3 days ago. The subsequent scene where she visits him in jail is one of the films most extraordinary, suggesting the ultimate singularity of the individual and the cosmic indifference of any supreme, moral being or arbiter. But her faith and belief unravels when she decides to forgive her sons murderer. Driven by unrelenting mental anguish, church and becomes a re-born Christian. It was in the movies where the grown-up world was allowed to reveal itself in various states of despair. Were told that Miryang means in Chinese secret sunshine, and that concert pianist Shin-Ae plans to open a piano school, get away from gossips in Seoul who say her hubby was an adulterer and because she wants to honor her late husband. Shin-ae has spent the first act of the film already grieving the death of her husband. The film was widely acclaimed on the festival circuit, with particular and universal praise for Do-yeon's performance. Secret Sunshine: Interview de Song Kang-Ho. At a group meeting later in her home she denies gods right to forgive this man before she has, questioning: How could God do that to me?. One afternoon, Shin-ae meets a middle-school girl (referred to as "the girl" from now onwards), whose father is Jun's daycare teacher. In keeping with the rest of Lees hard-won film, these final moments never really suggest victory or catharsis, just the possibility of survival and the first stages of renewal. In keeping with the equivocal view of community, religion and morality it presents, Lees film concludes with a series of images and actions that are disarmingly calming, unsettling and symbolically apt. A compelling and poignant Korean film about a besieged widow's journey into the far country of forgiveness. Jong-chan claims he is only trying to be a Good Samaritan. Berating the unknowing Jong for his choice of venue, she leaves the salon, visually questioning, by her gaze skyward, the overriding cruelty of an ironic god. Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), a friendly garage owner, immediately becomes attracted to. Followed around by Jong-chan, Shin-ae soon becomes a believer and claims to have found inner peace; even Jong-chan starts going to church. 75. They drive out to a secluded field together and attempt to have sex. (Source: Wikipedia) Edit Biography. On the way home, she passes by a vigil held for her by the pharmacist couple; it is interrupted when a rock is hurled at a window. None of her supposed friends are actually willing to let her grieve on her own terms and when she starts to turn away from religion they blame her for not having faith. This has the effect of making her relationship with god seem even more shallow. Korean director Chang-dong Lee, whose recent film Poetry made some film festival waves has a really interesting entry into the kidnapping genre. They give us a clearer indication of the transformation that grief puts its subject through. Secret Sunshine ( Korean : ; Hanja : ; RR : Miryang) is a 2007 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Chang-dong. Still reeling from the recent death of her husband, Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon) desperately needed to escape. She shuts herself off from the world entirely as a defense mechanism rather than letting any sort of emotion through whatsoever. As she tries to come to herself and set out on new foundations, another tragic event overturns her life. When attempting to impress her new neighbors, she lies about her wealth and drinks and laughs in a way that is jarring and unlike the Shin-ae we have become familiar with. [17], On August 23, 2011, The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray, both of which includes a new video interview with Lee Chang-dong, a behind-the-scenes featurette, the US theatrical trailer, and a booklet featuring a new film essay by film critic Dennis Lim. Now she is forced to learn a new kind of grief altogether. Kim Hee Sung (Byun Yo Han) claims it is an honor to take the picture of the current Korean ministers many who are traitors. This entry spotlights the award-winning performance given by Jeon Do-yeon in Secret Sunshine. Surprisingly, the kidnapper (turning out to be Jun's daycare teacher) reveals that he found God as well and that God has absolved him of his sins. When she makes the transformation into faith, shes smiling, happy. Edit Translation. The best way I can explain it though is that Do-seop's daughter is another way Lee shows how grief can totally consume you. Lee Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine is reminiscent of the melodramas of Lars von Trier: an intense long-form character study with a novelistic sense of shifting form in a dark, almost cynical tale of awakening. The film also shines a spotlight on an important