Why
would high schools ever stage a production of Romeo & Juliet? It tells kids their teenage love is eternal and
suicide is a valid answer when their parents object. Instead, they should be
mounting shows that instill respect for their elders, like A Trip to Bountiful and The
Sunshine Boys. Nevertheless, it is Romeo
& Juliet the drama club at Sun Wha’s all-girls school will put on and
it will definitely not temper their girl-crushes in Ahn Jung-min’s Fantasy of the Girls, which screens
during this year’s New York Asian Film Festival.
Underclassman
Sun Wha’s best friend has a huge crush on motorcycle-driving school thespian
Hanam, so she coaches her to audition for the role of Juliet Capulet opposite
her Romeo. However, as things will happen in teen movies, she winds up with the
part herself. When she starts to rehearse with the rebellious Hanam, she starts
to get her friend’s attraction. Meanwhile, Su-yeon, the student director, finds
herself attracted to Sun Wha, giving her a double shot of jealousy, since she
was also ambiguously close with Hanam.
And
so it goes, with teachers an absolute non-factor and parents being a mostly
ineffectual but reasonably pleasant presence in their kids’ lives. Basically,
if you read a lot of school-crush yuri and yaoi manga, Fantasy is your cup of tea. In this case, it would be manhwa, but
you get the idea. Ahn is also quite restrained and chaste in her approach. A
little bit of hand-holding is about as risqué as the film gets.
It
is also nice to see all the relevant parties are safely within the same age
bracket. Frankly, the universal adulation for Blue is the Warmest Color and the upcoming Call Me By Your Name is quite problematic given their depictions of
adults “initiating” not quite of-age teens in the love-that-dared-not-speak-its-name-during-the-times-of-Oscar-Wilde.
Didn’t Milo Y. get run out of town on a rail for suggesting such behavior was
acceptable? But we digress.
Regardless,
No Jeong-ee is indeed quite winning Sun Wha, as is her BFF, but alas online
credits are spotty for Fantasy. Nara
is sort of stuck in ice queen gear for much of the film, but she certainly exudes
coolness. However, the real standout is Cho Soo-hyang, who subtly and smoothly
covers quite a wide emotional gamut as Su-yeon.
