Secret Sunshine(Milyang)

Following her husband’s death, the widowed piano teacher Shin-ae leaves Seoul and moves to her husband’s hometown Miryang with her young son Jun, attracting the unwanted advances of an unmarried local car mechanic. When Jun goes missing one day, the fallout from what turns out to be his kidnapping propels Shin-ae onto an agonising spiritual journey as unpredictable and emotional for her as it is for the audience. Adapting Yi Cheongjun’s short story ‘The Abject,’ Lee crafts an absorbing character study revolving around grief and faith that doubles as an incisive portrait of small-town Korea. Jeon Do-yeon’s exposed nerve of a performance deservedly won her Best Actress at Cannes.

Cannes Film Festival: Best Actress Award

Asian Film Awards: Best Film, Best Director and Best Actress

15/12 (Fri) Speaker: Dr. Fiona Law (Lecturer in Comparative Literature at the University of Hong Kong)