The column this week comes with a statutory warning: Hong Ji-young’s New Year Blues is not a recommendation for the die-hard cinephiles. It is an effort to try and be in tune with the celebratory spirit of the moment, as 2025 makes way for 2026. So, if you are not partying, feeling lonely or gloomy, you could try a shot of New Year Blues with some hot chocolate for accompaniment, preferably with a helping of marshmallows.
In a landscape dominated by the US and UK, New Year Blues is one of the few contemporary international holiday flicks, including Farah Khan’s ho-hum Happy New Year. No wonder this South Korean film borrows heavily from the commonplace Hollywood rom-coms and then garnishes them with an obvious corny touch of the hugely popular K Dramas.
Set during seven snowy days from Christmas to New Year’s Eve, it’s about the ups and downs in the love life of four couples, who are linked to each other, in a roundabout way, through the common worlds they inhabit—snowboarding, tourism, a greenhouse and the civil service office.
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