Boy in the Pool is a comforting yet melancholic film bathed in visual poetry.
Prospect, talent, fate… they always seem to come with a frustrating weight, don’t they? Still, life finds a way, even when the dream is no longer yours.
Written by Xiaoyi Wang
The moonlight beams through the swimming pool window, ricochets off the water, and glistens on the wall with rippled stardust. Two silhouettes walk on opposite sides of the pool, their shadows cast amid the reflected light. They walk… and they talk. This is a story of growing up, of talent and prospect, of the invisible string that intertwines our lives.
Ryu Yeon-su’s feature debut, presented at the 20th Korean Film Festival, is a coming-of-age tale mixed with a hint of fantasy. Seok-young (Hyo-woo) is a thirteen-year-old girl who loves to swim. The film starts with her moving to the countryside and meeting the mysterious Woo-ju (Lee Min-Jae) at the local pool. Seok-young’s been the top swimmer at her old school; she is confident and bossy, so when she sees this boy who constantly hangs out at the pool but never swims, she pushes him to go swim with all the other kids. He eventually gives in, but arrives with… socks? Their encounter is enigmatic and somewhat mythical. Seok-young finds out at the beach that he, in fact, has webbed feet, and this becomes their secret. As Woo-ju swims more, his prodigal talent does not go unnoticed. In contrast, Seok-young, without born talent, becomes an ordinary kid.
Their relationship treads between friendship and romance; above all, it’s everlasting. Time forwards to high school: Woo-ju has moved to Seoul and become a national record holder, but something isn’t right, and he can no longer swim as quickly as he used to. Seok-young stayed in the village and had long given up her dream of having a career in swimming. So when they find each other again, intertwined by the secret, their story continues in unexpected ways.
The film holds exquisite visuals. The moonlight transports us into a oneiric world, bathed in poetry. Three locations—the pool, the sea, and the aquarium—each cleverly represent a part of their relationship. Inundated in blue is the water that is never too far from this town. The gentle piano flows gracefully to set the tone of the film. Ryu Yeon-su’s touch of fantasy and metaphor only makes the story all the more real. The characters hold personalities that you simply cannot pass by: a precocious and quiet boy with a secret, and the only bossy girl who can get him to open up. With a touch of well-timed wit that lightens the mood, you can’t help but chuckle to yourself at its cleverness.
The film is labeled as a romantic drama, but the part that really found its way to my heart is the relationship with the dreams and talents of the different characters as they grow up.
You will resonate deeply with this story if you were once a gifted kid. As we grow up, some continue to pursue with determination, some are let down by life, and some lose their gift amid the hustle and bustle of growing up. We often consider it a failure to not have pursued one’s younger dream, but what if it was not? The film, enrobed in melancholy, agrees with the disheartening reality of a dream being stored away. But still, it tells you through the most heartwarming manner that it is okay. The agonizing pain of losing a gift, losing a passion, a dream, is all healed by this film. The mourning and heartbreak are quieted and calmed, because this deeply curious life still has so much more to give.
Boy in the Pool was my unexpected favorite, my coup de cœur, and my final screening at the 20th Korean Film Festival in Paris. Ryu Yeon-su created a story that went against the flow but still shimmers with poetic beauty. We may not be dream-chasing heroines, but we can still keep that love in our lives. Even when the light dims in us, we can still tell young minds to dream fearlessly and wildly, because even when u lose, life finds a way.
Boy in the Pool had its French premiere in Paris on October 30, 2025, at the 20th Korean Film Festival in Paris, presented in the Paysage section. Streaming options are not yet available.
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