Our Love Story

Lee Hyun-ju's 2016 South Korean film covers the beginning and unravelling of a relationship between two women. Yoon-ju is a fine arts student who meets Ji-soo, working as a bartender, while gathering material for her graduation project, and the two grow close quickly. The film gives the early period in detail, after which the pressures accumulate: Yoon-ju's father learning of it, the anxiety of finding work, the uncertainty in Ji-soo's own past and their disagreement about how visible the relationship should be. The account shows discrimination not through big scenes but through daily exhaustion. It was made under independent conditions with a plain camera and natural light. It drew festival attention at a time when queer narratives were scarce in Korea. Who it's for: viewers who like quiet queer drama and Korean independent cinema. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a happy ending; the film covers the end of the relationship too.