phenomenon that is transforming Korean society the phenomenal rise of evangelical Christianity. Copyright 2006 - 2023 by CIStems, Inc., d.b.a. That's not totally my intent, but I do think Lee meant his film to critique some of the failings of religion. Civilisation, humanism and morality are a thin veneer that pave over an indifferent and brutal world. Choosing where to start on Secret Sunshine is difficult because there are at least 3 or 4 distinct turning points in the film that mark a huge shift in Shin-ae's mental state/ability to process her grief. North Korea's unpredictable leader Kim Jong-un has many ways of making war upon his neighbors. PremiereFR. These beautifully modulated actions and compositions suggest the gradual possibility of acceptance and dealing with grief, the presence of Jong holding the mirror which contains a small inset photograph of her son intimating the fragile bonds of friendship and support that Shin-ae has resisted and railed against throughout. By forgiving him of her own son's murder, Shin-ae could change their entire relationship and make Do-seop feel beholden to her and the extreme mercy and compassion she was displaying. Report. Secret Sunshine Directed by Lee Chang-dong A compelling and poignant Korean film about a besieged widow's journey into the far country of forgiveness. On the contrary though, I believe it's Lee's way of being respectful and giving Shin-ae room to grieve through his cinematography. Jun was determined to save Kazuya from Devil's possession, and the inner conflict she inspired in him was the main reason he was defeated and seemingly killed by Heihachi at the end of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. Jong-chan rejects her proposal for sex and offers to drive her home, but she physically refuses. But between the screams and the physical collapse, the strength of Jeons performance lies in its quietest moments. When she comes home one day and cannot find Jun, she melts to the ground and begins to wail in a way that is almost comically childlike. More from. Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, the town where her dead husband was born. Grief is never straightforward. Watch Secret Sunshine online Buy at Amazon Movie details Sin-ae moves with her son Jun to Miryang, the town where her dead husband was born. There are glimpses of the way forward. Movie: Secret Sunshine Revised romanization: Milyang Hangul: Director: Lee Chang-Dong Assistant Director: Lee Jung-Hwa Writer: Lee Chang-Dong Producer: Lee Chang-Dong Cinematographer: Cho Yong-Kyu Release Date: May 23, 2007 Runtime: 142 min. This time however, her grief takes the form of anger and retaliation against god. Secret Sunshine Koreanisches Drama von Lee Chang-dong, das in Cannes vorgestellt wurde. Secret Sunshine is a frequently beautiful film with a cold, dark heart. When she decides to purchase some land, he recommends a very wealthy owner. She converted to Christianity entirely for selfish reasons so that she could force her son's murderer to grovel for her forgiveness. As much as we may think of crying as an involuntary reaction that bubbles up from our innermost depths, it is just as easily perceived by others as affectation, assessed as performance.. Shin-ae lays on her back, looks up at the sky and says something to the effect of "Can you see this, god?" He has published hundreds of articles on various aspects of cinema and is the editor of A Companion to Robert Altman (Wiley-Blackwell) and American-Australian Cinema: Transnational Connections (Palgrave). A new life gone terribly wrong. God beats Shin-ae to the punch and she feels cheated out of the superiority and power she wanted over Do-seop. Shin-ae zieht mit ihrem Sohn Jun in die Geburtsstadt ihres krzlich verstorbenen Mannes, um einen Neuanfang zu wagen. from Seoul to Miryang, the hometown of her deceased businessman husband who recently died in a car accident. Writer and director Lee Chang-dong has made a compelling and poignant drama about one woman's journey into the far country of forgiveness. Jeon capitalizes on this fact in her standout performance, moving effortlessly from intense, guttural sadness to delusional happiness, then to psychosis and back again in an exhausting, whiplash-inducing emotional rollercoaster. Shin-ae eventually decides that she wants to see the man who murdered Jun in order to forgive him. Flamboyant, indulgent, and just a bit socially inappropriate, this outburst is Shin-aes perfectly useless revengeand its a mark of Jeons brilliance that we can tell shes having fun with it. June 26, 2013, 8:24 AM. The scene is not between Shin-ae and the man. Bea's family are happy. This drives. Soon, thanks to gossips, everyone in Miryang knows, has money to purchase some valuable land, and