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"Kim Dae-hwan’s acutely observed sophomore film charts a relationship going nowhere and being stronger for it...rare and rather lovely." – Variety
Director Kim Dae-hwan won the Best Emerging Director prize at Locarno for his exploration of a docile relationship suddenly put under an explosive microscope which, through the combined power of studied long takes and the nuanced performances of his lead actors, results in a layered portrait of the tribulations of the young in contemporary Korea.
Ji-young and Su-hyeon have been together for six years, and while the romance has definitely faded, familiarity is the glue that keeps them together. When Ji-young misses her period, the pair are thrown askew emotionally by the potential of an unplanned pregnancy. Deciding to visit their parents, the young couple lug themselves across the country, confronted by the disappointment of Ji-young’s mother in her still unmarried daughter, and tentative as Su-hyeon introduces his family to Ji-young for, incredibly, the first time.
"An intimate and realistic drama about life in contemporary Korea ... Kim captures not only the stress and frustration of middle-class aspiration and the bleakness and despair of those on the margins, but the humour and connection between the couple that allows them to persevere." – Senses of Cinema
