Love Reset

Two years after marrying, Jeong-yeol and Na-ra decide to divorce, and the court gives them a thirty day period to reconsider. Leaving the courthouse they are in a car accident and both lose their memory. They do not know each other and begin falling in love again. Their families set about reminding them of their past so the divorce can go through. Nam Dae-joong directs. Kang Ha-neul plays Jeong-yeol and Jung So-min plays Na-ra. The Korean title is 30 Days. The structure inverts a template. In romantic comedy amnesia is usually the device that saves a relationship; here two families work to restore the memory, because they want the divorce. That reversal is the engine of the comedy. The register is entirely light and it makes no claim to realism. The consequences of the crash, the legal process and the amnesia itself are not taken seriously; all of it is machinery. It opened on 3 October 2023 and took over 18 million dollars worldwide, finishing as the sixth highest grossing Korean film of the year. Jung So-min won best actress at the 44th Golden Cinematography Awards for it, and Kang Ha-neul took best actor at the Korean Film Producers Association awards. Who it is for: viewers who like Korean romantic comedy and light family films. Who it is not for: the template is entirely familiar and the ending is predictable, and some of the humour is overplayed.