a man who moved here from Busan kidnaps her son and asks for ransom. After Jun is cremated, Shin-aes mother-in-law screams at her and tells her that she brings death wherever she goes. , tragedy strikes for single mother Shin-ae (. On the drive home she decides to visit the hairdresser. Shin-ae isnt locked off into an impenetrable state of madness; just as soon as the dust settles, she has to try and function as a member of society. Jun is kidnapped (as it turns out, by his teacher) because Shin-ae had given the false impression that she is wealthy, and when she cannot meet the demands, Jun is killed. Related Articles. Although Shin-ae lies to herself, Jeon refuses to lie to the camera. More from JustWatch. As she tries to fit in, another tragic event overturns her life. [2] But now everything around Shin-ae beckons her back to normalcy, that world where grown-ups dont cry. Regardless, they had a child, Jin Kazama. As she tries to come to herself and set out on new foundations, another tragic event overturns her life. Her Christian friends are almost entirely unwilling to help or sympathize and the pastor of her church actually blames her for being too weak to forgive Do-seop. Oxygen Insider Exclusives. Once she arrives with her young son, Jun, in Miryang (which translates roughly to the "secret sunshine" of the title, a mysterious phrase that wonderfully embodies the elusiveness and the ultimate privacy of true joy), Shin-ae sets up her own piano-teaching school. He understands that grieving is intensely personal, not some sort of assembly line where you if you put your emotions together in the right order you can get over you husband dying and your son being murdered. In some ways the journey he plots out for Shin-ae is cruel. After a meeting with her religious friends, she returns to her home and turns her back to the camera. Is the criers crying credible, or commensurate to its cause? Shin-ae's brother visits from Seoul, wondering why she has returned to Miryang considering that her husband cheated on her. Unfortunately, it doesnt touch the heart as much as it thinks it does, and loses its way by becoming too plodding in its possible romance story and showing how religious exuberance might give joy but could be as dangerous as a drug when you come off its highs. Click here to make a donation. Secret Sunshine is Lee Chang-dong's fourth film and this touching tale of a young woman facing tragedy saw Lee gain even more recognition as one of the key directors to have emerged from South Korea in the last two decades. Opening to a shot of a clear blue sky that's ultimately juxtaposed by a haunting image of a garbage-strewn dirt patch, Lee's film concerns Shin-ae (Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon), who with her young son . After she visits the prison, Lee seems to suggest that Shin-ae's conversion was really just a way for her to feel like she had power over Do-seop. Desperately seeking community in her college years, the writer discovered the world of experimental cinema when she stumbled on a short-film program at an art-house in Manchester, England. relocates with her elementary school-aged youngster Jun (. ) Playing next. And for her part, Shin-ae, a problem solver by nature, latches onto Christianity as a practical path to healing. The Secret Sunshine Project Benjamin Dean 4.29 213 ratings70 reviews A heart-warming story of kindness, courage and love in all its forms. Shin-ae doesn't understand how God can absolve him of his sins before she has forgiven him and felt true peace. Sign Up for Free. Driven by unrelenting mental anguish, Shin-Ae joins an evangelical church and becomes a re-born Christian. tries to purchase some land, Kim recommends a very wealthy and powerful land owner. He runs a local garage and is a very friendly fellow. As she tries to come to herself and set out on new foundations, another tragic event overturns her life. George Pattison, a chartered accountant, murdered his wife Emma and their daughter, Lettie, with a shotgun before turning the weapon on himself. Jeon Do-yeon, as Lee Shin-ae, the main character, is a woman with a young son whose husband has died in a tragic accident, and who leaves Seoul to live in Miryang, which was his home town, with her young son. This would also set up a fateful encounter. David Collin, 53, was killed while he slept in a sleeping bag outside a Maroochydore . If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Her young son, Jun, is discovered dead in a river after having been. Lee has claimed the influence of filmmakers such as John Cassavetes and Robert Bresson upon his work. None of the Christians around her are struggling with their faith or coping with self-doubt. 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