In this blog post, I’ll examine the plot and the characters’ love story in the film “A Boy Goes to Heaven,” as well as the characteristics of the melodrama, its fantasy elements, and the effects created by the color palette, props, and music. I’ll also discuss how the harmony between these two genres brings this fairy-tale-like love story to life.

The Pure and Special Love Story of a 13-Year-Old Boy Named Nemo

Meet Nemo, a 13-year-old boy. Born to a single mother, Nemo lives alone with her and is a bit of an oddball compared to other children. Though he believes he must one day marry a single mother himself, he is a kind-hearted boy who sings and dances to make his mother smile. However, Nemo’s mother, who ran a watch shop, always longed for Nemo’s father and eventually passed away in an accident.
A comic book store moved into the space where his mother’s watch shop used to be. The owners are a reckless, unmarried mother and her young son, who came from Seoul. The moment Nemo sees the mother and son, he feels strongly that she is his destiny. So he shouts at them, “Please marry me! I love you more than my own life!”
Of course, the mother and son dismiss young Nemo’s confession with a scoff. But Nemo plays well with her son, Ki-cheol, and shouts “I love you” at the top of her lungs—and for some reason, their mother’s heart flutters at her confession. Then one day, the three of them—Nemo, the mother, and Ki-cheol—go to see a movie together, only to be caught in a fire that breaks out at the theater. While trying to save Ki-cheol, Nemo goes missing.
When Nemo regains consciousness, he finds himself lying in a field of blooming flowers near a train station. That place was the very boundary between the living world and the afterlife. Nemo had arrived in heaven far too soon. But that doesn’t mean he can go back to living as he did before. Longing to see Bu-ja, Nemo strikes a deal with the Grim Reaper. In exchange for aging one year for every day he spends there, he is granted 80 more days to live in the living world.
When Nemo wakes up 20 days later, he has grown into a 33-year-old man with a beard and much taller stature. He now looks like he could confidently declare his love to the rich boy. But Nemo has only 60 days left—exactly until Christmas.
Nemo approaches the wealthy man by pretending to be Nemo’s father. Though still a 13-year-old boy, Nemo awkwardly pretends to be an adult. Yet the two gradually fall deeply in love. At first, they spend happy times together—going on dates and traveling—but Nemo, who ages one year for every day that passes, grows older and older. Eventually, he becomes a 93-year-old grandfather, too weak even to move.
The father realizes that the man he believed to be Nemo’s father was, in fact, Nemo—the boy who had truly loved him. But before they know it, their promised time together has run out, and the two must sadly part ways. Nemo promises to wait until the day the father comes to heaven. Then, returning to the form of a young boy, he heads to heaven to meet his mother.

The Characteristics of a Melodrama and the Love Between Nemo and the Rich Man

The central narrative of ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’ is the process through which Nemo comes to love the rich man. Because of that love, Nemo is even willing to risk his own life’s clock breaking down. Wanting to stay by the rich man’s side just a little longer—and wanting to approach her as a dignified adult rather than a young boy—he chooses a brief yet profound 60-day journey.
Thus, a love story lies at the heart of the film. This is combined with fantasy elements, such as Nemo returning from the boundary between this world and the afterlife, or his father—who guards that boundary—appearing in this world to offer advice. Therefore, the film’s primary genre is melodrama or romance, with fantasy elements layered on top.
Generally, melodramas feature two people in love, but there are social pressures or characters that stand in the way of their love. The protagonists either submit to these obstacles or overcome them to reach the conclusion. However, even a “happy ending” does not mean that all problems are perfectly resolved. Sometimes, the outcome is merely a momentary happiness or an imperfect happiness. This is because the real-world barriers to love are not so easily overcome. Additionally, supporting characters play a role in setting the tone of the drama by providing moments of humor throughout the story.
‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’ also exhibits these characteristics of a melodrama. First, looking at the relationship between Nemo and Buja, when Nemo was a young boy, his love could only be a one-sided crush. However, after returning to the living world and aging one year per day, Nemo—now an adult—actually begins a romantic relationship with Buja and shares his love with her.
So what stands in the way of their love? Although a police chief appears in the film, he is not the decisive obstacle blocking their romance. Rather, what stands in the way of Nemo and Bu-ja is a supernatural phenomenon that no one can defy: the boundary between this world and the afterlife—and time itself.
Initially, Nemo goes missing, causing the two to exist in different realms. Nemo is on the boundary between this world and the afterlife, while Bu-ja remains in this world. This is the first barrier standing in the way of their love. Bu-ja feels guilty and sorry, believing that Nemo died because of him and Ki-cheol, and he cannot shake his longing for Nemo.
Time, too, is an insurmountable obstacle for the two of them. Bu-ja realizes the depth of Nemo’s love for him and comes to understand that he loves Nemo as well. But just then, Christmas approaches, and Nemo must return to heaven. Nemo promises to wait for Buja, but if they think only in terms of this world, the two cannot meet again. Ultimately, they simply do not have enough time to love one another.
The boundaries of time and life and death are obstacles that the two cannot overcome on their own. Yet, paradoxically, these very obstacles also serve as the catalyst that leads them to promise each other eternal love.
Ultimately, in ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’, Nemo and the Rich Boy are forced to part ways in the face of the barriers of time and the boundaries between this world and the afterlife. The Rich Boy must bid Nemo farewell while shedding painful tears. However, what sets this film apart from typical melodramas is its incorporation of fantasy. Thanks to this fantasy element, their ending can be viewed as a happy ending in a different sense.
Toward the end of the film, a vision of heaven appears. Against a sky of delicate, pastel hues and above the clouds, in a place where the inhabitants of heaven come and go, Buja and Nemo live happily while running a comic book shop. Nemo, who is awkward at expressing affection beyond a kiss, keeps kissing Buja. Though somewhat cringeworthy, the couple’s endearing interactions show that they have reunited in heaven and are happily in love.
This ending is possible precisely because it is fantasy. The film’s temporal and spatial setting has been expanded to include heaven. While this is impossible in reality, in a fantasy world where Nemo returns from the boundary between this world and the afterlife and ages one year for every day that passes, their reunion in heaven is entirely plausible.
Another element that enhances the film’s melodramatic qualities is its delightful supporting cast. “Tofu,” who looks just like a block of tofu, elicits laughter with just his face and name, and Nemo’s father, with his unique accent, adds to the fun. The same goes for the somewhat bumbling police chief.
They create laughter by contrasting with Nemo’s situation—a boy who has the body of an adult but the heart of a 13-year-old. Thanks to this, the film doesn’t remain merely a tear-jerking melodrama. By adding small moments of humor throughout the story, these characters help create the film’s overall fairy-tale-like atmosphere.

