[HanCinema's Film Review] "Soulmate"

Mi-so (inititally played by Kim Soo-hyung) is a bitter twelve year old girl who hates how her mother is constantly moving her around, this time to Jeju Island. There she meets Ha-eun (played by Ryu Ji-an), a more soft-spoken twelve year old girl with a mostly normal home life. They form a powerful friendship over the years which splinters when the now adult Mi-so (played by Kim Da-mi) moves back to the mainland while the now adult Ha-eun (played by Jeon So-nee) begins a more traditional life.

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That basic synopsis does not mention Jin-woo (played by Byeon Woo-seok) for good reason- he's not really in the movie very much at all. To even describe him as being the third point on a love triangle is a bit misleading. Jin-woo has very few real personality traits, and doesn't interact with either of the two leads often enough to feel like much of a character at all. This feeling persists even as he gets engaged to and starts planning a wedding with one of the actual leads.

I'm not bringing this up to criticize "Soulmate" as this aspect of the character is quite intentional. "Soulmate" is primarily a story about the relationship between Mi-so and Ha-eun, a demonstration of how to each other, they are the only real people in the world. They're also very different people, with very different personalities and outlooks, leading to the film's single most brutal scene where they reunite at a nice restaurant, creating a taste issue that first Mi-so, and then Ha-eun, are unable to really deal with.

The voice of screenwriter Kang Hyun-joo-II is quite present- the dysfunctional and queer nature of the estranged family unit that Mi-so and Ha-eun create is very reminiscent of "Jazzy Misfits" from 2020. But writer/director Min Yong-keun has the more overbearing hand here with a tone that focuses on the melodrama rather than the eccentricity. The two styles are often at odds with each other, with the compromise script being half an hour longer than it needs to be to accomodate both.

But probably the single biggest problem with "Soulmate" is the very unsettling ending, which finally explains the mystery of who's this kid that Mi-so has been taking care of in the flash forward portions of the movie. While I'm loathe to spoil this final plot twist, I really do need to note that what I wrote above, about how noone aside from Mi-so or Ha-eun is treated like a real person? That goes from metaphorical to literal in those final scenes, which indicate that Mi-so committed a rather significant crime.

This goes entirely unacknowledged because again, the core of the story is the nostalgic imprint Mi-so and Ha-eun have left on each other. There's also the dark irony of their assuming certain roles because of their background despite having no particular emotional attachment to those backgrounds. All of this culminates in their failing to really understand each other. But really they just don't understand themselves.

Written by William Schwartz

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"Soulmate" is directed by Min Yong-keun, and features Kim Da-mi, Jeon So-nee, Byeon Woo-seok, Jang Hye-jin, Park Choong-sun, Nam Yoon-su. Release date in Korea: 2023/03/15.

 

Available on DVD and Blu-ray from YESASIA and Amazon

DVD English Subtitled

DVD TW English Subtitled