Mi-so (Lee Som), like many thirty-somethings, finds herself unprepared for the harsh economic realities of adulthood. Working as a housekeeper with low wages and zero job security, she struggles to pay the exorbitant rent on her cramped apartment. Mi-so’s spirited youth playing in a band seems a distant memory. The only modest pleasures she has left are smoking and drinking. When she can’t even afford these, Mi-so chooses to give up her home rather than her whisky. What might at first seem a callow choice becomes symbolic of her courageous stand for human dignity. Embarking on an odyssey through Seoul, Mi-so looks up her old bandmates in search of help.

Writer-director Jeon has given us a potent heroine for our time in her graceful, wildly inventive debut feature tackling serious themes with style and humour. A truly original voice joins the front ranks of South Korean cinema.

Screening as part of the London Korean Film Festival on tour. Also see Little Forest and The Return.

koreanfilm.co.uk

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