At 24, Heewan (Kim Minha) struggles to find hope and the will to live. Then, her first love, Ramwoo (Gong Myoung), reappears after six years—but as a grim reaper. Ramwoo warns Heewan of her impending death and proposes that they spend her remaining week fulfilling her bucket list. Thus begins their week-long journey. The story traverses between their playful high school years and the present, weaving together a time-traveling adventure, a connection between the living and the dead, and a mix of secrets and love in this fantasy coming-of-age romance. Gong Myoung and Kim Minha gradually build the tender and poignant emotions of their characters. Directed by Kim Hyeyoung and Choi Hana, the talents behind two impressive debut features IT’S OKAY! (2023) and More Than Family (2020), with creator Roh Deok, known for her unique genre style, this drama offers everything from wit and depth to genre appeal. (JEONG Jihye)

In the near future of the mid 21st century, the United States has fallen into a Second Civil War, with Texas and California seceding and forming the Western Forces militia, and Florida creating its own alliance. The nation’s authoritarian, three-term President makes a speech over the WF about taking a severe hit from the Loyalist states, calling it a major victory. Photojournalist Lee Smith watches the speech from her hotel room in New York City, while she sees a bombing occurring downtown. Civil War is a 2024 dystopian thriller film written and directed by Alex Garland, starring Kirsten Dunst, Wagner Moura, Cailee Spaeny, Stephen McKinley Henderson, Sonoya Mizuno, and Nick Offerman. In the United States and Canada, the film was projected to gross $18–24 million in its opening weekend. The film made $10.8 million on its first day, and it went on to debut to $25.7 million, surpassing Hereditary as the biggest opening weekend in A24’s history as well as the studio’s first film to top the box office.

In Parasite, secrets and lies, deceit and pretense, and manipulation and fraud thrive within the opulent estate of Park Dong-ik (Lee Sun-kyun), the successful CEO of an IT company. Dong-ik, who appears to have it all—wealth, honor, a loving wife, and children—seems outwardly kind and benevolent, but in reality, he harbors an unmasked disdain and contempt for others. Lee Sun-kyun accurately captures and conveys Dong-ik’s hypocrisy and vulgarity. His portrayal includes a grandiose yet sly smile, an ambiguous gaze that suggests both understanding and obscurity, and a demeanor that, while pretending otherwise, exudes arrogance and condescension. It’s the actor’s clever gestures that both conceal and reveal Dong-ik’s arrogance and obsession, who has his own standards for judging others and absolutely refuses to tolerate anything that crosses that line. Particularly, Dong-ik’s contemptuous glances and gestures, especially towards poverty and the vulnerable, are the film’s pivotal moments, adding a striking touch to the climax of Parasite. (JEONG Jihye)

The Angel (2018) director Luis Ortega returns with another weirdly funny, cool, and sexy thriller where we follow a star jockey, his girlfriend and partner in crime, and a mobster on his tail. Remo’s talents cannot save him from his self-destructive behaviors, and after an unfortunate accident on the most important race of his career, he will walk out of his life to become free. Like a wild horse fleeing from a predator, the unique and surreal tale of Dolores (née Remo) the fugitive is deliciously weaved in a non-judgmental and unapologetic manner. With perfectly timed tongue-in-cheek humor, dreamlike mating dance sequences, and a grand finale where everything comes to full circle, Kill the Jockey declares that Luis Ortega is one of the most intriguing auteurs of contemporary Argentinean cinema. (Karen PARK)

A distant view of a densely packed residential neighborhood. Suddenly, a scream is heard from somewhere. After this intriguing opening scene, we see a middle school boy and his younger sister, an elementary school girl, getting ready for school in a messy house with no adults around. In another house in the village, a high school boy is living alone in a desolate home. Fragment follows the children of both the perpetrator and the victim, left alone in the world after a murder claimed their parents. The film breathlessly alternates between their lives, highlighting the contradictory and brutal existence they’ve been burdened with. Both sides evoke pity and sorrow, and as we switch between them, we are swept up in a torrent of emotions. Embracing unbearable misfortune, these seemingly incompatible vulnerable souls endure their lonely nights, and then, a kind of miracle happens. (JUNG Hanseok)

