Official Selection - Competition 2007 / Podo-namulul be-a-ra / South Korea 2006
An intimate drama about a young man trying to decide between earthly love for a girl named Sue and a career as a Catholic priest. The cool tonality of the shots of the Korean countryside and the monastery interiors harmonises perfectly with the aesthetically austere, nonetheless suggestive direction, which mediates the young man’s internal conflict and his fear of making the most important decision of his life.
Catholic seminary student Soo-hyeon is having a hard time deciding whether to stay on the road to priesthood or give in to his earthly love for a girl named Sue, whom he has just abandoned even though he still loves her. He takes advantage of a visit to his sick mother to look for Sue, but she refuses him. The persuasive rector reverses Soo-hyeon’s decision to leave the seminary with a proposal that he undergo a catharsis in the monastery. The doubting youngster’s new-found peace is lost however when he sees novice Helena, whose similarity to Sue awakens his defused emotions. The cool tonality of the shots of the Korean countryside and the monastery interiors harmonises perfectly with the aesthetically austere, nonetheless suggestive direction, which mediates the young man’s internal conflict and his fear of making the most important decision of his life. The lead role is played by rising star of Korean film Seo Jang-won, whose acting debut in the film The Unforgiven was shown at last year’s Karlovy Vary IFF.
115 min / Color, 35 mm
International premiere
Director Min Boung-hun
/ Screenplay Min Boung-hun, Yoo Dong-sik
/ Dir. of Photography Kim Hyung-ju
/ Music Song Hyun-ju
/ Editor Min Boung-hun, Park Hyun-chul
/ Producer Son Hyeon-wook, Seo Jong-hwan
/ Production Cine Space
/ Cast Seo Jang-won, Kee Joo-bong, Lee Min-jung
/ Contact Film Messenger, Cine Space
www: www.filmmessenger.com
Min Boung-hun (b. 1969, Korea) studied film at Moscow’s VGIK. After making several shorts he and Tajik director Jamshed Usmonov shot their feature film debut The Flight of the Bee, which was awarded at a number of international festivals (best film, the FIPRESCI award, and the Audience Award at the 16th IFF in Turin, among others) and was also screened at the Karlovy Vary festival. The next film by the talented director, Let’s Not Cry was first released to an international audience at the 37th Karlovy Vary IFF (2002) where again it won over not only film critics (FIPRESCI award) but also the main jury (Special Mention). His most recent film, Pruning the Grapevine, is the climax of a trilogy that examines the phenomenon of fear.
Film Messenger
504, E-starville 1, 1480-5, Kayang-dong Gangseo-gu, 157-807, Seoul
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 2 366 144 29
Fax: +82 2 265 986 76
E-mail: [email protected]
Cine Space
B 1, Sejung Bldg., 20-2 Nonhyun-dong, Gangnam-gu, 135 010, Seoul
Republic of Korea
Phone: +82 2 344 550 88
Fax: +82 2 344 568 57
E-mail: [email protected]
Choi Yoonhee
Distributor
Min Boung-hun
Film Director, Film Director
Seo Jang-won
Actor, Actor
Kim Jong-kun
Producer
Ahreum Jun
Distributor
Renee Lim
Distributor
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