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| Saturday, May 31, 2008
Film > Secret Sunshine directed by Lee Chang-dong A Mysterious Journey of FaithWriter: Yang Ming
 Surprisingly, this movie has received accolades from critics. The critics had lauded it as 'mysterious yet brilliant movie' and it has won the Cannes Film Award 2007 for Best Actress and the recent Asian Film Awards 2008. To be honest, "Secret Sunshine" is one of the most riveting and thought-provoking movies which I have seen in years. But others beg to differ and felt that it has unfortunately, left a bitter taste in their mouths. A local journalist deemed the movie as 'disturbing and haunting' while netizens from the blogsphere commented the film as 'anti-semitic'. There is no doubt that the movie is controversial in the eyes of Christians and non-Christians because of the nature of the theme on mysterious faith and a woman who gradually descends into darkness. Director Lee Chang Dong, who is an intellectual and once the Minister of Culture and Tourism, commented in an interview with Herald Tribune, "I think we keep living with faith because we need it. Even atheists believe in something - in something else. Yet, I didn't want to make a movie about faith, really, but a reflection on what goes on inside us." On the other hand, Dong is fortunate to have actress Jeon Do-yeon and Song Kang-ho as the two main leads. Do-yeon played the character as Shin-ae so brilliantly that I felt her pain and sorrow. She deserved her Best Actress Award in Cannes Film Festival - one of the highest acting accolades for Asia in history. One of the most memorable scenes was when Shin-ae went to church two days after her visit to the prison and started banging her hands on the table loudly - a heartwrenching portrayal of frustration and helplessness. Kang-ho's character infused a sense of humour with his endless funny antics in the film to balance up the heavy and depressing moments. Overall, there is a glimmer of hope underneath the heavyweight scenes. Shin-ae is often looking up at the sky and never at the ground. At the end of the movie, an ambiguous message seemed to be revealed that regardless of what had happened in her terrible life, there is always a thing called hope. Visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Secret_Sunshine
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