friendship free from the cruel a posteriori of the more established schoolyard kids. Sun and Jia’s initial conversations crackle with a nervous energy, a mixture of curiosity and a cautious hope for belonging. As they share secrets and dreams under the shade of schoolyard trees, a bond begins to form, giving Sun a refuge from the loneliness we see in the opening frames, and suspect dates back further than the opening frames.
It is at the top (ok, close to the top) that it should be noted that Choi Soo-in delivers a remarkable performance as Sun, a girl whose longing for connection peeks out from behind a veil of quiet determination and hidden self-doubt. Seol Hye-in, also giving an outstanding performance for such a young actor, plays Jia, and the chemistry between the two works better than any two child actors your likely to find onscreen. By the second act of the film, when their friendship begins to strain, they play this with the same awkward realism that you’d expect from two adults. The young girls are not victims of a cruel world, but complex individuals capable of their own subtle cruelties. Sun wrestles with jealousy and insecurity as she navigates the dynamics of their relationship, sometimes lashing out in ways even she doesn't seem to fully understand.
Director Yoon Ga-eun has a gift for capturing the emotional complexities of childhood. Sun and Jia's world isn't all sunshine and playdates. (As the marketing for the film might have you believe.) Being demeaned, both by peers and by thoughtless adults, is a major theme of the film. The movie subtly explores the way casual judgments and dismissive comments can chip away at a child's confidence. Hurtful remarks echo throughout their days, reminding them that they must perpetually prove their worth, both to themselves and to those holding the power. Relationships become a lifeline for children under pressure, but also a source of unspoken competition and quiet resentment. The film is at peak power when highlighting the subtextual anxieties of its Sun and Jia: the desperate need to belong clashing with the instinct to protect one's fragile individuality.
The film's visual language is nuanced. Sunlight bathes scenes of carefree play, while claustrophobic interiors heighten moments of conflict. The world these girls inhabit feels both expansive and strangely confining, a reflection of the girls’ own contradictory desires for connection and autonomy. Even the film's soundtrack underscores the shifting dynamics: a playful melody subtly warped, with a hint of discord in moments of tension.
The World of Us is a film that lingers with you. It's a movie that says: even the most seemingly ordinary childhoods are marked by both joy and unspoken pain. While the film never lapses into excessive melodrama, it doesn't shy away from the emotional intensity of childhood. Like the girls themselves, the film is unflinchingly honest, a bittersweet ode to the bonds forged in the fire of youth.
The World of Us
Written and Directed by Yoon Ga-eun
2016
95 minutes
Korean
Recommended way to watch (at time of publication): Hoopla (free with a local library card; as Dae always says: it’s like finding five bucks in your pocket!
You’ll like this if you like: Mustang (2015), Eighth Grade (2018), or The Florida Project (2017)