(Movie Review) ‘When I Sleep’: A journey of scars and sisterhood

“When I Sleep” is a female-centered road movie with a thriller edge, delicately portraying themes of discrimination, loss and solidarity.

It follows three women — Seon-ah, Ji-soo and Bo-mi — who face a series of challenges on a journey that tests their strength and deepens their bond. Through their eyes, the film quietly exposes the cruel realities faced by women living as marginalized figures in a male-dominated society.

The trio sets out on a short trip to visit Ji-soo’s parents’ grave in a small car driven by Bo-mi. Their plan is disrupted when a minor car accident leaves the car’s front bumper damaged.

Matters worsen when they take it to a repair shop owned by a rude, aggressive man who has the air of a former gangster.

As they feared, he demands an outrageously inflated fee — a scene that starkly illustrates how women, when isolated and vulnerable, can become easy targets of exploitation. When the women pay only part of the bill and refuse to back down, he violently retaliates by breaking into their motel room late at night and leaving them fearing for their lives.

The film marks the feature debut of director Choi Jung-moon, who skillfully weaves the women’s backstories into the suspenseful present-day narrative. Her careful storytelling gives voice to those who are often silenced — women bearing emotional wounds society prefers to ignore.

Seon-ah (Jung Ji-in), the oldest of the three, is a smart, ambitious woman working at an advertising agency in Seoul. She engages in a secret office romance with her male boss, hoping it will lead to a promotion. When she asks to take over a project originally assigned to another team, her boss agrees, but rumors about their relationship quickly spread. Seon-ah is soon branded as someone who “sleeps her way to the top,” a label reflecting how women’s professional efforts are so easily overshadowed by misogynistic narratives. The pressure eventually pushes her to consider leaving the company.

Ji-soo (Oh Woo-ri), Seon-ah’s maternal cousin, fell in love with a fellow female student, Su-jin, during high school. When rumors of their relationship spread, Ji-soo is overwhelmed by fear and shame.

Bo-mi (Park Bo-ram), a close friend of Ji-soo’s, becomes pregnant by her B-boying boyfriend but suffers a miscarriage. When he casually remarks that it’s probably for the best, given their lack of money and stability and unmarried status, Bo-mi breaks up with him in anger. Afterward, she begins to have visions of the child she lost.

Unaware of the looming threat, the three cautiously open up about their secrets and worries over beers during a night at the motel.

As they reveal their most vulnerable, shameful and hidden flaws, they find comfort in one another and grow together. In that quiet act of mutual disclosure, the film affirms the power of female solidarity in a world that so often seeks to divide and diminish them.

“When I Sleep” opens next Wednesday.