Re-encounter

Re-encounter
Hangul 혜화,동
Revised Romanization Hyehwa, Dong
McCune–Reischauer Hyehwa, Tong
Directed by Min Yong-keun
Produced by Shim Hyun-woo
Written by Min Yong-keun
Starring Yoo Da-in
Yoo Yeon-seok
Music by Kim Myung-jong
Sung Ji-young
Hong Ye-young
Cinematography Na Hee-seok
Edited by Wong Su-ahn
Production
company
Secret Garden
Distributed by Indiestory
Release dates
Running time
 107 minutes
Country South Korea
Language Korean
Budget US$182,000

Re-encounter (Hangul: 혜화,동; RR: Hyehwa, Dong; lit. "Hye-hwa, Child") is a 2011 South Korean indie film written and directed by Min Yong-keun.[1] Starring Yoo Da-in and Yoo Yeon-seok, it is a coming of age story about two young people who fall in love but lose contact when the girl becomes pregnant and the boy leaves her to go to Canada; they meet again after five years to look for their child, who they believe has been adopted.

It premiered at the 15th Busan International Film Festival in 2010,[2] and was released in theaters on February 17, 2011.

Plot

When precocious teenager Hye-hwa realizes that she is pregnant, the assertive young woman seems to have everything under control. But her convictions come crashing down when her loving, docile boyfriend Han-soo disappears without a word, apparently having been exiled to Canada by his mother.

Five years down the road, Hye-hwa’s spunky attitude and fondness for colorful manicures have been replaced by a fixation with rescuing abandoned dogs when she's not grooming the creatures for a living. Mothering her widowed boss's son provides her some relief; she is wise and weathered far beyond her 23 years. The fragile equilibrium maintained by her routine lifestyle breaks, however, after an unwarranted re-encounter with Han-soo.

At first Hye-hwa refuses her ex's approach, but her heart drops when he informs her that their child is actually well and alive — contrary to her understanding that the baby girl had died hours after birth. Han-soo explains that their daughter had been given up for adoption by their own grandmothers. Unable to help herself, Hye-hwa goes along with him in trying to track the baby down, leading to tragic consequences.[3][4][5][6]

Cast

Reception

An indie film with unknown actors and a production budget of just ₩200 million (US$182,000), Re-encounter drew favorable reviews from critics. It attracted a little more than 10,000 viewers, which is a dream figure in the world of Korean indie films, where low production budgets, minimal promotion and short runs in theaters are the norm.[7][8]

Re-encounter was sponsored in part by the Korean Film Council and the Seoul Film Commission, who covered half of the film's production costs. The film's production team later made headlines for donating all of the proceeds from ticket sales to film and arts organizations such as the Seoul Independent Film Festival and MediACT.[9]

Awards

References

  1. ↑ Sung, So-young (1 April 2011). "Indie director finds a formula for success". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  2. ↑ Lee, Sang-yong. "Re-encounter". BIFF.kr. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  3. ↑ Lee, Hyo-won (10 February 2011). "Taboo topics turn Proustian in Re-encounter". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  4. ↑ Beck, Una (15 February 2011). "REVIEW: Film Re-encounter (2011)". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  5. ↑ Mudge, James (26 March 2012). "Re-encounter (2010) Movie Review". Beyond Hollywood. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  6. ↑ Djuna. "Re-Encounter". Cine21 via Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-07-26.
  7. ↑ Sung, So-young (30 December 2011). "The year in film: 2011 brought large successes from low-budget movies". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  8. ↑ Hong, Lucia (24 May 2012). "Korean pic Re-encounter set to open in theaters in Japan". 10Asia. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  9. ↑ Kwon, Jungyun (15 December 2011). "A look back at the year's breakout films". Korea.net. Retrieved 2012-11-19.

External links