What a waste of my time!!!

Close shines in drama with strong language, adult themes.

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Blistering performances.

The lives and loves of a group of girls heading out into the world and the cat that passes between them. Brilliantly made coming of age story from Korea is wonderfully acted, beautiful to look at (with a wonderful knack for being creative with text) and very real and warm. I think this is one of the better films I'm seen recently...and I know that I didn't connect with it the way that I should have. Oh to be a young woman in her late teens or early twenties, or maybe just a woman. If that were the case I would have eaten this film up. This is one of those movies you know got it right, maybe not in details but in emotions. Yes granted the 1am movie time didn't help, but this is one of those movies I can recommend completely, even though I know it didn't completely connect with me. This is one you really want to search for.

For anyone that has been out of high school for more than ten years can relate to this movie. It tells of five friends who were close in high school, but begin to drift apart immediately upon graduation.Like all friends, there is one in the group who tries hard, against all odds, of keeping the cluster of friends together, but in vain. The girls personalities and ambitions are different, from the corporate wanna-be, to the emotionally troubled artist. This is rated a buy. Watch it once and think about it on more than one level and you will be well rewarded. The cat is the one factor in the end that unites them all because the cat is eventually passed to each girl as the group dissolves.

Please don't expect something dramatic or exotic from this movie. You'll get disappointed. This movie is not a fairy tale.But, if you're serious about life, you may like this movie as I do. I saw it two years ago, and the image is still vivid, because it got me to think about my life and lives of so many friends of mine, not limited to the actors in the movie. After all, 70% of high school graduates don't go to college in Korea. It is not fair that nobody in movie industry cares just because the story is not fancy enough.I agree with the other reviewer in that the ending does not go anywhere. However, I would say the ending suggests a direction, and I believe that was intended. There is a background. A couple of years before this movie, younger generations of Korean started making their voice heard. Now, just after 10 years or so, a lot of cultural figures and opinion leaders are from non-mainstream careers, which used to be very rare in Korea. This movie is part of the shift, encouraging people to think of alternative paths.

a wonderful take on the trials of friendship. i was most taken by the character of Tae-hee. there is one scene where she is imagining herself floating in a boat, down a stream. all she wants to do is sit back, look up at the sky, and read. she wants to let everything go, and drift away from the mainstream. this scene was immediately relatable to me, almost cathartic. the director doesn't sentimentalize the very real emotions these young women are feeling. the music is quite good, and the performances are perfect.