▶ information
Director, Screen Writer HONG Sangsoo | Starring JUNG Eun-chae, LEE Sun-kyun, KIM Ja-ok | Genre Drama | Running Time 90 min | Rating 18+ | Release Date Feb 28

 

▶ synopsis
College girl Haewon wants to end her secret relationship with teacher Seong-jun. Depressed after talking with her mother scheduled to immigrate to Canada the next day, she meets up with Seong-jun, who she hasn’t met for a while. Unfortunately they are seen by her school mates and their relationship is revealed.

 

  

Nobody’s Daughter Haewon resembles HONG Sangsoo’s other films, but with a clear difference. Due to this single difference, the director’s focus feels different. The narrator of the film from the beginning to the end is a woman in her 20s. This might remind some of Oki’s Movie, but Oki (JUNG Yu-Mi) was not a real narrator strictly speaking.

As the title says, ‘Haewon’ is the protagonist of the film. She is a college student majoring in acting, but she is not sure if she will become an actress. She has a boyfriend, but he is a teacher and married man. Her mother is emmigrating to Canada the next day. The camera chases the daily life of Haewon, who is depressed after talking with her mother, who she might not meet ever again.

The structure of the story is rather simple. The time order is not vague like in HONG’s previous films. The leading character’s psychology is plain to understand. He eliminated as many other factors as possible and solely focused on Haewon’s emotions. The depressed feelings of a woman in her early 20s dominates the overall atmosphere.

The characters in the film tend to confess their hearts through their words and behavior. The scene where the man breaks into tears asking the girl to believe in him makes the film more pitiful and sad than any other film he has made. This will appeal to female audiences. The eyes of the director towards  Haewon couldn't be any warmer.