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“A virtual two-hander between an ornery skeptic and a young evangelist… with Host and Guest first time writer-director Dong-il Shin has fashioned a thoughtful, witty and involving gem.” - Variety
An unlikely friendship between a morose filmmaker who has never made a film and an overly understanding door-to-door mission-ary gels together this exploration into the complexity of life.
Contrasting their differences in ethics, the two find a similar footing in their solitary searches for something beyond human existence, giving way to discussions of family, faith, nationalism, war and film; a deliberation on contemporary South Korea.
Shin uses unwanted solicitations to underscore the backdrop of South Korea's recession, which exists both around the pair and inside of them. Drawing strength from the polarisation of the two main characters, the film explores their practical and theoretical approaches to life with humour and irony and an eerie white luminance, which surrounds the unlikely friends through their in-depth expositions.
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D/P/S Dong-il Shin P Jae-cheol Lim WS CJ Entertainment L Korean w/English subtitles TD 35mm/2005/92mins
Dong-il Shin was born in Seoul, Korea, in 1968. His films include The Holy Family (2001) and Bangmunja (2005).
