May
23
2007
Secret Sunshine
Posted by luna6
Movie : Secret Sunshine / Milyang / 밀양
Release Date : May 23, 2007
Country : South Korea
Director : Chang-dong Lee
Starring : Do-yeon Jeon, Kang-ho Song
Run Time : 142 Minutes
Editor Rating : 9.0
(28 Votes, User Rating: 8.32)
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Plot Synopsis : A woman by the name of Shin-Ae and her only child move to the small town of Milyang, South Korea. Her husband has recently passed away and she has decided to start life anew back in the hometown of her deceased husband. While entering Milyang, Shin-Ae’s car breaks down along a rural highway. She is able to get the local mechanic in Milyang, named Jong-chan, to come out to her car and start it once again. Although they come from different social backgrounds, the pair hits it off and seems to find comfort in each other’s presence.
Tragedy soon strikes Shin-Ae again with the abduction of her only son. As Shin-Ae deals with another inexplicable tragedy she receives help from her friend Jong-chan to try to find the light that is buried somewhere within the darkness of her life.
Movie Review : Secret Sunshine is a blistering film, that could create a whole lot of controversy. Nothing brings an uproar faster than the topic of religion and Secret Sunshine doesn’t hold back in questioning the existence of God or critiquing the role of religion in society.
A little background information about the film. The director of the film, Chang-dong Lee, is highly regarded in Korea for his three prior films “Oasis” “Peppermint Candy” and “Green Fish.” Chang-dong Lee’s prior film “Oasis” brought the director international acclaim, wining the prestigious Director’s Award at the 2003 Venice Film Festival. Shortly after the release of “Oasis,” Chang-dong Lee was even appointed as Korea’s minister of culture and tourism. He resigned two years later to concentrate on his films. In Oasis, Moon So-Ri amazed with her unforgettable portrayal of a young lady afflicted with cerebral palsy. Similar to Moon So-Ri’s memorable performance in Oasis, Secret Sunshine has Do-yeon Jeon giving a performance that is equal to, if not more, powerful.
It’s no secret Do-yeon Jeon is a wonderful actress, just reference her performance in “You Are My Sunshine” or “My Mother Is A Mermaid” as proof. Yet, the brevity of pain she was able to express during her descent into darkness in “Secret Sunshine” was something to absolutely marvel at. During the final portions of the movie my hands were literally clenched to the armrests, out of this gripping fear of what she could possibly do next. I was actually praying another tragedy would not occur in her life.
Meanwhile, Kang-ho Song seems to get better and better with each movie that he performs in. Outside of “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance,” it seems Kang-ho Song plays nice characters that are bumbling in nature, but able to conquer whatever obstacles are placed in his way. His character in Secret Sunshine followed this motif somewhat, but during a scene towards the end of the film, I literally jumped out of my seat when he displayed an unexpected fit of rage. As a testament to his performance, horror movies never made me jump up from my seat, but Kang-ho Song certainly did. Yet, the manner in which his character was portrayed, you couldn’t help to think that he was indeed a real life angel in Shin-Ae’s life.
The structure of the story itself is unusual in that it flows in an unexpected nature, starts off as a romantic drama, then a thriller, then turns into one lady’s descent into her own heart of darkness. In retrospect the unpredictable storyline followed the predictable manner in which life itself sometimes unfolds : sudden changes that seems to come in waves. Some clues to what Chang-dong Lee may have tried to convey upon the audience can be revealed (without giving away the crux of the movie) by two brief scenes that occurred at the beginning and end of the film. When Shin-ae first came to Milyang, she went around town to solicit business for her piano lessons. She walked into a small clothing boutique and struck up a brief conversation with the owner of the store. The owner seemed to hold a grim internal mood, hidden somewhat by her stiff exterior expression. The boutique itself seemed to get very little business, while the interior of the store was painted all black. Shin-Ae gently smiled and offered this tip to the boutique owner before walking out, “If you change the interior to a brighter color, people will likely feel more comfortable and want to come into your store.” At the end of the movie, the boutique owner had indeed re-designed the interior of her store, with the walls painted all in white. When the shop owner saw Shin-Ae, she smiled and laughed with happiness that she did not possess in her earlier scene.