Sometimes what is so precious to a person can be an object of transaction and fraud for others. It would be nice if people could control their greed, but the world doesn’t offer such kindness. Especially if someone lacks power and money, the world becomes crueler and harsher. In For Rana, the protagonists are parents looking for a new heart to save their daughter Rana. Hearing that the heart of an old man, who would die if taken off the respirator, would be good for a transplant to Rana, the parents meet the old man’s new wife and son to plead. The son, who is in a dispute over the old man’s inheritance, demands money for the heart transplant. Rana’s poor parents run around in all directions to raise money but hit a wall. This debut film by Iman Yazdi unfolds like an ordinary family melodrama before turning into a passionate whirlwind. The performances of the two actors playing Rana’s parents also create a magical effect that suddenly turns from gentle ripples into fierce waves. (NAM Dong-chul)

Two girls with the same name meet at a swimming pool and quickly become best friends. Yet, the fear of being alone again looms over them. As their dark emotions from this fear rise to the surface, the story takes a dramatic turn with a big splash in this thriller about teenage girls. (KANG Sowon)

It is said that there are more people learning Irish on the language learning app Duolingo than native Irish speakers. Some of these endangered Irish speakers reside in British-governed Northern Ireland. Kneecap depicts the story of how a school teacher and two troublemakers from Belfast accidentally come together to form a rap band, rise to become icons of resistance, and gain stardom. The members of the group Kneecap star in the film as themselves, with journalist-turned-director Rich Peppiatt at the helm. The film shatters the preconception that biopics are serious and dull, sticks up the middle finger at the arrogance of British imperialism, and creates a chaotic spectacle overflowing with provocative and hip energy. Just as the achievements of BTS and Bong Joon-ho have amplified global interest in Korean culture, Kneecap is a vivid testament to the impact of cultural influence. (Karen PARK)

In 1978, in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge, three French journalists arrive in this isolated and completely unknown region. They have been officially invited by the government to report on the reality of Cambodia and to interview Pol Pot, the leader of the Khmer Rouge. However, as their reporting continues, they begin to sense that something is profoundly wrong in this society, and they start to see things differently.
An official selection at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, this film is inspired by true events. The actors’ live-action performances, combined with black-and-white archival footage and the director’s signature clay puppet scenes, create layers of representation and amplify emotions. What are the “ideals” and “revolution” of Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, and who are they for? Through the eyes of journalists, director Rithy Panh confronts the heartbreaking past and asks these questions. (BOO Kyunghwan)

Se-eun is a janitor who is always the first to arrive at the pool where she works. One day, she runs into an old friend who is now a swimming instructor. As her friend prepares for maternity leave, she rekindles Se-eun’s forgotten dreams, sparking her attempt to transform her workplace into the field of her aspirations. This is a compelling story of a woman who turns her weaknesses into strengths. (KANG Sowon)

Du Jie, who had been in the spotlight as a cinematographer for blockbuster commercial films in China such as No Man’s Land (2013), SAVAGE (2018), and Moon Man (2022), emigrated to Japan three years ago where he completed his directorial debut, The Height of Coconut Trees. The film follows two couples. A man working as a cook in a restaurant and a woman working in a pet shop are in a long-term relationship and often eat lunch together in the park during their lunch break. One day, the man finds a ring swallowed by a fish and gives the ring to the woman as a gift. The other couple consists of a woman who has already committed suicide and a man who has acquired the old inn where she killed herself. Tension arises when the woman who received the ring visits the old inn, which is the space of the other couple. Seeing the woman visiting the inn alone, the inn owner suspects she might commit suicide and starts following her. The film tells an original story as it moves between past and present, man and woman, reality and ghost. (NAM Dong-chul)

The Arabian Nights trilogy maintains the surreal quality of the original work by shifting between the past and present without hesitation and overlapping them intentionally. It freely utilizes elements of both documentary and fiction to present a diverse array of stories about Portuguese people living through the economic crisis, conveyed through satire, metaphor, and realistic depiction. While Part 1 directly satirizes the incompetence of the politicians who caused the economic crisis and realistically portrays the lives of ordinary people experiencing the crisis, Part 2, composed of three episodes, provides the bleakest yet most powerful political metaphors, satire, and black humor in the trilogy. It shows how one seemingly unrelated event influences another and ultimately functions as a political metaphor through a chain of intriguing stories. (JO Ji-hoon)