
Based on the best-selling novel that helped set in motion Korea’s #MeToo movement, Kim Do-young’s film stars Jung Yu-mi (Train to Busan) as a young mother who is conflicted about giving up her career to raise her child. Through flashbacks, we learn how her life has been shaped by the still-strict gender expectations in Korea. The fact that the title character has one of the most common Korean female names emphasizes the universality of her plight. In her debut feature, Kim impressively keeps what could be an overwhelmingly sad story from veering into melodrama or miserabilism. Rather, she presents contemporary Korean society in all its complexity, and ends the film on a hopeful note.
- Year2019
- Runtime119 minutes
- LanguageKorean
- CountryKorea, Republic of
- DirectorKim Do-young
Based on the best-selling novel that helped set in motion Korea’s #MeToo movement, Kim Do-young’s film stars Jung Yu-mi (Train to Busan) as a young mother who is conflicted about giving up her career to raise her child. Through flashbacks, we learn how her life has been shaped by the still-strict gender expectations in Korea. The fact that the title character has one of the most common Korean female names emphasizes the universality of her plight. In her debut feature, Kim impressively keeps what could be an overwhelmingly sad story from veering into melodrama or miserabilism. Rather, she presents contemporary Korean society in all its complexity, and ends the film on a hopeful note.
- Year2019
- Runtime119 minutes
- LanguageKorean
- CountryKorea, Republic of
- DirectorKim Do-young