Film Countries Archives: South Korea

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Our Midnight A-wo Mi-deu-na-it

  Lim Jung-eun

  South Korea      2020    

Synopsis

Caught between pursuing his passion and settling for a “real” job, struggling actor Jihoon takes up a gig patrolling the streets of Seoul at night. A serendipitous meeting with Eunyoung, a kindred spirit also facing a personal crisis, turns into a reflective, intimate stroll through the city’s twilight hours. Beautiful black-and-white photography creates a stunning portrait of the city by night that is also a poetic meditation on love and life.

 Korean with subtitles 
  77 minutes

Screenings & Events

In-Person Screening

Wed, Jul 26 @ 6:30pm CDT

at Chicago Cultural Center

Media

Sponsors

Film Partner

logo: Consulate General of Republic of Korea in Chicago (South Korea) 141x100

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Return to Seoul Retour à Séoul

  Davy Chou

  South Korea, France, Germany, Belgium, Quatar     115 minutes

Synopsis

After an impulsive travel decision to visit friends, Freddie, 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. Freddie suddenly finds herself embarking on an unexpected journey in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new directions.

 English, French, Korean with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Film Credits

  •   Charlotte Vincent, Katia Khazak
  •   Davy Chou
  •   Dounia Sichov
  •   Thomas Favel
  •   Ji-min Park, Kwang-Rok Oh, Guka Han, Sun-Young Kim, Yoann Zimmer, Louis-Do de Lencquesaing, Ouk-Sook Hur, Émeline Briffaud, Cheol-Hyun Lim, Seung-Beom Son, Dong-Seok Kim
  •   Vincent Villa
  •   Ha Min-Ho, Davy Chou
  •   Aurora Films
  •   https://www.sonyclassics.com/film/returntoseoul/

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The Novelist’s Film So-seol-ga-ui yeong-hwa

  Hong Sangsoo

  South Korea     92 minutes

Synopsis

Prolific director Hong Sangsoo returns with a wistful meditation on the creative process and the need for constant reinvention. Junhee is a famous writer in search of inspiration. Walking in the park, she bumps into a film director, who had tried and failed to adapt one of her previous novels. This serendipitous meeting begets many more, and soon she has a breakthrough: it’s about time she made a film herself. Enlisting the help of a disillusioned actor (Kim Minhee), old friends and former colleagues, she embarks on the bold new venture. Featuring Hong’s trademark dry wit and a series of stellar, naturalistic performances, the film continues his preoccupation with chance encounters as it celebrates the spontaneity of artistic creation.

 Korean with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Hong Sangsoo
  •   Hong Sangsoo
  •   Hong Sangsoo
  •   Hong Songsoo
  •   Lee Hyeyoung, Kim Minhee, Seo Younghwa, Park Miso, Kwon Haehyo, Cho Yunhee, Ha Seongguk, Ki Joobong, Lee Eunme, Kim Siha
  •   Hong Sangsoo
  •   Jeonwonsa Film Co.
  •   http://www.cinemaguild.com/theatrical/thenovelistsfilm.html

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Decision to Leave Heojil Kyolshim

  Park Chan-wook

  South Korea     138 minutes

Synopsis

Following the grisly death of her husband, Seo-rae (Tang-Wei) fails to show the typical signs of grief, prompting crackerjack investigator Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) to consider her a suspect in the man’s murder. Over the course of a series of stakeouts and interrogations, Hae-joon is increasingly drawn to his magnetic, mysterious target. Is the ace detective falling in love, or into a trap? At once a masterfully-crafted police procedural and an incisive meditation on the nature of love and identity, Decision to Leave is a tour-de-force of neo-noir filmmaking. Hitchcockian to its core, the film’s gleefully twisting plot keeps audiences (and its characters) guessing as it spirals toward an epic conclusion. Winner of the Best Director prize at the Cannes Film Festival, veteran auteur Park Chan-wook (Oldboy) expertly weaves together each intriguing thread as he spins this haunting tapestry of murder, madness, and deceit.

 Chinese, Korean with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Park Chan-wook, Ko Dae-seok
  •   Chung Seo-kyung, Park Chan-wook
  •   Kim Sang-bum
  •   Kim Ji-yong
  •   Tang Wei, Park Hae-il
  •   Cho Young-wuk
  •   Moho Films

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Broker

  Hirokazu Kore-eda

  South Korea     129 minutes

Synopsis

Under the dark cover of a stormy night, young mother So-young hesitantly places an infant in a “baby box,” a safe and anonymous place to leave children whose parents are unable or unwilling to care for them. But adoption is big business, and so is baby trafficking.

Saddled with substantial debt, laundry shop owner Sang-hyun enlists the help of Dong-soo, who works in the baby box facility, to abduct the newborn. When a regretful So-young returns the next day to reclaim her child, she realizes what they are up to. Instead of going to the police, she joins the men, and the three set out, with baby in tow, to find the perfect (and well-paying) parents. Meanwhile, the police are onto their racket, as two female detectives tail close behind. Hirokazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows, The Shoplifters) returns to the Festival with this ever-perceptive, unassuming inquiry into the nature of a “found family”—an unusual odyssey that brims with heartbreak, empathy, and ultimately hope.

 Korean with subtitles 

Screenings & Events

Media

Film Credits

  •   Eugene Lee
  •   Hirokazu Kore-eda
  •   Hirokazu Kore-eda
  •   Mok Won Lee
  •   Kyung Pyo Hong
  •   Kang Ho Song, Dong Won Gang, Doona Bae, Ji Eun Lee, Joo Young Lee
  •   Tae Young Choi
  •   Jae II Jung
  •   Miky Lee, Ho Sung Kang
  •   ZIP CINEMA, CJ ENM