Soulmate

Soulmate (2023) is the Korean version of the 2016 Chinese film Soul Mate, relocated to Jeju Island. Mi-so and Ha-eun meet at thirteen. One is restless with a chaotic home, the other is calm and orderly. Across fourteen years they move in and out of each other's lives, love the same man, fall out and come back. The idea at the centre is that the bond between these two women is never called a romance, and yet it is the most intense, most jealous and most destructive relationship in the film. The male character is almost a pretext. The narrative is built backwards from the present. There are paintings in an exhibition, and the question of who made them changes the final section. The Chinese original was directed by Derek Tsang, and its two leads shared the Best Actress prize at the Golden Horse Awards. Splitting that award is rare, and it also summarises what the film is about. The Korean version is a very faithful adaptation. What it adds is Jeju: the island works as the geography of wanting to leave and not being able to. The chemistry between Kim Da-mi and Jeon So-nee is the film's entire capital. It runs 124 minutes. Good for: Korean drama, stories about female friendship, and films that set out to make you cry. Less good for: the pace is slow, the ending is heavy, and anyone who has seen the original will keep comparing.