TIFF 2024 romantic drama ‘Love In The Big City’ explores turbulence, chaos of youth in South Korea

The cinematic version of filmmaker E.oni is reportedly based on the novel of the same name by Park Sang-young that has been shortlisted for the International Booker Prize in 2022, exploring how young adults live and love in the big city of Seoul.

Having recently won the best actress Baeksang Award for the box-office hit Exhuma, starring Kim Go-eun (as Jae-hee) and Steve Sanghyun Noh (as Heung-soo), and cinematographed by Hyoungju Kim, the film speaks to a wide audience exploring the turbulence and chaos of youth regardless of their backgrounds.

In a collective, uniform culture like South Korea’s, Jae-hee embraces her individuality provoking endless gossip. One day, she meets  Heung-soo, another misfit lost in the big city. But unlike Jae-hee, Heung-soo hopes to hide his true identity.

When Jae-hee finds out his secret by chance, the two young adults form an unlikely relationship and navigate growing pains in search of love and self in Seoul focusing on the development of love, desire, and intimacy between protagonists exploring the challenges that arise in their relationships.

A female commercial filmmaker from South Korea, E.oni  studied directing at the Korea National University of Arts in Seoul.

Her popular debut feature …ing (03) was seen as a high-water mark during the heyday of Korean romance cinema.

Exploring various genres including suspense, crime, and comedy since then, ‘Love in the Big City’ takes her back to her romance roots.

E.oni has also directed the films Love Exposure (07), Missing Woman (16), and The Accidental Detective 2: In Action (18). Love In The Big City (24) is her latest film.

(Reporting by Asha Bajaj)