576 Secret Sunshine

[Michael Kerpan]

Secret Sunshine



A master of intensely emotional human dramas, director Lee Chang-dong is a leading light of contemporary Korean cinema, and his place on the international stage was cemented by this stirring and unpredictable work examining grief and deliverance. An effortless mix of light and uncompromising darkness, Secret Sunshine (Miryang) stars Cannes best actress winner Jeon Do-yeon as a widowed piano teacher who moves with her young son from Seoul to her late husband’s provincial hometown for a fresh start. Quietly expressive, supple filmmaking and sublime, subtle performances distinguish this remarkable portrayal of the search for grace amid tragedy.

DIRECTOR-APPROVED SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES

- New digital transfer, supervised and approved by director Lee Chang-dong and cinematographer Cho Yong-kyu (with DTS-HD Master Audio on the Blu-ray edition)
- New interview with Lee
- On the Set of “Secret Sunshine,” a video piece featuring interviews with actors Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho, as well as behind-the-scenes footage
- U.S. theatrical trailer
- New and improved English subtitle translation
- PLUS: A booklet featuring an essay by film critic Dennis Lim

DVD
Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled
Blu-ray
Criterionforum.org user rating averages

Feature currently disabled

[Alphonse Doinel]

My favorite film of 2007 (perhaps tied with Rivette's Don't Touch the Axe) finally gets released (presumably in a very limited fashion) in the USA -- and A.O. Scott has kind things to say about it.

My review, (and more importantly, my screen shots.)

Note: The name of this film is Milyang -- the name of the town in (very) southern South Korea where the events take place. Secret Sunshine is a "translation" of the Chinese characters (that used to be) used to write the name of the town.

Great review. Saw this when it premiered at TIFF and was floored. Glad to see there's a light at the end of the tunnel, because I'd love to see it again.

I assume the delay was the presumption that the film is too depressing to bring in any sort of crowd. Even a lot of the festival goers at my screening had a hard time with it.

[Michael Kerpan]

Poetry manages to occasionally seem lighter (and ultimately more "redemptive") despite being as downbeat (objectively) as Secret Sunshine. Secret Sunshine may be oppressive, but in a good way. ;~}

An aspect of Secret Sunshine that I find especially intriguing is the relationship between the protagonist and the (young) teen daughter of the person responsible for the protagonist's most serious problem (trying to speak non-spoilerishly). T

[Grand Illusion]

Saw Poetry at AFI Fest. Loved it. Will look out for this one! Thanks for the heads up.

[Michael Kerpan]

Stuart Klawans has a very good review of Poetry in the Feb. 21 issue of Nation. It is only available online to subscribers. He is effusive (approprately, in my opinion) in his praise of YUN Jung-hee (who plays the central role).

[cdnchris]

Announced as Spine #576

[Michael Kerpan]

Brillinat (and gutsy) pick!

[HistoryProf]

Note: The name of this film is Milyang -- the name of the town in (very) southern South Korea where the events take place. Secret Sunshine is a "translation" of the Chinese characters (that used to be) used to write the name of the town.

Can you elaborate on this? Do the characters phonetically result in Milyang? If not, why would they have been used? Is this common?

[PerfectDepth]

Can you elaborate on this? Do the characters phonetically result in Milyang? If not, why would they have been used? Is this common?

The Korean alphabet (known as Hangeul) was created in the 15th century and until that time Koreans used Chinese Characters. Many words, especially proper nouns, have Chinese Characters attached to them and they're still occasionally used (though less and less). It's actually Hangeul that's phonetic and Chinese Characters that use symbols and carry a latent meaning.

[Michael Kerpan]

Apparently, until fairly recently, laws were published using Chinese characters (called "hanja") -- and working class citizens could not read such laws (see PARK Kwang-su's A Single Spark).

The characters signify the place Milyang and are pronounced milyang -- but the place named Milyang does not, in fact, _mean_ "secret sunshine".

[Coen]

Hooray. Criterion does South Korea! Nice entry!

[rrenault]

I think it's safe to assume Netflix will actually carry this blu ray, since Netflix and IFC seem to be tight. The IFC titles all still appear to be available to stream on Netflix but they haven't been uploaded onto Hulu. The other IFC titles like White Material, Still Walking, and Fish Tank all appear to be available on blu ray through netflix. Perhaps that's the trend that netflix will now only buy and carry the blu ray releases of Criterion's IFC titles.

[Matt]

I think the availability of Blu-rays has more to do with them being new films than with anyone being "tight," but whatever.

[criterionsnob]

Blu-ray.com

[ptatler]

Here's a little write up on both SUNSHINE and the VIGO set, written under duress.

[Michael Kerpan]

Here's a little write up on both SUNSHINE and the VIGO set, written under duress.