How does fantasy make love even purer and more beautiful?

In ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’, fantasy serves to portray Nemo’s pure love as even purer and more beautiful. This is because it makes the impossible possible, fulfilling Nemo’s dream of meeting a wealthy man once he becomes an adult. That said, it’s difficult to view this film as a pure fantasy movie. I believe it is a work that incorporates fantasy elements into the broader framework of a melodrama, transforming it into an even more beautiful and fairy-tale-like love story.
To understand these fantastical elements, it is necessary to examine literary theorist Tzvetan Todorov’s classification of fantastic literature. Todorov distinguishes between the adjacent concepts of the macabre, the fantastic, and the marvelous. The macabre refers to cases where unlikely events occur but can ultimately be explained rationally, while the fantastic refers to cases where it is difficult to determine whether an event is real or a supernatural phenomenon, causing the viewer to hesitate. Wonder is when the audience accepts a supernatural phenomenon from the outset that cannot be explained by the laws of reality.
If we break this down further, we can categorize them as pure the macabre, the macabre-fantastic, pure fantasy, fantastic wonder, and pure wonder. The macabre-fantastic refers to cases where doubt about a mysterious phenomenon persists until a rational and logical explanation is presented at the conclusion. In contrast, fantastical wonder is a case where the protagonist is initially hesitant due to inexplicable events but ultimately comes to accept the supernatural phenomenon.
From this perspective, the characteristics of fantastical wonder can be found in many melodramas that incorporate fantasy elements. Plots involving turning back time for love or the reappearance of a deceased person are fantastical stories that are realistically impossible. However, even lovers who are reunited in this way eventually return to where they originally belonged—to a place in harmony with the laws of nature.
In ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’, Nemo even goes so far as to break his own “life clock” in an attempt to stay by Bu-ja’s side. Although he had the chance to return to being 13 years old, he gave it up to save Ki-cheol’s life and ultimately returns to heaven from the very theater where he parted ways with Bu-ja on Christmas.
Melodramas incorporating such fantastical elements can be found in a variety of works. Examples include Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Scissorhands’, as well as ‘If Only’ and ‘October Love’. These works all share the common trait of utilizing settings that transcend time, space, or scientific laws for the sake of love. Through these settings, the protagonists are able to meet their loved ones, but ultimately, they must once again confront the order of reality.
Ultimately, supernatural phenomena that transcend the constraints of time and space or the laws of science are temporary miracles created by the power of love. And once that miracle ends, they must once again submit to the natural order. Such endings make unfulfilled love all the more beautiful and poignant.
So why do fantasy elements continue to be incorporated into melodramas? One reason may be the effort to break away from the conventions of traditional melodramas and create new stories. However, I can’t help but wonder if it’s because the emotion of love itself is intrinsically linked to fantasy.
Love is not an emotion that can be understood solely through realistic facts or rational explanations. Rather, it has aspects that are closer to faith or ideology. Isn’t that why, when we talk about love, we can naturally accept even unrealistic settings that transcend time and space? Making the impossible possible in the name of love—that may be precisely why melodrama and fantasy converge.

