(Korean Movies) Secret Sunshine, 密陽, 2007

Official Invitation for Competition at the 60th Cannes Film Festival

secret sunlight
A small city in Gyeongsangnam-do with a population of 110,000
A place for ordinary people to live their daily lives
A big project that is thrilling even with the meeting of Lee Chang-dong, Jeon Do-yeon, and Song Kang-ho
A very special love story between two men and women who seem to be incompatible like water and oil.

like this… Start

【 Characters 】

“What does milyang mean? : Shin-ae
A thirty-three-year-old woman, traveling to Miryang, the hometown of her deceased husband, her son Jun, wants to make a fresh start in a place where no one knows her. This city girl who learned piano opens a private academy. After losing both her dream of becoming a pianist and the love of a man, she says, 'I'm not unhappy'. However, the audience soon hears the cry leaking from her back, curled up like a caterpillar. An unexpected event… The remaining love, the son disappeared somewhere and was eventually found dead! Shin-ae snored when she remembered a child, like a son who missed his father by pretending to snore. Still, I couldn't stand it. Now that she has dug up the remaining warmth in her heart, she asks the audience. “If it were you… would you like to live like this?” Her fight has begun.

“Are you going to live on your own? It’s just living.” : Jong Chan
A man like an innocent snob. The owner of a car center who likes friends and likes to play with coffee shop cash registers and jokes. He is curious about this Seoul woman. Her broken car calls him, and the stranger becomes a part of her life as unforgettable as her own voice. Even if she scoffs at her for being a snob, when her brother says, 'The boss is not my sister's,' I just laugh. So Jong-chan circulated around Shin-ae like a circle. Maybe you don't even know. He just appeared like a shadow wherever she went.

Is love about to start now? But… can it be called love?

[Miryang introduction one]

Official Invitation for Competition at the 60th Cannes Film Festival – Miryang
Started as a writer for <I want to go to that island> in 1993, <Green Fish> <Peppermint Candy> and <Oasis> built her own unique style with three films, <Oasis> won the Best Director award at the Venice Film Festival, 2003: Culture Director Chang-dong Lee, who returned after 4 years as the Minister of Tourism. Jeon Do-yeon, who made her debut through broadcasting in 1992, was evaluated as the best actress in Korea with her culmination of performances in <Connect> <Happy End> <Scandal> and <You are my destiny>. After taking his first steps in the play <Dongseung> in 1991, Song Kang-ho, who has always been at the scene of the birth of new myths in Korean film history such as <Memories of Murder> and <Monster>.

Those who were separated from each other, building their own empire and shining brightly, gathered in <Miryang> in 2007. They must have met once, but the people who were like a midsummer night's dream that couldn't come true have finally met. Jeon Do-yeon expressed her greed to do it without seeing the script for the first time, and Song Kang-ho tried to hide her excitement by saying 'a leading melodrama'.

Filming location in Miryang in 2006. “Is this woman Jeon Do-yeon? You mean this guy is Song Kang-ho? How are we going to do this?” Director Lee Chang-dong, who threw a vote for the question. And on April 19, 2007, a sudden power surge from France began to herald the birth of another masterpiece. It was decided to officially invite this film <Milyang> to the competition section of the 60th Cannes International Film Festival! In 2000, at the 53rd Cannes Film Festival, he was invited to the Director's Week with <Peppermint Candy>. In May, Lee Chang-dong, Jeon Do-yeon, and Song Kang-ho will stand on top of a red cafe in Cannes and will be in the spotlight of the world. The light of Korea gathered to make love, and that love became another masterpiece. However, the numerous controversies and myth-like stories surrounding the love of this movie <Milyang> are just the beginning.

【Introduction to Miryang two】

The Love Story – Miryang
Audiences who watched the film through the premiere. Some say it is a heartbreaking drama about a woman who has lost all her love. Another said, “No! <Miryang> was Song Kang-ho's love story!” Some say they cried, some say they laughed… All because of Shin-ae and Jong-chan. Some see Shin-ae, and some see Jong-chan. Some are heartbroken, others see hope. it wouldn't matter All because of this special new love…

The only thing that filled Shin-ae in the place of hope that had been completely scraped off was sadness. It is the resentment of the world that has caused suffering. All she can do is cry over her neck or punch the sky. Or, it's just that she's venturing out on her own. Jong-chan, does he even know what love is? If love is something you have to learn and learn, then Jong-chan is a feeling of expulsion. Do you really like Shin-ae? Love… a man who's ever done that? A woman lived in Seoul, a man in Miryang, a woman with an unfulfilled desire for lack, and a man with a different perspective and different sensibility.

