Archive of films With a Girl of Black Soil / Geomen tangyi sonyeo oi
South Korea / France
2007, 90 min
Section:
Another View
Year: 2008
A social drama crowned with two awards at the 2007 IFF in Venice which paints an intense picture of the absurdity of the social welfare situation in a South Korean mining town. A father of two is no longer able to make a living as a miner due to black lung, but he is also ineligible to claim retirement as he does not have sufficient medical complications.
Synopsis
Everyone in this South Korean mining town has to make their living nose to the grindstone, or otherwise get the right diagnosis from a doctor to get a better flat and the medical bills paid. A father of two is caught right in between these options. While unable to earn his living as a miner anymore due to black lung, he does not have sufficient medical complications to be able to claim retirement. Various aspects of life in the impoverished region veiled in wintry gloom are shown through episodes that pivot on the miner’s two children: a little girl and her older, retarded brother. The impressive cinematography puts emphasis on closely associating the characters with their environment and thereby creates captivating images of a woeful existence in a forlorn land. In a condemnation of an absurd social policy, the film gives a view of a critical family situation where a little girl takes up responsibility for the fortunes of the family members. The film received two awards at the 2007 IFF in Venice.
About the director
Jeon Soo-il (b. 1959, Sokcho, South Korea) began studying film at the University of Kyungsung in Pusan. He then did a postgraduate degree in film science in Paris (ESRA, Université Paris 7). In addition to directing feature films he also works as a professor at his home department of theatre and film at the University of Kyungsung. He began feature film direction in 1997 with The Wind Echoing in My Being. His next work, The Bird Who Stops in the Air (1999) was included in the section New Korean Cinema at Karlovy Vary in 2001. He has made five feature films through his own independent production company, Dongnyuk Film.
Contacts
Urban Distribution International
14, rue du 18 Août, 93100, Montreuil
France
Tel: +33 148 704 656
Fax: +33 149 720 421
E-mail: [email protected]
www: www.urbandistrib.com
About the film
Color, 35 mm
Section: | Another View |
---|---|
Director: | Jeon Soo-il |
Screenplay: | Jeon Soo-il, Jung Soon-young |
Dir. of Photography: | Kim Sung-tai |
Music: | Kye Soo-jung |
Editor: | Seo Yong-duk |
Producer: | Franck Nicolas Chelle |
Production: | Chinguitty Films |
Cast: | You Youn-mi, Jo Young-jin, Park Hyun-woo |
Contact: | Urban Distribution International |
Guests
Jeon Soo-il
Film Director
Virginie Devesa
Sales Agent