Flying Boys has a plot, of course -- and an interesting one -- but more important than the events it covers, the film's heart lies in sketching an honest, understanding portrait of a particular time in life: the last year of high school. For Koreans, this year is a crucial one, as it entails taking a test (given only once a year) that will determine whether or not they can go to university. If they fail, or don't score high enough to attend the school of their choice, then they have to spend another 12 months studying for a second crack at the test a year later. Apart from the pressure this creates, there are the more universal challenges that high school seniors cope with: the awkwardness of adolescence, fighting with family members, falling in love. Flying Boys is about capturing all the confusion, emotions and energy of this time of life.

Min-jae (played by Yun Gye-sang, a pop star making his film debut) is a kid who looks like he does well in school, who doesn't. He lives with his father, an airline pilot, after having his mother pass away a year earlier. He has long had a fascination with a girl named Su-jin who lives in his apartment building, but he's too scared to approach her. "If she rejects me, I'll have to move out," he says to his friends. Meanwhile, the smart and competent Su-jin (played by Kim Min-jeong of L'Abri) is frustrated with her life and family, and itching to rebel, or at least get away. She tells her parents that she'll study at a low-ranking university in Jeju Island -- which in most people's eyes would be throwing away her talent.

Min-jae and Su-jin are thrown together in an unexpected setting: at a ballet studio. Both are forced to take ballet lessons against their will, but as time passes they get acquainted, and they also get to know the odd cast of characters who make up their class. (The original title of this film translates as "Ballet Studio"... yes, this is another Korean film that has been shackled with an awkward, stupid title, when a straight translation would have done fine)

The film starts off with an admirable economy in its storytelling, as we are oriented quite quickly into these kids' lives and their stories. Our two young leads may come across as inexperienced in their acting at times, but they are extremely charismatic and enjoyable to watch. A kiss scene between the two is one of the best moments in Korean cinema this year, just awkward and realistic enough to be heartbreaking.