Nominated for two Oscars including “Best Film” and considered by many critics to be one of the cinematic highlights of 2023.

“Nora Moon/Na Yong” (Greta Lee) and “Hae Sung” (Teo Yoo) are childhood friends living in South Korea, both adults initially played as children by (Moon Seung-ah) and (Leem Seung-min) respectively.

The pair are set up on a play date and become inseparable, enjoying their childhood in a haze of innocence, before tentative feelings start to develop between them.

The halcyon bliss is abruptly interrupted when the family of Na decides to move to Toronto, whereby Na changes her name to “Nora Moon”. Jumping forward in time, Nora moves to New York, meanwhile Hae is obliged to complete his military service in Korea.

The pair continue to interact via video calls which retain some latent intimacy, yet are imbued with awkwardness, neither having resource to visit each other in person.

The story begins to pull the two characters apart in a organic and believable way. One life begins to flourish, while another focuses on the past and possible regret, despite maintaining relationships of their own.

When eventually the two meet up in person, the delicate threads of their previous friendship and subsequent nascent love, intertwine in a delicate dance of emotions. Revealing more of the story would only ruin the spell the film manages to create and retain throughout.

This is no “meet cute” Hollywood rom-com and until the last few frames, it’s difficult to predict how this will play out. The story eloquently outlines how previous relationships echo through our future lives.

Director and writer Celine Song keeps the audience engaged throughout by relating a semi-autobiographical story, while initially different in location, the story has universal appeal and relevance.

All actors involved are superb, most notable are both leads who remain wholly believable with every look carrying immense weight, while treading a confident line between regret, hope and acceptance.

The main actors manage to balance on a tightrope of emotion which at any point, threatens to overbalance a film so delicate, we fear it might break apart at any moment.

The film has been described as “Sleepless in Korea” alluding to the Ryan/Hanks movie from long ago. Arguably unfair, this is a better film and feels far more real and grounded, replicating in intricate detail what real adult life is like.

Summary

A film to enjoy and treasure, arguably aiming and finding an audience with those prepared to be patient, being rewarded by enjoying a heartfelt meander through relatable human emotions.

Highly recommended and well worth seeking out.