You are here:

Josée

Name: Josée
Director: Kim Jong-kwan
Released: 2020
Duration: 117 min

Representation Score

8.1/10

Excellent

2020

Director

Kim Jong-kwan

Runtime

117 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

Kim Jong-kwan’s *Josée* succeeds by subverting the 'rescue' cliché often found in romantic dramas. By centering a protagonist with a disability, the film moves beyond mere sentimentality to explore the friction between isolation and social integration. The character's journey is defined by a drive for independence rather than a need to be cured. While the film excels in disability representation, it remains within traditional straight-centered and culturally homogeneous frameworks. It does not actively challenge gender hierarchies through queer perspectives or multi-ethnic casting, focusing instead on a specific South Korean social landscape. Ultimately, the film's strength lies in its refusal to treat its protagonist as a passive figure, using her lived experience to critique restrictive caretaking hierarchies and the psychological toll of navigating a world not built for her.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does Josée have LGBTQ+ representation?

Fair

The film centers on a heterosexual romance and does not highlight LGBTQ+ identities or engage with queer theory through specific character arcs.

How does Josée portray gender?

Good

The narrative disrupts traditional gender hierarchies by centering a female protagonist with significant intellectual and emotional depth. It avoids the passive female cliché by showcasing her psychological complexity.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Josée?

Fair

As a South Korean production, the film presents a culturally specific, homogeneous landscape. It focuses on localized emotional nuances rather than multi-ethnic or post-colonial themes.

How does Josée represent religion and culture?

Good

The film critiques traditional familial structures through the complex, sometimes confining relationship between Josée and her grandmother. It explores the tension between filial piety and individual autonomy.

Does Josée include disability representation?

Excellent

Josée is portrayed with profound ability to act rather than as a tool for evoking pity. The film avoids using her disability for inspirational purposes by focusing on the mundane, frustrating realities of her physical limitations.

Present on Screen

Provides a dignified portrayal of disability that avoids 'inspiration porn' and focuses on genuine ability to act.
Subverts traditional gender clichés by giving the female lead significant psychological and thematic weight.
Offers a nuanced critique of traditional familial structures and the confinement of protective caretaking.

Limited or Absent

Lacks engagement with LGBTQ+ identities or non-straight-centered romantic structures.
Maintains a culturally homogeneous social landscape without exploring multi-ethnic perspectives.
Operates within traditional romantic frameworks rather than critiquing the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.

Official Synopsis

Young-seok, who feels overwhelmed and lonely in what should be his glorious youth, meets a woman who introduces herself as Josée, and they share a once-in-a-lifetime romance.

How are these scores produced? →