Title (Korean): <화차> (Hwa-cha)
Year: 2012
Length: 117 min.
Format: 35mm
Aspect: 2.35:1
Color/BW: Color
Audio: Dolby 5.1ch
Director: BYUN Young-joo
Cast: LEE Sun-kyun, KIM Min-hee, CHO Seong-ha
Genre: Thriller
Release Date: March 8, 2012
Production:
Boim Pictures Co., Ltd.
Tel: 070-7114-0551
Veterinarian Mun-ho (Lee) is on the way to visit his parents with his fiancée Seon-yeong (Kim) when she suddenly disappears at a rest stop. Mun-ho looks all over for her, but it seems as though she has simply evaporated, leaving behind only a hairpin on the restroom floor. Back in Seoul, Mun-ho goes to Seon-yeong’s house only to find what looks like a break-in. He then becomes convinced that she has been kidnapped. As he continues his search, he discovers that Seon-yeong was not his fiancée’s real name. When his patience with the police runs out, he seeks help from his cousin Jong-geun (Cho), a former detective. Digging deeper into her disappearance, they get closer to uncovering yet another shocking truth about Seon-yeong.
An established documentary filmmaker, Byun both wrote and directed <Helpless>, which is her third narrative dramatic feature. She previously directed <Flying Boys> (2004) and <Ardor> (2002), which were also based on her own screenplays. Prominent among her documentary work is the trilogy of <The Murmuring> (1995), <Habitual Sadness> (1997), and <My Own Breathing> (1999), which examines the contemporary lives of former Korean “comfort women.”