Two men and women who cannot mix like water and oil are going side by side. The woman does nothing or cries. The man follows her as if he were doing his homework late. All… because of love. It's really all because of love. Because of the love that is empty in their hearts… Now what will happen to them? where will they go? Where is the love they found? This movie <Milyang>, which makes the audience hold the string of interest, is Lee Chang-dong, Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho… It's a very special love story they made.

[Miryang introduction three]

Pain, Humor, and Exquisite Magical Movie – Miryang
A woman is sitting on the road and crying. I don't know the story, but I want to approach him and 'tuk-tuk' his back. <Miryang> is such a movie. A woman who lost her husband and lost her only child, her only love, is a woman who runs from home to church and prison on the road, crying and getting angry. It is a film of Jeon Do-yeon, where her laughter and even the bright hymn she sang makes her heart ache and she finds herself weeping with her.

The title Miryang – 密阳 is very mysterious. It's so sad, but in it, laughter and warm gaze are hidden like the sunlight of a spring day. It's very special. Tears and laughter, sadness and warmth are exquisite tightrope walking, lifting and lifting our hearts, making us cry and laugh. And, there is Jongchan, which appears without fail even if you don't call it. However, as time passes, Shin-ae thinks that Jong-chan can still breathe and that I can live. Because you can laugh when you are with him, the audience will stand in the feelings of Shin-ae and receive gentle healing from Jong-chan. Song Kang-ho's <Milyang>, where he finds himself smiling bashfully with him, is a very grateful movie.

[Miryang introduction net]

The Secret Movie of the Beginning of Love – Miryang
Milyang. A small city in Gyeongsangnam-do. You have heard the love story of a very special man and woman named Shin-ae and Jong-chan in a place full of mystical light. Was it fun? But what if it isn't Milyang? What if they are not Shin-ae and Jong-chan? That love could be the love story of a lover in Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, or it could be the story of a grandmother and grandson in Dumesangol, Gangwon-do. The woman who was in so much pain, wandering around a woman without realizing it, found what he found was just the question of where love is, how it begins, and when it comes. 'Can we find it too?' Thus, director Lee Chang-dong's fourth film <Milyang> is asking you the meaning of life and love.

Director Lee Chang-dong says that this film is 'a story that begins in the sky and ends on the earth where we live'. The light is everywhere, in Miryang, Cheongdam-dong, Seoul, and Jeongseon, Gangwon-do, along the road where stones roll. However, while we are immersed in life and living without knowing it, Shin-ae and Jong-chan, two men and women, have been hurting for such a long time and wanted to find them. How to be happy, how to love.

After two hours of crying and laughing while wiping away the sweat from your palms, the moment will come when you will be asked yourself. So, in <Milyang>, communication does not end the moment you leave the theater like a normal movie. It is a film that will be remembered for a long time to constantly ask about your life, love, and the value of life. In the most difficult moment of your life, this movie tells you to lean a little more on the ground with your feet next to you. Hope is by your side.

[Miryang Introduction Five]

argument! Your movie with your eyes open – Miryang
why? Did Shin-ae go down to her dead husband's hometown? She denied it, but in fact her husband had abandoned her. Did Jong-chan really love her? Can Shin-ae's pain and her deviation be understandable? Is the end of Chan-sik love really realistic? Should I call him beautiful or should I call him a fool? What does Shin-ae's visit to prison mean? So, if you are Shinae… What will you do? Did Shin-ae accept Jong-chan who wanders around like that?

