Huhwaehaji Anah

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In his feature film debut Korean director Leesong Hee-il tells the story of a gay love affair that draws as much inspiration from the modern melodramas of Asian queer cinema as it does from the social realism of Charles Dickens' novels. Su-min has grown up at an orphanage in the country. When he comes to Seoul to study design he encounters a world that is completely alien to him. At first he finds a job at a factory, only to lose it swiftly as a result of redundancies. Before long, Su-min finds himself working as a rent boy at a gay bar. Among his admirers is Jae-min, the son of a wealthy family, who does everything in his power to win Su-min's heart and, naturally, his physical devotion. Jae-min's father is a factory owner. His family is very conservative and his relatives would certainly not be able to come to terms with Jaemin's sexual persuasion. Su-min finally gives in to his admirer's urging and an intensely passionate affair begins. But the young men's happiness is short-lived. Finally, the pressure that Jae-min's family exerts upon him turns a blissful relationship into unbearable suffering and their romance ends in tragedy. 

details

  • Runtime

    114 min
  • Country

    South Korea
  • Year of Presentation

    2007
  • Year of Production

    2006
  • Director

    Leesong Hee-il
  • Cast

    Lee Han, Lee Yeong-hoon, Hwang Choon-ha, Kim Jeong-hwa, Lee Seung-cheol
  • Production Company

    Generation Blue Films/ DCG Plus
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

    Feature Film

Biography Leesong Hee-il

Born in South Korea in 1971, he studied filmmaking at the Independent Film Society. Between 1995 and 2000, he was a member of the independent film group ‘youth Film’ during which time he made a number of short films which have screened at national and international film festivals. Today, he is one of the most eminent Korean directors of queer film. He was a guest of the 57th Berlinale with his debut feature film NO REGRET.

Filmography Leesong Hee-il

2000 Sugar Hill | 2001 Good Romance | 2003 Say That You Want To Fuck With Me | 2004 Camellia Project | 2009 Break Away | 2012 Going South | 2012 Suddenly, Last Summer