A touching coming of age story

| Dec 8, 2024

Kim Bora avoids melodrama as Eun-hee faces one challenge after another, sometimes with grace, sometimes the opposite. If she isn't a hero, she isn't a victim either.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | May 1, 2022

A coming-of-age drama that captures the dilemmas of adolescence with a certain compositional sobriety, but which turns out, at least for me, to be quite dull and routine when it slowly travels the univocal paths of indulgence. [Full review in Spanish]

| Original Score: 6/10 | Nov 28, 2021

That there is less a plot than a series of events is what distinguishes House of Hummingbird as a character study.

| Feb 12, 2021

Eun-hee is not afraid to give a step forward and probe alternative directions that could bring her less suffering. And that, by itself, is laudable.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 6, 2021

A touching, true, brutal, and frustratingly achingly hopeful coming-of-age drama that will stay with me for a long, long time. One of the best films of 2020.

| Nov 3, 2020

House builds impact almost imperceptibly, so that when our heroine finally lets her emotions out in a well-deserved tantrum, it's like the sky is falling.

| Oct 12, 2020

A tale that mixes solemnity and spontaneity while possessing naturalistic performances from its central cast, House of Hummingbird is an assured debut from Kim Bora that truly soars.

| Sep 23, 2020

The small ups and downs of girlhood and teenage-hood (and all that goes along with it), is more than enough to keep to keep Kim's House of Hummingbird engaging from the first frame to the last.

| Aug 13, 2020

With an easy, lingering tempo and stunning frames shot through with light, this South Korean drama leaves the viewer with a sense of contemplative midsummer lassitude.

| Aug 13, 2020

... that sensation of stilted maturation due to neglect and presumption, that House of Hummingbird finds it emotional foothold. Difficult to observe, difficult to let go of.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 1, 2020

Although firmly set without the culture of South Korea, it is universal in its depiction of adolescent angst and confusion and the wonderful, terrible experience of growing into a much larger world.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Jul 28, 2020

An exciting debut by Bora Kim whose life at age 14 provided the experience needed to write and direct such a poignant film. The craftsmanship on display usually comes with a more seasoned filmmaker. A promising start for Kim and actress Ji-hu Park.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jul 23, 2020

House of Hummingbird is both human and humane. Its characters, issues and themes are dealt with matter-of-factly.

| Jul 23, 2020

This slow-moving but exquisitely drawn character study and coming-of-age story, which has picked up several awards at film festivals around the world, takes its time getting where it's going, but the cumulative impact of the journey is powerful.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 16, 2020

Critics from Western countries often ask why Bora Kim depicts bisexuality in House of Hummingbird. Some cultural context might shed some light.

| Original Score: A+ | Jul 13, 2020

A coming-of-age story filled with small moments of spiritual wisdom, including a practice for times of sadness.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 12, 2020

South Korean teen drama mixes insight with rebellion.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 11, 2020

Very few feature films can be praised as accurately depicting the angst of being a 13-year-old girl.

| Jul 11, 2020

It's slow, but worth your time. It's worth sitting down and letting it soak in.

| Jul 9, 2020