Architecture 101

After so many years, I feel it is necessary to point out for most audience, especially from the West, that the object of pursuit in contemporary Asian tales about "first love", is NOT "love", at least not in the way you understand that term. In fact, it is usually an aspiration, or idealism. Something one has when one is young, and which has since been suppressed, or lost.

Viewed in that light, I hope it is easier to understand the protagonists' motives and actions. The drama comes abundantly in showcasing all the insecurities about social-economic status, peer pressure, sex and more, that one is willing to endure so long as one believes the objective is just around the corner. They end up haunting us for far longer than we want to admit.

Architecture 101 picks an axe to grind. It does so at a sure and steady pace. All along we have just been groping in the dark. We still are. In the end, the only consolation is that we know we miss each other, and the aspirations. We know we missed. We need to let more light into the house.

If you are a male or female who has ever had a childhood crush, this story is too familiar. Architecture 101 will take you through a painful, realistic, and gut-wrenching memoir of growing up next to the childhood love of your life - those best days of your life. However, I have just one major gripe that ruined the movie for me.

The acting and dialogue are candid, the cinematography beautiful, and the tragic moments are (in the Korean dramatic fashion) unapologetically tragic. It is not the type of movie to make you cry outright, but it will make you breathe quickly and feel a deep, naive longing. The thing that ruined the movie for me is this: in one of the scenes, a drunk girl is presumably taken advantage of while a boy who is watching not only does nothing to confront the aggressor, but leaves the scene and cries about his misfortunes of liking her with one of his friends, who consequently calls her worse than a w****. Doesn't that make you cringe? It's appalling how this scene isn't rectified; if it had been, Architecture 101 would be one of my favorite movies. Otherwise, it makes me uncomfortable to recommend something that advertises such a cowardly and misogynistic action. So if you feel like there was maybe a little something off about that scene, please know that you are not alone.

Would-be 8/10, but marked down for the reasons above.

And for the would-be haters, I am a 19 y.o. male (not that it makes a difference to my review).

6/10

Actors were amazing. But one thing above all that made this movie so realistic and relatable is the little details. The broken door, the Geuss, the cd player. Made me look back in my life and I found many similar. That's just the director's brilliance Oh I almost forgot. The house they built on the island has such an elegant design, I will use it as a reference when I build mine💯

There is a lot of freshness to the shots, the performances, the sets, but behind it it's the same old love story between the pretty girl and the quiet innocent boy driven by miscommunication and hesitations, full of clichés, including the so-called bright personality of the female lead, which in this case ends up annoying me, especially in the adult version. She pesters and probes him, but she hates it when he does it to her. She chose the easy route and now she comes back out of curiosity. I really disliked her and in general this kind of dynamic does not work for me. Still, much better than My Sassy Girl or A Moment to Remember, where I disliked the female lead with a passion.

Also that poster does not appear anywhere in the movie, I would've noticed that outfit. Not the first time I have seen this with Korean movies though.

And another thing - how are these two supposed to be the same age? She is so pretty and he looks at least ten years older in the adult version. And young and adult Seo Yeon have different features.

That friend of his and their talks on the street corner were very entertaining.

Trigger warning - date rape as advice to inexperienced men. What's going on Korea?

I really wanted to like it more and it wouldn't have taken much, but it's hard when you don't empathize with the leading lady. I appreciated the realistic ending though.

Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful movie!!

This is a classic example of making a Good movie without spending HUGE money, lavish sets or worthless Special effects!!

Thanks for making such a Wonderfully Crafted piece!!