26-year-oldYong-jun(HongKyung)istroubledbyhislackofdreamswhenhefallsforthesame-ageYeo-reum(RohYoon-seo)atfirstsight.Yeo-reumtakescareofherlittlesisterGa-eul(KimMin-ju),aswimmerwithhearingimpairments,regardinghersister’sOlympicaspirationsasherowndream.WhileyouthfulfeelingsseemtoblossombetweenYong-junandYeo-reum,shefindsherselfunfamiliarwiththeseemotionsandfeelsguilttowardhersister.InHearMe:OurSummer,theyoutharewholeheartedlyattentivetoeachother’svoices.Ratherthanrelyingonspokenlanguage,theyusesignlanguage,gestures,bodylanguage,andwrittentext.Thefilmpersuasivelyshowsthatfallinginloveinvolvesunderstandingandsharingtheother’slanguage,discoveringauniqueformofintimacy,andultimately,rediscoveringthemselves.Itcapturestheintersectionofromanticyouthandcoming-of-agedramawitharefreshingvitality,broughttolifebytheenergeticperformancesofHongKyung,RohYoon-seo,andKimMin-ju.TheeponymousTaiwanesefilmhasgainedgreatpopularityinKorea.
