Victory screens as opening gala of the London Korean Film Festival, 6 Nov 2024. My film note.
No longer allowed to dance at their high school in Geoje, rebellious finalists Pil-sun (Lee Hye-ri) and Mi-na (Park Se-wan) find a loophole to their exclusion: they start up a cheerleading squad (called Millennium Girls, to match the 1999 setting) for the school’s football team, and soon bring confidence and solidarity not only to themselves and the other misfit members of their troupe, but to an entire community afflicted by narrow horizons and labour disputes.
On paper, Park Beom-su’s Victory might sound like a clichéd ‘true underdog story’, but it is told with the sort of infectious charm, winning wit and girl-power exuberance not seen since Lukas Moodysson’s We Are The Best! (2013). Think of it as the punkier, funnier, more irreverent and altogether less respectable sister film to Kim Hye-young’s similarly dance-oriented female rites of passage It’s Okay! (2024). This joyous crowd-pleaser will lead your cheer.
strap: Park Beom-su’s pre-millennial cheerleading comedy/drama is a punkish, funny, irreverent dance of joy.
Anton Bitel
