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Milyang (Secret Sunshine) - Chang-dong Lee (2007)
Disclaimer: If you don't want to find out anything about the plot, please stop reading, it will get rather spoilery. Fret not, for those familiar with Chang-dong's work, you can expect another masterpiece. Now shoo, run along and see it if you haven't already, maybe we can talk about it (lol...as if).
Synopsis: Looking for a change of scenery after her husband's death, Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, her husband's home town. She opens a piano school and starts getting to know the local people. She is pestered by Jong Chan, a good natured local redneck, single and rather desperate, that follows her throughout much of the film. Soon after her arrival, she is struck by another tragedy; her son has been kidnapped and later found dead. Desperately trying to find solace, she becomes a born again Christian, but soon she becomes disillusioned and continues on a downward spiral towards insanity...
Chang-dong returns after a 5 years hiatus with his 4th feature film and another incredible piece of Asian cinema. Once again he proves himself as an incredibly mature and intelligent director. His films develop slowly (of the three I've seen, all lasted well beyond 2 hours) and are infused with brilliant observations on the contemporary Korean society. Although I have to admit that Oasis didn't sit well with me. On a technical level, it's a brilliant film, but the main character's afflictions (it's about a mentally challenged man who falls in love with a women that suffers from cerebral palsy) were so difficult to watch, I couldn't immerse myself in it. Incredible performances from the main actors though.
Secret sunshine continues the trend of brilliant acting performances; Do-yeon Jeon has won the award for Best actress at this year's Cannes film festival (while Chang-dong missed out on the Palm D'ore ). I think most people have experienced or have come into contact with people who have lost someone. This is why the film and the reaction of the main character seemed so powerful, because it rang so true...after the initial shock comes numbness, after that, despair....hope...and the realization that nothing will ever fill the void. This is simply how things are and will continue to be, which is what the somewhat abrupt and seemingly unsatisfactory ending seems to suggest so perfectly. There is one minor fault in the film, the rather swift manner in which the director handles the kidnapping and subsequent arrest of the culprit. It's as if he was too impatient to get to the main part of the story. However, the rest of the film makes up for it in spades....Chang-dong once again proves that Korean cinema is going through its golden period.
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Disclaimer: If you don't want to find out anything about the plot, please stop reading, it will get rather spoilery. Fret not, for those familiar with Chang-dong's work, you can expect another masterpiece. Now shoo, run along and see it if you haven't already, maybe we can talk about it (lol...as if).
Synopsis: Looking for a change of scenery after her husband's death, Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, her husband's home town. She opens a piano school and starts getting to know the local people. She is pestered by Jong Chan, a good natured local redneck, single and rather desperate, that follows her throughout much of the film. Soon after her arrival, she is struck by another tragedy; her son has been kidnapped and later found dead. Desperately trying to find solace, she becomes a born again Christian, but soon she becomes disillusioned and continues on a downward spiral towards insanity...
Chang-dong returns after a 5 years hiatus with his 4th feature film and another incredible piece of Asian cinema. Once again he proves himself as an incredibly mature and intelligent director. His films develop slowly (of the three I've seen, all lasted well beyond 2 hours) and are infused with brilliant observations on the contemporary Korean society. Although I have to admit that Oasis didn't sit well with me. On a technical level, it's a brilliant film, but the main character's afflictions (it's about a mentally challenged man who falls in love with a women that suffers from cerebral palsy) were so difficult to watch, I couldn't immerse myself in it. Incredible performances from the main actors though.
Secret sunshine continues the trend of brilliant acting performances; Do-yeon Jeon has won the award for Best actress at this year's Cannes film festival (while Chang-dong missed out on the Palm D'ore ). I think most people have experienced or have come into contact with people who have lost someone. This is why the film and the reaction of the main character seemed so powerful, because it rang so true...after the initial shock comes numbness, after that, despair....hope...and the realization that nothing will ever fill the void. This is simply how things are and will continue to be, which is what the somewhat abrupt and seemingly unsatisfactory ending seems to suggest so perfectly. There is one minor fault in the film, the rather swift manner in which the director handles the kidnapping and subsequent arrest of the culprit. It's as if he was too impatient to get to the main part of the story. However, the rest of the film makes up for it in spades....Chang-dong once again proves that Korean cinema is going through its golden period.