'No Heaven, But Love' captures heartfelt purity of late 90s

Actors Park Soo-yeon, from left, Kim Hyun-mok, Shin Gi-hwan and Lee You-mi in a scene from “No Heaven, But Love.” Courtesy of Swcontent

People still remember 1999, when apocalyptic theories about the end of the world and concerns over Y2K, or the millennium bug, which threatened to disrupt societal systems, were widespread.

Looking back, nothing significant happened, but those who lived through that era experienced considerable anxiety about the unknown future.

"No Heaven, But Love" portrays a love story set in 1999, focusing on two high school girls, Joo-young (Park Soo-yeon) and Ye-ji (Lee You-mi), who fall in love at first sight despite their naivety about true love. They demonstrate a pure, considerate, and responsible attitude toward each other, striving to protect their relationship amid the anxieties of that era.

Director Han Jay said she chose 1999 to convey the analog and romantic feel of that era to the audience.

"I set it in 1999 because it was a time when Y2K and apocalyptic theories were taken seriously. I thought there would be an irony in combining the question of what we should do if the world ends with the story of first love," Han said during a press conference in a theater in Seoul, Wednesday.

"I found the analog aspects of that era very romantic. I tried to highlight things like pagers, handwritten letters and phone calls in telephone booths.”

A poster for “No Heaven, But Love” / Courtesy of Swcontent

In this movie, Joo-young, a high school taekwondo athlete, first encounters Ye-ji, who works at a hamburger eatery after being released from a juvenile detention center, while delivering a confession note from her friend Min-woo (Kim Hyun-mok). On her way home, Joo-young is attacked by her taekwondo teammates, and Ye-ji intervenes by sounding a toy siren, rescuing her from the assault.

The two girls then begin living together through a youth socialization program run by Joo-young's mother. During a trip to Iksan with her friends Seong-hee (Shin Gi-hwan), Min-woo, and Ye-ji — arranged by her mother — Joo-young realizes the depth of her feelings for Ye-ji, confirming the love that began from their very first meeting.

However, reality challenges their relationship, and they must work hard to take responsibility for their choices and protect what is precious to them.

Lee You-mi, known for her role in Netflix's "Squid Game," mentioned that she was drawn to this film because it explores the theme of being someone's first love, rather than just focusing on a typical girls' romance.

"I was moved by the aspect of Ye-ji being Joo-young's first love. I placed great significance on receiving someone's first love," Lee said.

Apart from the queer love, the movie also vividly depicts the violence prevalent in Korean society at that time, especially school violence.

Joo-young suffers physical abuse from her coach and quits taekwondo after refusing to deliberately lose a match. Another taekwondo athlete, Seong-hee, also endures sexual harassment from the coach.

The director aimed to portray the love between the two main characters as the central plot, while incorporating the issue of violence in Korean sports — a problem that was even more severe at the time — as a subplot.

"Such violence was prevalent in the 1990s, and there weren't many places to report these injustices or immediately record them on phones, so I thought it was appropriate to address this issue," Han said.

"I believe our film is not only a love story but also one that addresses violence in the sports world," Park said. "I think the violent scenes in the movie were necessary."

The film received Watcha's Pick at the Jeonju International Film Festival and captivated audiences with sold-out screenings at the Seoul Independent Film Festival, Seoul International Pride Film Festival, Seoul International Women’s Film Festival, and Florence Korea Film Fest. It was acclaimed for its delicate portrayal of budding queer romance.

“No Heaven, But Love” will open in theaters on Oct. 16.