The Square from director Kim Bo-sol is a rare animated feature that marries emotional intimacy with political urgency. Isak Borg, a Swedish diplomat stationed in Pyongyang, lives an isolated existence in a city defined by control and watched silences. In secret, he shares whispered affections with traffic officer Bok-joo, a fragile warmth in a frozen society. When Bok-joo vanishes, removed by forces beyond reason, Isak’s search becomes an esoteric quest through surveillance-haunted streets.

Made with minimalist visuals and a muted wintry palette, The Square lends every frame the weight of repression and the ache of restrained longing. Cued by quiet stillness and a slow-burning tension, the film transitions from clandestine romance into the territory of espionage, without losing its poetic undercurrent. It’s a mature, layered work that asks what remains possible when love is forced into the shadows. Under Kim’s controlled direction, The Square stands out as a politically aware, emotionally charged triumph in animation.