May 24. Audiences who have seen <Milyang> will find themselves talking about the movie <Milyang> over the phone or with a friend. You can say that you cried profusely because you sympathized with Shin-ae's pain, or you could be angry that such a woman could exist. You might laugh at yourself smiling at the loveliness of this man, Song Kang-ho. You may be dissatisfied with how you could love such a woman so much. Lee Chang-dong, Jeon Do-yeon, Song Kang-ho… A movie that awakens the sleeping desire in your heart and makes you talk or discuss with someone. What do you think of this love? How would you accept two men and women? How would you rate the ending of this movie? Now it's left to you

[Production Note]

“I hated it more than dying to say that, but I think I did well after I did it.” _ Jeon Do-yeon
In order to answer the phone call of the criminal who took the child, Shin-ae rushes into the house where the phone is ringing. The scene where Shin-ae leaves money at the meeting place and returns home to talk to the criminal. Jeon Do-yeon tries her best to express the feeling of being blessed after the call, and to express the pain of a mother who has lost her child. “It was about how to accept and start the grief of losing a child, but the burden on that part was very heavy.” declare “I said, ‘Director, I don’t think this will work today. Jeon Do-yeon said that she really hated it more than dying. I hate it more than dying, but I don't think it's okay to die, so in the end, she risked her acting life enough to stop filming that day, and presented the most difficult acting of her life in <Miryang>. Jeon Do-yeon, who had to live in pain and anger for five months, and cultivated feelings that were sharp 24 hours a day. How much did she give up Jeon Do-yeon and become Shin-ae this time, who gave her all to perform? I am looking forward to her acting, who has been reborn as the best actress through <Miryang>.

Song Kang-ho's first melodrama acting,
A passionate performance for the most lovable character

“Jongchan doesn’t even have a bell. But I deserve to be loved.” _Song Kang-ho
Jong-chan, an old bachelor who is stylish for a car center president, but also snobbish and naive. Song Kang-ho, who said, "It's bizarre, but having a warm heart is only Jong-chan's charm," said that there is no scene that expresses the heart of a man who wants to be with the woman he likes as well as the scene where he smells Shin-ae's hair lying in the hospital. boast In order to show Shin-ae well, he goes to church and gives parking instructions, but Jong-chan, who doesn't like being caught in front of Shin-ae, who is driving her for nothing, doesn't like being found out. I'm really proud of that it's so 'so cool'. I feel sorry for the woman who goes alone to report the death of her child, so she tries to take a taxi together, but in the end she is pushed away. will admit He is a man 'Jongchan' who can be anywhere, but the only actor who can make him like that is Kangho Song. Jong-chan, who grunts in the hospital and on the phone with his caring mother at the car center on his birthday, is actually sorry to his mother. It makes me feel even more lonely and it hurts my heart to see a grown-up worrying about my mom. so get angry that's the end Song Kang-ho defines Jong-chan as a man who is not good at expressing himself but has a warm heart. Like Jeon Do-yeon, who said that Jong-chan is the only lovable character in the world, Song Kang-ho shows off his love that no one can imitate through Jong-chan.

“How can these wonderful actors
Have you all been hiding here?”

The people around Shin-ae and Jong-chan in Miryang, which director Lee Chang-dong rave about.
Maybe they are real Miryang people. A woman in a dressmaker with a bad interior, an elder couple running a pharmacy, Jong-chan's friends who are friendly even if they gather at the car center every day as a hideout… People who are like family members who enjoy moderate farming that can be found anywhere in a small local town, and learn everything about the loss of a spoon in half a day…
In <Miryang>, all the actors, except for the main character, are either the first time acting on the screen or ordinary people. A whopping 3,000 to 4,000 actors auditioned for supporting actors in <Miryang>. By chance, I need an actual coffee shop register, so I have an on-the-spot audition, and an actual car center owner and an actual office worker appear. They perfectly speak the Miryang dialect, and have absolutely 'Miryang' or very 'living' faces. In that way, all the actors placed in the film are perfectly part of Miryang.
Among them, there are some that stand out in particular. They are the drugstore Kangjang-ro Lee Yoon-hee, real estate new manager Kim Jong-su, pastor Oh Man-seok, friend Kim Young-sam, so-called 'Ulsan Brothers'. They are veteran theater actors who have received all the awards they deserve in that area, but they are new to movies. He acted with the same passion as young people on set, and gained high support from not only the on-site staff but also the director. With these people in mind, director Lee Chang-dong said, “How did all these wonderful actors hide here!” He even praised it. Oh Man-seok said that he is so proud of himself that he says that the moment he is filming <Miryang> is the happiest moment in his life, and that he is so happy that he even tears up when he crosses Miryang from Ulsan.

