Last week, I re-watched two of my all-time favourite Korean films. Or at least, I thought they were. Film number one: E J-yong’s An Affair (1998), which was in the first dozen of Korean films I ever saw. I caught it at the 2001 London Korean Film Festival (yes, there have been Korean Film Festivals … [Read More]
Title: Secret Sunshine
Secret Sunshine (밀양, 2007) review: grief, faith, and defiance in Milyang
Secret Sunshine is both a study of grief and a dissection of faith and religion. Like director Lee Chang-dong’s previous work the film doesn’t shy away from showing the disintegration of a human being as a result of uncontrollable events and the actions those events elicit. [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Secret Sunshine at the BFI London Film Festival
Caution: this post contains spoilers. It was slightly disappointing to see Screen One of the Odeon West End (seating capacity: 500) somewhat under half full for the London premiere of Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine last Monday. By contrast, No Mercy for the Rude, a film which (from its description at least) is much more in … [Read More]
Jeon Do-yeon wins at Cannes
Congratulations to Jeon Do-yeon on winning best actress at Cannes. She was an early front-runner in the competition, and just for once those early hopes of success were justified. For the first third of its nearly two-and-a-half-hour running time, “Secret Sunshine” feels like a slightly somber fish-out-of-water comedy (reports AO Scott at the New York … [Read More]
Lee Chang-dong’s Secret Sunshine gets early thumbs-up
Probably the most eagerly awaited Korean film of 2007, at least by me, is Lee Chang-dong’s fourth: Secret Sunshine, or Milyang (밀양). I’ve admired his first three for the issues they tackle and the superb acting: Lee has had access to some top stars for his films – Sol Kyung-gu and Moon So-ri for Oasis … [Read More]