"A powerful chronicle of a simple laborer's epic scrape for survival, Alive is taut, riveting and visually striking throughout its mammoth three-hour runtime, an achievement made even more impressive by the Korean helmer's nuanced performance as the protagonist himself." – Hollywood Reporter

In the impoverished surroundings of South Korea's Gangwon province, a sacked construction worker struggles to rebuild his family home, ruined by a rockslide. As he takes a job in a tofu fermenting plant, his sister channels her mental illness into acts of self-flagellation and casual sex. When the plant's owner is tasked with buying his daughter a wedding gift – no less than the most expensive television on the market – he sets a chain of events in motion with devastating consequences.

Park Jung-bum (Journals of Musan, MIFF 2011) directs and acts in this complex but emotionally affecting examination of hardship, perseverance and the obligations of family.

"Powerful art can act on a variety of levels: as a deeply affecting personal story; as a social commentary for a specific place; as a microcosm of the whole of humanity. Alive … hits each of these marks with the utmost precision." – The Film Stage