Sex Is Zero

Eun-sik, returning to university late after military service, sits in class with students far younger than him. He falls for Eun-hyo from the swimming team. The first half of the film is built on crude jokes, embarrassing situations and dormitory comedy. In the second half the tone changes completely. The film is not interested in youth comedy. It is interested in that turn: what happens to Eun-hyo, and the abortion section, swing the film into melodrama in a moment. That sharp shift, common in Korean commercial cinema, is both the most disputed and the most memorable thing about it. The form is in two pieces: bright campus comedy followed by hospitals, tears and long speeches. The join between them is weak and the film does not hide it. JK Youn directed. It was a large box-office success in Korea, produced a sequel and became the best-known example of the youth comedy wave of the period. Im Chang-jung plays Eun-sik and Ha Ji-won plays Eun-hyo. She became one of Korea's most recognised actors after this film. Who it is for: viewers curious about Korean youth comedy of the 2000s. Who it is not for: anyone who cannot take crude humour and jokes made about a woman's body. The first half is seriously problematic by today's standards.