Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
    Battlefield 6 Multiplayer Reveal promotional image

    Battlefield 6 Classes, Maps, And More: Everything You Need To Know

    07/31/2025
    A glimpse at all the upcoming Star Wars stories coming to the galaxy

    Star Wars Stories: What We Learned At SDCC 2025

    07/25/2025
    Blindspot episode still

    It’s been 5 years since ‘Blindspot’ ended. Why haven’t you watched it yet?

    07/24/2025
    Strange Scaffold

    Strange Scaffold Summer Showcase Delivers Bizarre And Brilliant Games

    07/22/2025
  • Fantasia Festival
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Switch 2 Games
But Why Tho?
Home » Film » REVIEW: ’20th Century Girl’ is Sweet Until Its Lonely

REVIEW: ’20th Century Girl’ is Sweet Until Its Lonely

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez10/07/20224 Mins ReadUpdated:10/10/2022
20th Century Girl - But Why Tho
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

20th Century Girl - But Why Tho

Looking back at first love can be a nostalgic experiment for filmmakers. It allows them to capture a time period before the over-connectedness of our very online lives today, and that distance between people wanting to communicate offers up compelling storytelling devices. In 20th Century Girl, directed and written by Bang Woo-Ri, we get the chance to head back to 1999, when we all thought the world might end and youth offered an unclouded look at the future. Crafting a story of friendship and romance, filmmaker Woo-ri manages to present a nostalgic story that leaps into the emptiness of the present.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Bo-ra (Kim Yoo-jeong) is at the center of this story. Meeting her in 2019, we get to see her as an adult when a mysterious tape brings back her memories from high school and her first love. In 1999, Bo-ra is a 17-year-old high school student. She is good at taekwondo, not afraid to talk to anyone, and is dedicated to her best friend Yeon-doo (Roh Yoon-seo). When Yeon-doo heads to the United States for surgery, Bo-ra promises to keep eyes on her best friend’s crush, Hyun-Jin (Park Jung-woo).

Reporting back to Yeon-doo after each new piece of information Hyun-jin shares, Bo-ra hopes to play matchmaker, even joining the school’s broadcasting club to get closer. But as she becomes friends with Hyun-jin, she also begins to get closer to Woon-Ho (Byeon Woo-Seok). When she realizes that Hyun-jin and Woon-ho are best friends, she uses the latter to get closer and learn more about the former but ultimately ends up befriending them both. But one day, friendship turns to first love as she begins to fall for Woon-ho, a moment showcased in Netflix’s TUDUM event earlier this month.

20th Century Girl is sweetly made with deep care in representing a high school romance as something complex. The film manages to explore the way friendship intersects with potential romance and ultimately how teens prioritize them both. There are typical rom-com moments and dream-like romantic moments surrounded by plum trees or sitting in the rain, all combine for dynamic romantic storytelling. Ultimately, everything is presented as a memory and in that, it’s presented as cherished moments in Na Bo-ra’s past. With a filter that makes all of Bo-ra’s moments with Woon-ho feel magical, Bang Woo-ri manages to create the weightless feeling of young love before pulling us back down to earth in the final act.

As actors, Kim You-jung and Byeon Woo-seok have amazing chemistry that moves from close friends to a romantic pairing effortlessly. The care in their eyes and the way the two emote through their dialogue showcases a delicate yearning that ultimately moves into a thoughtful love. The reason their chemistry is so palpable is that both actors understand the importance of detailing a connection in their friendship first. While we see them as an ultimate pair, the romance is the payoff for seeing them grow closer as two people, seemingly uninterested in romance. And to be honest, that helps it all feel real.

20th Century Girl isn’t all that sweet in its final act, which leaves our lead alone in the end. While the twist allows for an emotional ending that left me sobbing, the bitterness in the bleakness is rough. Feeling like two movies pulled into one, the film isn’t a bad one. It’s wholesome and loving, but at the same time, the final act leaves me with questions and a small ache in my stomach that makes it hard to think back on.

Ultimately, when taken as a time capsule, 20th Century Girl is a look at young love, friendship, and learning how to act on your emotions. That said, it also manages to land a sad ending that despite wanting to offer hope, leaves the bitter taste of missed opportunity. While I think that this story would have worked better as a drama series, ever a limited one at that, the two-hour runtime is well worth the watch.

20th Century Girl is streaming October 21, 2022 exclusively on Netflix.

20th Century Girl
  • 7.5/10
    Rating - 7.5/10
7.5/10

TL;DR

Ultimately, when taken as a time capsule, 20th Century Girl is a look at young love, friendship, and learning how to act on your emotions. That said, it also manages to land a sad ending that despite wanting to offer hope, leaves the bitter taste of missed opportunity.

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticleCATAN – Console Edition Coming 2023
Next Article REVIEW: ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Episode 7 — “The Eye”
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

08/02/2025
Brandon Routh and co in Ick
9.0

REVIEW: ‘Ick’ Is A Near Perfect Horror-Comedy

07/29/2025
Bad Bunny and Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore 2
5.0

REVIEW: ‘Happy Gilmore 2’ Earns More Shrugs Than Laughs

07/29/2025
Hi-Five
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Hi-Five’ Introduces A Scrappy, Superpowered Team Up

07/28/2025
Still from Haunted Mountains The Yellow Taboo
5.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo’ Gets A Little Lost In The Weeds

07/26/2025
Dakota Gorman in HELLCAT
6.5

FANTASIA 2025: ‘HELLCAT’ Runs High In Tension But Loses Steam

07/25/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Wildgate promotional key art
9.0
PC

REVIEW: ‘Wildgate’ Is Co-Op Space Mayhem Done Right

By Adrian Ruiz07/25/2025Updated:07/30/2025

Built for friends and tuned for competition, Wildgate is messy in the best way: smart, surprising, and bursting with room to grow.

Glass Heart
7.0
TV

REVIEW: ‘Glass Heart’ Offers Messy, Musical Catharsis

By Allyson Johnson07/22/2025

The musical drama series ‘Glass Heart’ soars when it focuses on the epic performances of it’s fictional band, TENBLANK.

Simon in An Honest Life But Why Tho
3.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘An Honest Life’ Is Terribly Dishonest About Its Own Politics

By Jason Flatt08/02/2025

An Honest Life is an overly severe misfire about a law student who falls in with anarchist burglars that can’t decide who it resents more.

Black Women Anime — But Why Tho (9) BWT Recommends

10 Black Women in Anime That Made Me Feel Seen

By LaNeysha Campbell11/11/2023Updated:12/03/2024

Black women are some of anime’s most iconic characters, and that has a big impact on Black anime fans. Here are some of our favorites.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here