Park Myeong-shin Movies

A woman devoted to her son struggles to keep him from spending his life in prison in this drama from director Bong Joon-ho. Do-jun (Weon Bin) is a man in his mid-twenties who isn't especially bright and is easily led. Do-jun lives with his elderly mother (Kim Hye-ja), who loves him fiercely even though she has no illusions about his abilities or his bad habits. Do-jun spends much of his spare time with Jin-tae (Jin Gu), a borderline criminal who takes advantage of Do-jun's credulous nature, much to his mother's annoyance. When Do-jun is arrested by police and accused of the murder of a young woman, his mother is certain he couldn't have done it and sets out to prove her son's innocence to police detectives, who seem more interested in closing the case than researching other possible leads. At first, mother feels certain that Jin-tae has framed her son to avoid being punished himself, but as she digs deeper she suspects the truth is more complicated. Madeo (aka Mother) was an official selection at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A woman looks for both revenge and redemption after spending 13 years in prison in this offbeat thriller from South Korea. Lee Geum-ja (Lee Yeong-ae) was in her early twenties when she was found guilty of kidnapping and killing a young boy, and though she confessed to the crime under duress, while behind bars she dreamed of one day being able to clear her name -- and even the score with the people who railroaded her, including the police officer who brought her in (Nam Il-woo) and Mr. Baek (Choi Min-Sik), a teacher who wronged her in a number of ways. Lee Geun-ja teams up with a number of friends she made during her time in lock-up, including Woo So-yeong (Kim Bu-seon), a thief with a gunsmith for a husband; Oh Su-heui (Ra Mi-ran), who was saved from assault at the hands fellow inmates by Lee; and Preacher Jeon (Kim Byeong-ok), an eccentric man of the cloth who was struck by her gentle nature in jail. As Preacher Jeon helps Lee seek salvation for all she had to do while in prison, her other friends stand by her side as she gets even with her rivals and searches for the daughter she was forced to leave behind when she was convicted. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (aka Chinjeolhan Geum-ja-ssi) was the third film in a series, preceded by Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, and Old Boy. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A two-character drama shot in black-and-white on digital video, Camel(s) stars Myung-Shin Park and Dae-Yeon Lee as a businessman and a pharmacy clerk from Seoul who drive to a seaside resort for a weekend affair. Through conversations over meals, in bed, and while driving or walking around the resort, a few details emerge about their lives and families back home, how they met, and why they have embarked on their a relationship which never seems to come across as very satisfying. By isolating his characters, and limiting the audience's knowledge of their lives and backgrounds, director Ki-Yong Park makes Camel(s) a subtle drama that emphasizes the dissatisfaction that seems to grip both protagonists. ~ Tom Vick, Rovi