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"After dying, we all become stars."
An old man, Moon Duk-Bae, has died, and his family are taking his body back to the place of his birth, Kwisong Island, in accordance with his last wish. It is 1993. As their ferry approaches the island it is intercepted by a delegation of islanders who are adamant that they will not allow the old man back. But why?
From Korea's leading young director Park Kwang-Su, this is the moving tale of life on a remote island during the 50s, as the war between the Communists and the Nationalists is escalating. Politically daring in its Korean context, this parable of the country's national division is told with such grace and calm as to evoke the style of a Hou Hsiao Hsien or a Chen Kaige.
Flashing back from the present to the 50s, we see the island through the eyes of a young boy, Kim Chul, who recalls its pre-war beauty and tranquillity. He also recalls the day the philandering Moon Duk-Bae was banished from the island community, suspected of having killed his wife. The young boy finally pieces together the events that followed and the fateful day when Moon Duk-Bae returned, this time with soldiers, and the peace of the starry island was shattered forever.
"Now that reunification is within sight at last, I identify with the protagonist of the film but even a place like this island could not remain immune to the hatreds and discord unleashed in the Korean War. Since then, the islanders have been haunted by a kind of misery that was previously unknown to them. When will this misery and discord come to an end?" - Park Kwang-Su