Secret Sunshine is a movie that will likely stay in your mind for days after seeing the movie. The story was utterly riveting, while the performances by Do-yeon Jeon and Kang-ho Song were nothing short of brilliant. Questions that are often asked internally, but not as often asked in films, were boldly asked in Secret Sunshine. The answers were never clearly revealed in the film, but left to be answered internally by the viewer themselves. A fitting way to answer the film’s original question I would say.
buy Secret Sunshine from YesAsia
If you like this film, you may enjoy : Memories Of Matsuko
Cast:
Do-yeon Jeon - Shin-ae
Kang-ho Song - Jong ChanYeong-jin Jo
Mi-kyung Kim
Yeong-jae Kim
Seo-hie Ko
Myeong-shin Park
2007 Movie Reviews, Movie Reviews |
Comments
11 Comments so far
I’m not even going to lie and pretend I’m some sort of film critic, just a 16 year old with an appreciation for movies. Secret Sunshine was defnitely a nice introduction to independent films, and it’s a pleasant change from the over the top blockbusters hollywood throws at my face.
Though I must say, the continuous chain of misfortunes was somewhat too much for me to bear, and it left a bitter taste once the credits came. Is it really a story of hope? Or a reflection of what the world is truly like? Hmph, I still have quite a lot of growing up to do I guess XD.
There is also another interesting view, this could be some kind of parable of Job…
I see a lot of people complaining about the runtime, but i still think this would be better with some more background, maybe reaching 160min.
Tom,
I see no reason why the director would do this, the things left unexplained are not philosophical or thought provoking ideas, they are just simple background stories that could add more if they were explained. It looks more like pressure from the production company to cut the runtime a bit, leaving the movie more “watchable” or commercial.
You can see them as flaws but i think the director wanted the viewer to work these things out on his own. No hand holding.
“Obviously you can speculate about all this, but what i mean is that the movie rushed over all this and many more questions.”
I get your idea with “The Stranger”, but like most of Camus books, it is a philosophical statement. So, it is not actually about the story of a single real person, but an idealization, an abstract reality made to represent an statement. “Secret Sunshine” is a story of a single character and besides plot similarities (with the book) it lacks the abstraction needed to make all the happenings believable and empathetic in the short time they are presented.
Very few directors (or auteurs) are successful when working with the level of abstraction needed to present something like “The Stranger’s” plot. Andrei Tarkovsky and Béla Tarr are quite excellent with this, but its their style as well, and if you compare they are completely different from “Secret Sunshine”, although all of them explore this feeling of abandonment from God.
I completely agree with you that Do-yeon Jeon’s acting was needed, and the movie would suffer a lot without it and without Kang-ho Song’s supporting role to balance it. But that is exactly what i was trying to point, the movie is dependent on her role, and centered at it. That is why the conception of an abstract idea that “The Stranger” presents is difficult to be achieved with such a strong and real personification. What you see is her, not the idea.
It is not that i think it is surreal, but it is too much (real and honest situations), being shown without empathy enough. The flow is too fast and raw; i couldn’t cry a single tear or even have the feeling i would.
Questions like “Was she seeing herself in the murderer’s daughter?”, “Did she compare the murderer behavior towards his daughter with her own father’s attitude towards herself?”, “If so, why she never ever helped his daughter and was so angry with her?”, “Every normal person with debts is a potential danger?”, “Bad parent, good killer (there is definitely not a normal murder, it asks for a certain degree of sociopathy)?”. Obviously you can speculate about all this, but what i mean is that the movie rushed over all this and many more questions.
There is an interesting idea left as well, she is so overwhelmed with this feeling of helplessness and loneliness (from God), that she fails to perceive the amount of people helping and behaving as friends, mostly Jong-chan. So she fails to see that the “answer” is so near her, and so real.
But anyway, i’m talking about the flaws, the movie is full of good qualities, and i would give it 8/10. Even you didn’t find it perfect, otherwise you would have given it 10/10.
This debate with you is quite good, thanks for exchanging some ideas.
Also, leave a link for Global YesAsia instead of the US link only…
Hey Luiz,
I think we’re on similar paths but you prefer more “cohesive” and “conscise”, while I like a bit of ambiguity in the mix as well.
I dont agree with your description that Secret Sunshine was just a tour de force vehicle for Do-yeon Jeon. Yes she gave a dynamic performance, but it was well within the flow / structure of the film. Any type of lesser performance and the film would have suffered. Also, I think Do-Yeon Jeon is to Secret Sunshine as to what Moon So-Ri is to Oasis. Both dynamite performances in my opinion, but not fair to call out one but not the other as they are of the same quality.
The amount of grief the main character went through was brutal, but I didn’t find it to be unrealistic or a drawback to the film. As most people who suffer those kinds of breakdowns, they seem to go through a battery of traumatic situations not just one singular moment.
