Underplayed Gems

The Journals of Musan (2011)

The Journals of Musan poster
Original title
무산일기
Directed by
Park Jeong-beom
Genre
drama film
Country
South Korea
Runtime
2h 07m
Rating
6.7 of 10 from 6 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
The 3D catalogue: film cases on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalogue in 3D

The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

The film follows a young North Korean refugee trying to survive in South Korea. He struggles with poverty, loneliness, and the memory of friends left behind.

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What happens

The Journals of Musan (Korean: 무산일기; RR: Musanilgi) is a 2011 South Korean film by Park Jung-bum, based on the experiences of Park's friend Jeon Seung-chul, a North Korean refugee he met while attending Yonsei University; Jeon was diagnosed with stomach cancer and died in 2008, less than 6 years after he defected to South Korea. The film received several major awards, including the Tiger Award at the 40th International Film Festival Rotterdam, the Jury Prize at the 13th Deauville Asian Film Festival, the New Currents award at 15th Busan International Film Festival, the grand prize at Off Plus Camera Festival in Kraków, Poland, along with the Golden Star at the Festival International du Film de Marrakech. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

More like this

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