A Fairy-Tale World Created by Color Palette, Props, and Music

What’s impressive about ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’ isn’t just the combination of melodrama and fantasy. The film’s color palette, props, and music also effectively highlight the characteristics of both genres, enriching the story even further.
Let’s first examine the color palette. Generally, the color palette in melodramas tends to be somewhat more exaggerated than in films of other genres. The costumes, with their rich colors and textures that fill the screen, often exceed what the story actually requires. Even when luxurious clothing appears—the kind that the characters’ financial circumstances would make difficult to afford—the audience doesn’t find it particularly strange.
Film scholar Thomas Elseizer explains this characteristic as a result of the intense emotions and dramatic narrative progression of melodrama being reflected in the mise-en-scène. He argues that the “excess” of emotion—which in romance novels would be expressed through exaggerated clichés—is conveyed in film through lighting, sets, and costumes.
Meanwhile, film scholars such as Jane Gaines have drawn attention to the subtle resistance inherent in melodramatic costumes through the concept of “costume narrative.” They argue that even if the story itself conveys a moral lesson—in which a female protagonist who violates the norms of a patriarchal society ultimately faces punishment—the image of a woman, rendered even more dazzling in the very moment she breaks and transcends those norms, conveys a different meaning to the audience.
These color characteristics can also be found in ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’. The film actively employs somewhat exaggerated pastel tones. The charming sets, composed of colors such as pink, sky blue, and light purple, give the impression of looking into a fairy-tale world. These colors and spatial arrangements effectively create the film’s fantastical atmosphere.
The props are also closely related to the film’s theme. The clock and the snowman are particularly striking.
Nemo’s mother ran a clock shop. The clocks hanging throughout her shop and inside Nemo’s house are deeply connected to Nemo’s fate of having a broken “clock of life.” The mise-en-scène featuring countless hanging clocks may symbolize humanity’s inescapable destiny in the face of time.
Nemo sacrifices his own time to be with the wealthy man he loves. For Nemo, who ages one year every day, time is both a gift that makes love possible and a fate that forces her to end that love. In this sense, the clock as a prop carries meaning beyond that of a mere backdrop.
The snowman is also a symbolic prop. It reveals Nemo’s innermost wish for her, the wealthy man, and Ki-cheol to live happily together. However, snow cannot exist forever. According to the natural law of temperature, it will eventually melt away. This parallels Nemo’s fate—that she must ultimately return to heaven in accordance with the laws of time and the realms of the living and the dead.
In this way, both the clock and the snowman evoke the passage of time and the order of nature. Since the greatest obstacles standing in the way of the two lovers’ romance are time and the boundary between life and death, these props effectively convey the film’s central theme.
Music is another indispensable element. It is particularly important in melodramas, as it sets the mood of a scene, and the way it is used determines the extent to which the audience becomes immersed in the characters’ emotions.
The songs Nemo often sings in the film, along with those performed by Yeom Jung-ah, who plays the wealthy woman, evoke nostalgia for the 1970s and 1980s. This music, combined with the charming sets, conveys the unique sentiment of that era even more richly.
In particular, the songs Nemo sings are connected to his life. The song “Just Like Anyone Else,” sung by the Rich Man, also fits well with the film’s narrative. This song evokes a sense of longing for time past and love, as well as memories. At the same time, it seems to symbolically convey the life of the Rich Man, who will spend the rest of his life longing for Nemo even after he has departed for heaven.
In this way, the film’s color palette, props, and music do more than simply beautify the screen or set the mood. They enrich the emotions of the melodrama, help the audience naturally accept the unrealistic world of fantasy, and make the love between Nemo and the Rich Man all the more poignant.

Reflecting on the Meaning of Genre and Cinematography Through ‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’

‘A Boy Goes to Heaven’ is one of my absolute favorite films. While preparing this article, I was able to study genre through a movie I love, which made the analysis all the more enjoyable.
I particularly love the film’s mise-en-scène. The charming, fairy-tale-like set design and color palette linger in my memory long after watching the film. Through this analysis, I realized once again that this color palette serves not only to create beautiful visuals but also acts as an effective device for introducing the fantasy elements. I was also reminded of just how crucial mise-en-scène is in film.
Above all, it was fascinating to examine how the two genres—melodrama and fantasy—blend together to complete a single story. The love between Nemo and the Rich Man exhibits typical characteristics of a melodrama, but with the addition of fantasy elements, a love that would be impossible in reality becomes possible. At the same time, the fact that even this miracle cannot completely defy the laws of time and nature makes their love feel all the more poignant and beautiful.
I think I can now understand, at least to some extent, why this genre is called “The Genius of the System.” While each genre has its own familiar conventions and characteristics, it is precisely through the process of combining and transforming them that films with a unique charm can be born.