The acting of the local aunty friends was also great. In accordance with director Lee Chang-dong's acting order, which is difficult for even veteran actors to understand, they perform very ordinary and ordinary lives. Among them, Kim Mi-hyang, who plays the butler Kim at the pharmacy, is an important role that allows Shin-ae to gain faith for the first time, but gives a very realistic impression like the real woman next door. Currently, she is a well-known middle-aged actress in the Daegu theater version, but she is also an actress with a long-standing relationship with director Lee Chang-dong, whom he met as a director and an actor when he was working in Daegu. Jang Hye-jin, who plays Park Myung-sook, one of the young believers, had the experience of giving up acting after coming to the audition for <Peppermint Candy>, but this time she had a relationship with director Lee Chang-dong once again in <Milyang>. Then she said, "I stopped acting because of the director, but I started acting again because of the director." It is said that the fierce acting competition of these prestigious 'Ajumma actors' was as great as the Ulsan brothers. They were completely dyed with Miryang and became a part of Miryang. Because of them, the movie <Milyang> becomes a 'real reality' and shines even more.

The real Miryang and the people of Miryang who made <Miryang> shine
"thank you"
Miryang, a strong background that made it possible for the star actors, the director, and the 60 staff members to work comfortably as if they were always there. Miryang, who stayed in apartments and motels for the entire 5 months of filming, is a strong third protagonist who completed the movie <Miryang>.
Miryang City Hall, which not only adjusted traffic signals for filming, but also delayed road pavement construction and helped in both ways, was another director of <Miryang>. In addition, numerous amateur actors further enhanced the perfection of <Miryang> with their acting skills (!) comparable to that of Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho. A 'real' office employee who was praised by director Lee Chang-dong, saying, "If you do this to an actor, you can't do this if you do it to an actor" while having an acting showdown with Jeon Do-yeon as an office worker, the motel boss who did a great job as a police officer because he looked like a detective. All the residents of Miryang, who acted as passers-by despite receiving it, became a small but dazzling light for <Miryang>. And thanks to the residents of Miryang, who lent clothes and other miscellaneous things at home to the costume team and the prop team, the semi-piano set but more realistic, Jongchan's car center was able to be completed.

And, Introducing Secret Sunshine
As the name suggests, 'a place where light is densely gathered', Miryang is a place where the amount of light is very large and strong. And, as always, since it was the movie <Miryang>, I was even more greedy to find the hidden sunlight in 'Miryang'. In each scene, the camera searched for sunlight along with the actor's hidden expression and acting. It was difficult to wait and capture natural sunlight instead of artificial light, and in fact, in many scenes, the director, actors and staff rushed to one sunlight and had to stop shooting in one sunlight. In particular, the ending scene of the movie was the most dramatic scene in which sunlight appeared. The director and staff trying to find the hidden sunlight in the limited time between 1pm and 2pm, when the sunlight is the best, was able to see the famous performance of 'secret sunshine' after a long wait at the end of filming and the last ending of the movie.

round the globe halfway
Argentinian mulberry has arrived!

A foreign but friendly melody
Theme song "Criollo" composed by "Christian Basso"
When I listen to it, my heart sobs. No, I feel like I'm getting excited. It seems to be filled with loneliness and longing that cannot be put into words, but in the end, it reaches the heart through the blood with positive energy. It is 'Criollo', which was used as the opening song of the movie and the theme song 'Jongchan Theme'. When director Lee Chang-dong attended the Buenos Aires International Film Festival as a jury member in 2001, a staff member presented him with the album. Christian Basso's first solo album 'Profania', a composer from Buenos Aires, who has worked on several music albums and music for movies. The song I happened to hear while filming Miryang was ‘Criollo’. In fact, director Christian Basso, who heard that Song Kang-ho liked the theme song very much and enjoyed listening to it on set, expressed great satisfaction with this work, saying that the emotions of people and the emotions of people in any region are similar. Christian Basso, who flew twice from the other side of the world and joined <Milyang> with three songs, including his own original song and new song after working on 100 songs. As Jongchan said, wherever you live, everyone is the same.