There is something slightly hypnotising about seeing a movie which seems to aspire to do nothing more than lovingly record the daily lives of a couple who face the same everyday challenges and questions that most of us face. How and whether to stand up to the boss at work when he seeks to make you work unpaid overtime? How to make ends meet, when everything seems so expensive? When, or whether, to have a child when the body clock is ticking but now doesn’t seem the right time? Will the little annoyances that are inevitable when two people live together get blown out of proportion and lead to break-up?
This isn’t hugely dramatic viewing but somehow it lingers fondly in the memory, particularly the performance of Kim Jo-ryeong as the wife. As a taster for the work of Jang Kun-jae it makes you eager to see what he does next.
Jang Kun-jae (장건재) Sleepless Night (잠 못 드는 밤, 2013) 
Sleepless Night screened as part of the Emerging Directors strand in the 2015 London Korean Film Festival on Wednesday 4 November.