Secret Sunshine

Secret Sunshine () is a 2007 South Korean drama film directed by Lee Chang-dong. The screenplay based on the short fiction "The Story of a Bug" by Lee Cheong-jun that focuses on a woman as she wrestles with the questions of grief, madness and faith. The Korean title Miryang (or Milyang) is named after the city that served as the film's setting and filming location, of which "Secret Sunshine" is the literal translation. For her performance in the film, Jeon Do-yeon won the Prix d'interprétation féminine (Best Actress) at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival. The film also won the award for Best Film at the Asian Film Awards and at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. The film sold 1,710,364 tickets nationwide in South Korea alone.
Plot.
Lee Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon) and her only child move to the small town of Miryang, South Gyeongsang Province. Her husband has recently died and she has decided to start life anew back in the hometown of her deceased husband. While entering Miryang, Shin-ae's car breaks down along a rural highway. She is able to get the local mechanic in Miryang named Kim Jong-chan (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.
Critical response.
The film was widely acclaimed on the festival circuit, with particular and universal praise for Do-yeon's performance. It received multiple awards, including several Best Film wins and numerous Best Actress awards for Do-yeon. It was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival, but did not win.
The film was similarly acclaimed in its American release in 2010. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 94% based on 31 reviews, with an average rating of 7.68/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Plumbing the depths of tragedy without succumbing to melodrama, Chang-dong Lee's "Secret Sunshine" is a grueling, albeit moving, piece of beautifully acted cinema." With 6 reviews, it scored 84 on Metacritic, indicating "universal acclaim." A.O. Scott of the New York Times called the film "clear, elegant and lyrical. The experience of watching [Chang-dong's] films is not always pleasant... yet his quiet and exacting humaneness infuses even the most dreadful moments with an intimation of grace." Noel Murray, writing for the A.V. Club, called it "a frequently beautiful film with a cold, dark heart" and praised Do-yeon's "powerful performance." Michael Atkinson of the Village Voice wrote that "the red-eyed Jeon, landing a Best Actress at Cannes in 2007 and unforgettable as well in "The Housemaid", goes to hell and back." In 2019, director Hirokazu Kore-eda named it as the best film of the 21st century, praising Lee's "deep insight into human nature". In 2020, "The Guardian" ranked it number 7 among the classics of modern South Korean Cinema.
Home video release.
On August 23, 2011, The Criterion Collection released the film on DVD and Blu-ray, both of which includes a new video interview with Lee Chang-dong, a behind-the-scenes featurette, the US theatrical trailer, and a booklet featuring a new film essay by film critic Dennis Lim.