With the religious aspect of the film, I thought it worked well, in a similiar manner as Albert Camus’ “The Stranger”. In fact after all the tragedy occurred to Shin-ae, her then emotional evolvement paralleled Mersualt’s from the Stranger in a near quid pro quo fashion. Similar existential questions abound in both person’s lives I guess.
Indeed, yours is a positive look into the movie plot, and i actually agree with you, my criticism is actually about the amazing amount of disgrace that happens with just one single person. She was abused as a kid, than abused and betrayed by her husband that died. She moves to a small city looking for peace then her son is kidnapped and murdered, while she loses every single penny she has saved. Than, her family kinda turns against her saying she is a bad omen… she becomes a more dark person… so many stereotypes that you can actually write 10 different movies.
But i believe that the message is, at least in part, freeing yourself from any grudge to become better. Also not to mind about people’s opinions and “coercive” ideas.
In contrast, the criticism to faith, hope and relationship seems a bit lost. It is true that her psychological state makes her more prone to religiosity, something the movie also tries to explore. In the beginning she refuses and even becomes a bit angry when invited to church, then later she throws herself completely into it.
Oasis is indeed a love story, but it is more about communication and it explores it so perfectly and in a cohesive sympathetic way. “Secret Sunshine” is more about the “tour de force” acting of Do-yeon Jeon and the feeling of complete loneliness and helplessness, in a quite modern way of nihilism.
Don’t get me wrong, i think the movie is great, but lacks cohesion and conciseness that would make it better, IMO.
I just hope that Lee Chang-dong will make more technically great movies closer to Oasis style.
Hey Luiz,
Great observations. I think Oasis and Secret Sunshine are both great in their own distinct ways. Oasis as a love story of the unexpected kind, while Secret Sunshine tells a devastating story of one woman’s descent into darkness. Yet Secret Sunshine isn’t pure bleakness and comes out with a positive message.
As stated in the review, an important segment that may tell you what Lee Chang-dong is thinking are the two brief scenes with the shop owner.
In the beginning of the film, Shin-Ae randomly walks into the boutique store. The interior is all black and the store is desolate. A nice way to foreshadow what is to come in the life of Shin-Ae. Notice the words Shin-Ae imparts on the boutqiue owner “if you change the interior you’ll likely have more customers”. Those words of wisdom are something Shin-Ae would have to apply with her own life once it spins out of control. Take note of the “you” in that sentence - you have to, not somebody else or other group.
Finally when the movie is about to conclude Shin-Ae meets the boutique owner once again. The interior of the store has now been painted white by the owner … and she’s smiling with happiness that she didn’t have before when the store’s interior was black. The store’s interior being an apt metaphor for the ladies soul/spirit.
I watched this one only once at a screening in Korea the day before the offical release, so my recollection isn’t as clear as it was back then…but those points have stayed in my mind.
Thanks for sharing your view…cheers
I have just watched this one in DVD. Although the movie is good, i was expecting something better than Oasis, but it is not. Oasis is an amazing movie, while being very technical it is still very sympathetic, something “Secret Sunshine” lacks.
Do-yeon Jeon acting is outstanding, but her character is unsympathetic and sometimes annoying, as the movie. Kang-ho Song to me was the pleasant part of the movie, great supporting role.
The movie story is quite mature, honest and true, leaving the feeling of something Hong Sang Soo would write, but in a more “commercial” or maybe “mainstream” way. That is exactly the feeling i had, that Lee Chang-dong is becoming more “mainstream”. While a very sinister dissection of Shin-ae’s life is done, a collection of criticism towards so many things is brought up, like church, friendship, relationships, trust… in the end it looks like the plot becomes a bit pointless. Why losing so much time going about this church thing? A movie can’t be about every single disgrace a person inflicts and suffers…
But, in the end, it is a great movie, not as good as Oasis (which i also think has a better acting by both leading actors), but still very recommended due to the original story and technical quality.
I can’t wait to watch this film! Chang-dong Lee’s Oasis was a movie that moved me in a way that not many films have before. Even if it’s half as good, I will love it. Having Do-yeon Jeon and Kang-ho Song appear in the film is icing on the cake.
Hope you are able to catch it when it is released there. When you mentioned France, I did think back to Secret Sunshine and the existential questions the movie brought up. Similar to Camus’ The Stranger, there are some VERY powerful scenes in Secret Sunshine that points to a universe that seems indifferent to us folks on Earth.
Do-yeon Jeon was amazing in the film.
As you can tell I really loved the movie and hope you do too.
I just noticed that the film is in competition at the Cannes Festival right now, and that it’s supposed to be released later that year in France (I think in November). I’ll make sure to not miss it.