Difference between revisions of "Secret Sunshine"

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Movie: Secret Sunshine
Revised romanization: Milyang
Hangul: 밀양
Director: Lee Chang-Dong
Assistant Director: Lee Jung-Hwa
Writer: Lee Chang-Dong
Producer: Lee Chang-Dong
Cinematographer: Cho Yong-Kyu
Release Date: May 23, 2007
Runtime: 142 min.
Genre: Drama / Arthouse / Religion / Award Winning
Production Budget: US$ 3.5M
Distributor: Cinema Service
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea

Plot

Shin-Ae (Jeon Do-Yeon ) 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-Xhan (Song Kang-Ho) 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 once again when her only son is abducted. As Shin-Ae must deal with another devastating tragedy in her life, she attempts to find answers and a light that can shine upon her dark life.

Notes

Film was shot mostly in the city of Miryang, Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Korea.
"Secret Sunshine" was first conceived by director Lee Chang-Dong in 2002, after working on his film "Oasis". Then after Lee Chang-Dong's resignation as Korea's Minister of Culture Tourism he began working on "Secret Sunshine" in earnest.
To portray "Shin-Ae" as a typical woman Jeon Do-Youn wore no makeup in the film.

Cast



Jeon Do-Yeon	Song Kang-Ho
Shin-Ae	Jong-Chan



Jo Young-Jin	Kim Young-Jae	Seon Jeong-Yeop	Song Mi-Rim	Kim Mi-Hyang
Park Do-Seop	Min-Ki	Jun	Jung-A	Maid Kim

Cha Mi-Kyung

dress shop owner

Additional Cast Members:

Oh Man-Seok - pastor
Ko Seo-Hee - bank clerk
Park Myung-Shin - female missionary
Lee Sung-Min - chef
Cha Eun-Jae - coffee shop delivery girl
Lee Dong-Yong - taxi driver
Kim Jong-Soo - new president
Yum Hye-Ran - family in-law
Baek Ik-Nam - family in-law
Ko In-Beom - detective
Kim Min-Jae - outdoor prayer volunteer
Jang Hye-Jin - Park Myung-Suk
Park Sang-Gyu - Jae-Young's father
Lee Yoon-Hee - Elder Kang
Lee Joong-Ok - bar clerk
Seo Young-Sam - man of matching t-shirt couple
Park Jung-Min - revival meeting believer
Shin An-Jin - detective
Hong Jung-Hye - doctor
Park Ya-Sung

Trailers

Image Gallery

Array

Film Festivals

2007 (8th) TOKYO FILMeX - November 17th-25th - Special Screenings
2010 (19th) Philadelphia Film Festival - October 14-24 - From the Vaults
2010 (1st) Korean Film Festival in Australia - October 1-5, 2010
2010 (12th) Cinemanila International Film Festival - December 1-5
2011 (48th) Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival - November 3-24, 2011 - Filmmakers in Focus - A Tribute to Lee Chang-Dong
2013 (23rd) Focus on Asia-Fukuoka International Film Festival - September 13-23, 2013 - Lee Chang Dong Retrospective

Awards

2007 (27th) Critics Choice Awards - November
Best Actress (Jeon Do-Yeon)

Comments

lrt Jun 20 2019 6:26 pm I thought I would gain some insight into how to deal with tragedy but instead was introduced to a woman hanging by a thread....who... never came to terms with her situation. She just kept banging her head against the wall. For me it was not a movie to ponder over metaphors like some others did. Just boring...period.

Rainbow Fish May 21 2016 9:59 pm The Secret Sunshine is a throughly modern film. It serves as an example of what American movies are missing these days. The acting is good although not great. The cinematography serves the story. The plot is solid and uncliched. The Secret Sunshine isn't just about religion it is many things. It deals with several issues of modern life in 144 minutes-death, psychology, the role of women, the role of family, money and etc. The movie seems sterile at times but has tight intriguing moments and transformations at times that it feels fresh and is therefore modern. American filmmakers should take note. It's okay to take risks and not overly simplify all the issues.

