South Korean Film 2018
Middle School Girl ‘A’ (South Korean Movie Review & Summary)
Middle School Girl A
- Genre: School, Youth, Family, Life, Drama
- Date Released: 2018
- Origin: South Korea, Webtoon
- Film: 1hr 54 minutes
Cast:
- Suho as Jae Hee
- Kim Hwan-hee as Jang Mi Rae
- Lee Jong-hyuk as Teacher
- Jung Da Bin as Baek Hap
- Yoo Jae Sang as Tae Yang
- Jung Da Eun as Noh Ra
- Jong Ho as Gameworld Giant
- Jung Hyung Suk as Mi Rae’s father
Review & Summary
This is quite an engrossing film though rather dark at times as it tackles young people’s stressful life that suicide seemed their only option.
Having said that no one died in this movie. And the ending is satisfying.
Mi Rae is in middle school, She is a smart girl and she was good at writing stories.
But despite her abilities and accomplishments, she is often alone and shunned by fellow pupils. This was because she comes from a dysfunctional family where her father is a violent alcoholic and would often use his fists against her until she’s bloodied and bruised.
Her mother though was too busy and too tired from her job that she does not notice or rather ignore what was happening.
The only escape for young Mi Rae was an online game world where she is a part of a team that battles the underworld baddies.
Mi Rae works as a school library assistant where she was befriended by Tae Young.
Tae Young rather led her on. He was very attentive toward her that she developed a crush on him which she thought was mutual.
He was her classmate and so was Baek Hap who started talking to her and wanting to know what Mi Rei was always writing on her notebook.
Mi Rei told her that it was a story and let Baek Hap read it. It was about a bird with no name and a wolf.
The wolf gave the bird a name which was ‘A’ and lots of encouragement.
Baek Hap said that it was very good and she can’t wait how the story would progress.
Tae Young encouraged her to enter a school story writing contest.
Mi Rei wanted to confess to Tae Young of her feelings but did not really know how to.
Mi Rei was in the plaza when she saw a friendly mascot character giving away free hugs. Mi Rei had a hug as she was going through a difficult time at home.
She found out that the mascot was one of her online friends, who she thought was a girl, Hee Na. He thought she was a boy as she was called Dark lord.
They became confidant as they have the same problem with having irresponsible parents.
Mi Rei told him about her crush and Jae Hee advised her to confess.
Feeling bolden by Jae Hee’s advise she went to school and found that Baek Hap was dating Tae Yang. And to rub insult to injury, Baek Hap had plagiarised her story and submitted it as her own.
They were asked by the teacher to confess who copied from whom. Her witness Tae Yang who she first told her story would not stand for her as he was occupied by Baek Hap.
The teacher who was obsessed with his orchid told her to take the high road and just develop humility. She said that she had to let it go.
Mi Rae was at the end of her tether after having been beaten by her father. She went to her only friend Jae Hee who understood her.
When she said she wanted to die, all he said was that to join the queue because he was also working towards killing himself. He has his own problems.
The guilt of bullying his own best friend in high school because he was being bullied by others so took it out on his best friend was slowly eating him up.
He had a bucket list before he takes his own life.
He gifted Mi Rae a notebook as well for her wishes.
He told Mi Rae that she had to write a will to the person who will be the saddest when she dies.
Mi Rae said that no one would be sad. But thinking about it, she wrote her will address to her mother who she thanked for the strawberries.
The plagiarising became a big issue at the school as it was reported in the newspaper.
Both Mi Rae and Baek Hap were advised to bring their parents to school if they don’t confess.
Finally, Baek Hap confessed. She got bullied by her classmates but Mi Rae stood up for her in the end.
The teacher was giving the same spiel to another student about being like an orchid and practise humility.
Mi Rei can’t take the teacher’s attitude anymore. She took the orchid pot and ran to the rooftop with it followed by the teacher and classmates.
She threw the cactus and accidentally fell with it as the teacher and classmates looked on in shock.
Mi Rei knew it was the end but the friendly giant from her online game suddenly materialised and helped her fall on a cushion of a dense leafy tree.
Mi Rei saw Jae Hee once more who said that he was leaving for Alaska. Mi Rei was worried about it and made Jae Hee promised to write his will address to her and it has to be written perfectly with excellent grammar and spelling.
He said he was not going to die yet. He might go to college in Alaska.
As he was leaving he gave her a letter.
She was upset to see him leaving, her only friend. But she promsied herself not to cry.
But as soon as she read his letter a floodgate of tears opened and she cried so hard. The letter said it was alright to cry if you are sad.
It ended with MI Rei meeting the girls at the train station to go to school. It seems she, at last, made proper friends.