A stylistic hint -- The director of Secret Sunshine is LEE Chang-dong or (in American/IMDB style) Chang-dong LEE. Unless you are on a first-name basis with him, probably use of "Lee" is more appropriate than "Chang-dong". ;~}

[ptatler]

Unless you are on a first-name basis with him, probably use of "Lee" is more appropriate than "Chang-dong". ;~}

Duly noted and fixed. Thanks!

[Michael Kerpan]

I would note that it is especially hard to write intelligibly about Secret Sunshine unless you can talk (extensively) about what happens to the characters in the film (and how they respond). I've been waiting for ages to have a group of people who have seen the film to discuss it with (right now, it's still just me and my wife). ;~}

[John Edmond]

Hmmm, anybody else receive a copy Secret Sunshine without it's booklet?

[jbeall]

Saw this last night and thought it was very good. Some beautiful widescreen cinematography and Jeon Do-yeon is of course excellent. In a couple of shots, it seems as if at its limits, Miryang ends rather abruptly, giving way to a flat valley floor. I wanted to know more about the geography of the region.

Anyway,

Spoiler

given the protagonist's breakdown and moment of grace at the film's exact midpoint, I feared the film was turning into a Christian allegory, so I was pleasantly surprised when it took a different route after her encounter with her son's killer in prison. It made me think about how traumatized people have to repress their rage in order to maintain a certain persona (I'm thinking here also of the mother in Still Walking).

And this probably doesn't require spoilers, but

Spoiler

I was rooting for the doofus mechanic even though it was painfully obvious to everybody but him that he never stood a chance.

[Michael Kerpan]

I'd say that doing a Google image search on "Miryang" might help one get a better idea of the geography.

Spoiler

I'd say the "doofus mechanic" was too good for the protagonist. He was a genuinely kind person, while she is always extraordinarily self-centered.

The protagonist here had some serious issues, even predating the misfortunes we see in the film. She has, after all, abandoned her own social network, to go to the place where her late husband was born -- but where he actually had no family connections or friends. Something is amiss from the outset.

[jbeall]

And indeed I did google it not long after posting.

Spoiler

I wouldn't necessarily argue with your assertion that he's too good for her. But he's also fairly clueless in his persistent pursuit. And I don't think she's always extraordinarily self-centered. She is certainly self-centered at times. Most of the time, however, I saw her as running from one trauma or another. Running from both her husband's death and the shame of his philandering, then running from her grief into the arms of the evangelical church, and when confronted with the killer's conversion, running into rebellion. More than selfish, then, I think she's just fundamentally unable to deal with her traumas and at least twice goes about it in exactly the wrong fashion.

This is my second Lee film (after Oasis, which I thought was magnificent), and I'll be watching Poetry tonight. Really impressed by this director.

[Michael Kerpan]

I think I love Poetry even more than Secret Sunshine -- but all his films so far have been superb.

Spoiler

I am more than a bit biased by the protagonist's persistently cruel treatment of the murderer's daughter -- such as leaving her to be beaten or worse, without even calling the police when she could do so with no risk to herself. And then refusing to let the girl work on her hair. The one hopeful aspect of the film is that there ARE people who are treating the girl with kindness -- and so perhaps she will escape from her own terrible circumstances

[jbeall]

Having watched Poetry last night, I'll echo your sentiment. It was a marvelous film, and I'm still under its spell this morning.

Trying to stay on-topic:

Spoiler

Yes, her treatment of the daughter is problematic. On one hand, she wants the daughter, who's clearly an accessory, if not an outright co-conspirator, to suffer as she has. On the other hand, witnessing the daughter's abuse is what leads her to try and forgive the father. It almost seems as if her visit to the prison is intended as compensation for her failure to help the daughter. So once again, she's trying to solve a problem in precisely the wrong way; her visit isn't about Christian forgiveness so much as it's an attempt to assuage her residual guilt for her failure to intervene in the alleyway-beating of the daughter.

At the end, she makes a brief effort to be nice to the girl before storming out, so at least she tries to do the right thing. But it's in her nature to run away from her problems, as the entire film has shown. And that's why I think the ending is so effective; it's much more consistent with her nature that she's sharing a laugh with the shop-owner than with the daughter. The shop-owner's words allow her to feel as if she's someone who makes a positive difference, rather than someone who's continually fleeing from something or other.

And the protagonist is very easily rattled. IIRC, there are at least two times in the film where she spaces out and has to slam on the brakes in order to avoid hitting pedestrians. So she's fundamentally incapable of dealing with stress in the first place.

[Michael Kerpan]

In the book that is the source for the movie...

Spoiler

the protagonist apparently commits suicide.

Glad you loved Poetry.