THE STORY – A Swedish diplomat and a North Korean traffic officer share a forbidden romance in Pyongyang. As his diplomatic assignment nears its end, they face a heart-wrenching choice.
THE CAST – Jeon Woon-jong, Lee Chan-yong, Lee Ga-young & Lee You-jun
THE TEAM – Kim Bo-sol (Director/Writer)
THE RUNNING TIME – 73 Minutes
The cold winters of Pyongyang only worry Isak Borg’s grandmother, as she’s constantly sending care packages packed to the brim with Swedish sausages to help him feel at home. Isak (voiced by Lee Chan-youn) has spent some time in North Korea working as the First Secretary to the Swedish Embassy. As an outsider, the diplomat finds himself living an existence filled with societal scrutiny, pushing him toward a life of isolation. Every move he makes, everywhere he goes, is constantly under surveillance by the North Korean government. This only puts even more pressure on Isak to keep his secret romance with local traffic officer Bok-joo (voiced by Lee Ga-young) hidden from anyone between the two.
These forbidden lovers are forced to reconvene in the shadows to make it work but bury a searing passing for one another that can never see the light of day. With “The Square,” first-time filmmaker Kim Bo-sol creates a scaled-back yet riveting romance that only evolves the longer he puts these characters through the wringer. Audiences further delve into a romance that is further tested as Isak’s status in the country hangs in the balance, which only pressures the two to ask essential questions about each other as their time might come to an end.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen an animated debut from a filmmaker as confident in their storytelling as Kim is here. His screenplay is airtight, masterfully weaving this web of loneliness between these characters so desperately yearning for connection amidst a system that will prevent them from searching for it. This tension is only built upon by the involvement of a third party in the form of an undercover agent and associate of Isak, Myeong-jun (voiced by Jeon Woon-jong). Myeong is suffering with yearning in his own right as he’s forced to balance his duty to his country amidst the burgeoning companionship with Isak that he’s tasked with repressing. These ever-evolving dynamics also add emotional fuel to the fire that helps the narrative’s evolution from a swooning romance to an espionage thriller. This change in tone never feels jarring as it feels within the parameters of the atmosphere that Kim so expertly instills from the very first moments the film starts.
Audiences become absorbed in this moody landscape of a Pyongyang filled with a dark cloudiness only broken through by the snow, mainly reflective of the sadness that’s pressing on the soul of these three leads. It’s also telling that Kim never lets the understated nature of his storytelling let any of the emotional or narrative beats overextend their welcome. There’s no lull in the pacing as “The Square” feels edited in the most precise manner, not wasting viewers’ time as every moment matters. The animation is also excellent, somewhat reminiscent of the style of Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s “Flee.” There will be those who watch “The Square” who will chip away at the animation, finding its style to be too simplistic. Kim’s decision to implement a more minimalist 2D style plays perfectly into his story. This is not to say there isn’t a sequence of extravagantly executed animation, but there are moments when Kim and the other animators flex their artistic muscles. What certainly pairs well with Kim’s animation style is the excellent cinematography. The way Kim frames this film feels fresh, even if the story may play out in a manner that could be perceived as predictable.
Jeong Yongjin’s score is lovely, matching the tempo of Kim’s tonal fluctuations, perfectly blending the lines from a dreamily romantic serenade to an uptempo propulsiveness throughout the film’s more thrilling moments. Jeong’s score is just one of many technical aspects of “The Square” that elevate the material present here. The sound work of “The Square” is also quite exceptional, especially the sound editing. The sound mixing, mainly the ADR at times, begins to tread the line of being overmodulated, mostly when involving some of the film’s antagonists. For a debut, Kim does an excellent job showing his potential as a filmmaker, let alone a voice in animation. He takes cultural specificity and imbues it into a story that feels like the best mixture of genres, which is very much honored by the care put into this film. “The Square” may fall through the cracks among many, but those who stumble across it will be rewarded with a fantastic exercise in storytelling and animation that flies by.
