South Korean film booed in Berlin
The sole Asian contender for the Berlin film festival’s Golden Bear top prize, minimalist South Korean break-up film “Come Rain, Come Shine”, met with jeers from critics on Thursday. It tells the story of a woman who announces to her husband she is leaving him but, before she goes, spends one last day with him in their home – an experience that fills them both with longing and regret.
“Saranghanda, Saranghaji Anneunda”, as the film is called in Korean, features long takes of shifting weather patterns, wistful gazes out of windows at falling rain, sparse dialogue, little music, and a pared-down plot. It was the fourth Berlinale outing for director Lee Yoon-ki, and his first competition entry.
But despite the prominent cast including Lim Soo-jung, who last appeared at the festival in 2008 in Park Chan-wook’s quirky “I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK”, and Seoul heart-throb Hyun Bin, critics loudly booed the bleak picture.