Over the Border

The story is about star-crossed lovers from North Korea who become separated when one is forced to flee to South Korea with his family.

Once there, he pays someone to help him relocate his girlfriend. But he gets ripped off and doesn't see his girlfriend for another three years, by which time he is married to a South Korean woman.

The movie works because it shows the changes that happen when a person moves country. The changes in the male protagonist appear to be superficial- what he eats, his relationship with technology, even the way he walks and talks- but he clings to them with pride. This causes him confusion, further distancing any chance of reconciliation when his Northern girlfriend reappears. The movie deserves a big plus for showing this in an archetypal way which anyone could relate to.

I have watched a handful of Korean movies and chose this one because I knew nothing about it. It was a refreshing change. Probably it does not reach the emotional heights of some other movies, but it has a solid story about how people change in a new country.