Kim Jul 12 2015 2:30 am I saw this movie on a flight recently. It was very provocative. I thought it was well-done, both for the acting, but also for the many levels in which the unifying themes of the movie emerged. For me, it highlighted the theme of hypocrisy and false appearances, even among those who protest the use of false appearances. This is a theme that emerges on many levels (SPOILER ALERT): 1. The main character mourns her deceased husband leading you to assume that he was a doting husband and father (but then we learn that in actuality, he had cheated on her) 2. The main character intentionally gives the impression of having more money than she does in actuality, even going to the trouble of viewing land that she has no real intention of buying. She also lavishly spends money on a dinner and karaoke outing to entertain new friends, with money that she does not really have. (in the ransom scene, she has cut out and bundled fake paper money, a symbol of her false pretenses.) 3. Kim, the mechanic, hangs a fake award on her wall to help her new piano business. Shin-ae utters a protest against this. She plays piano for the chairman, but then her performance comes to a screeching halt when she must admit that she is not as good as she was made out to be. 4. The boy's teacher is shown to lead the children through many lessons highlighting moral courage and character when he is actually a terrible child abductor and murderer. 5. Her son shows a peculiar hesitation to go to school to give his speech. His speech is all about what a wonderful doting mother he has, but we from what we can see in the actual movie, we know that she is basically not really doting. We see that she basically loses track of him (during the conversation with the pharmacist) when it turns out he was hiding; and then later, when she is out entertaining friends at the dinner/karaoke, the boy is just left at home alone to fend for himself, and then gets kidnapped. The mother is shown to actually not be all that attentive and doting. 5. The evangelical church that, at first, seems to offer Shin-ae so much hope, then is proven to also offer the murderer a 'cheap grace'. She had put on a show of forgiving the murderer, but then when she actually saw the murderer, it seems that she really wanted to see how much he was suffering in prison. 6. Hypocrisy is also highlighted in the scene when she plays the song "LIES" during the outdoor prayer service. 7. Shin-ae's conversation about God with the Pharmacist revolves around the theme of appearances (what can be seen) and what is not seen. The pharmacist is also clothed in dazzling white lab coat (like whitewashed tombs!) Shin-ae utters some protest against the Pharmacist ("I also don't believe everything that I see") 8. the only person who does not appear to be any better than what she is is the murderer's daughter. She is the only one who has been known clearly for what she is is, and she is the one whom Shin-ae sees in the hair salon.

I agree with one of the other commentators that the movie also seemed to be an updated version of the Book of Job. The conversion experience when Shin-ae is born again, is one where there is a very very strong wind, resembling God who speaks out of the whirlwind. In this reading, the pharmacist and the church-goers serve as 'Job's friends" who all offer what is ultimately an unsatisfying explanation for life's sufferings.

Shin-ae also learns that God is there in the silence (a la Elijah on the mountain, God is in the silence). In her misery (after she pulls away from the church and she is shown lying there in the quiet in the hospital.

I found the end to be very provocative. It suggested to me that she was starting over, and there was some hint that she was going to 'give' in to the so-called friendship (bordering on stalking!) with Kim the mechanic. She continually resisted his advances-- I thought this was because she assumed that she was 'better' or a little more sophisticated than him; but the closing image at the end suggested that she realied that she was no better (focus on the 'muddy' puddle in the back yard and the untidy yard).

I thought that his holding the mirror was an apt closing image for the discourse of 'pretense' and allusion that was a recurring theme in the movie. Here, she who was critical of other people's hypocrisy in this new town (miryang), is then shown a mirror that shows her that she herself is no different, no better than them. She also lacks integrity for her own efforts to project a false image of herself as somehow better than them. She is just the same; all of the characters are hypocritical and operate on false allusions-- she just becomes self-aware of her own false allusions at the end when she looks into the mirror. That Miryang is just like everyone else (ie that everyone, including those people from Seoul) are all engaging in false-pretences is emphasized in the beginning and the end when Kim the Mechanic says that Miryang is just the same as all other cities.

I thought the movie was a provocative critique of Korean society.

Daniela Aug 09 2014 8:30 pm I did not understand the end!? Wss there a part thst I missed? Why did it end like that! Im very disappointed!!

Dave Aug 31 2008 9:48 am What a disappointment this movie was!

‘Peppermint Candy’ is one of my top five favorite films, and I found ‘Oasis’ to be quite extraordinary, too. (I’m still searching for a copy of ‘Green Fish’.) But Jeon Do-Yeon’s terrific performance cannot save ‘Secret Sunshine’, which, in my opinion, suffers from poor pacing and plotting and ultimately fails to live up to the promise of its intriguing first half.

Nevertheless, I look forward to future work by the brilliant Lee Chang-Dong.

cjgohan2003 Nov 26 2007 9:50 am 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.

Luiz Nov 23 2007 7:02 pm 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.

Tom Oct 12 2007 3:47 pm 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.”

Luiz Oct 03 2007 9:59 pm @ Ki 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 Bela 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 Jeon Do-Yeon’s acting was needed, and the movie would suffer a lot without it and without Song Kang-Ho’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.

Ki Oct 03 2007 1:57 pm @ 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 Jeon Do-Yeon. 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 thinkJeon Do-Yeon 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.

Luiz Oct 02 2007 3:55 pm 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 Jeon Do-Yeon 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.

Ki Oct 02 2007 9:54 am @ 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.

Luiz Oct 02 2007 9:51 am 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.

Ki May 23 2007 11:31 pm 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.

@@ Line 78: / Line 78: @@
 * [[Seo Young-Sam (1971)|Seo Young-Sam]] - man of matching t-shirt couple
 * [[Park Jung-Min (1978)|Park Jung-Min]] - revival meeting believer
-* [[Shin An-Jin (1973)|Shin An-Jin]] - detective
+* [[Shin Ha-Jin (1973)|Shin An-Jin]] - detective
+* [[Hong Jung-Hye (actress)|Hong Jung-Hye]] - doctor
 * [[Park Ya-Sung (1988)|Park Ya-Sung]]

Difference between revisions of "Secret Sunshine"

Latest revision as of 16:23, 21 March 2026

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