Black Light

Black Light
South Korea | 2020 | 107’ | Colour| Korean | English subtitle | Group: B
Director: Jong-dae Bae

A new voice in South Korea’s vibrant film scene, Bae Jong-dae displays an uncommon command on the cinematic medium in his gripping debut feature Black Light. In unraveling the complicated story behind a tragic car accident, Bae explores issues such as depression, family conflicts and a profound sense of guilt as well as social concerns ranging from malpractice in factories and workplace accidents. He fixes the story’s focus on three female characters: Heejoo (Kim Sieun), the wife of the perpetrator who supposedly caused the accident, Youngnam (Yeom Hyeran), the wife of the victim who lies in a silent coma in a hospital bed and her daughter Eunyoung (Park Jihu). Sometimes playing like a thriller, sometimes a drama, the film’s greatest strength is in developing the characters of the two women who are unecessary rivals and both victims. Presented in the summer at the prestigious Jeonju Film Festival in South Korea, Black Light won the best actress prize for Yeom’s powerful performance in the challenging role of Youngnam.

GIOVANNA FULVI

A collision occurs between two cars on a busy road. One man dies, the other goes into a coma. An investigation into the crash concludes that the dead man was at fault. Racked with guilt, the dead man’s widow Hee-ju struggles to move on with her life. But when she discovers that the man in a coma had tried to kill himself before the accident occurred, she begins to suspect that he might have have caused the crash on purpose and her husband was innocent after all. She starts to reinvestigate the events.

Bae Jong-dae was born in South Korea in 1983 and graduated from the Korean Academy Of Film Arts (KAFA). Before making his feature debut with Black Light he made three short films – Howling (2007), Season (2009) and Adventure (2011). He also worked as an assistant on Na Hong-jin’s acclaimed horror hit The Wailing (2016). Black Light had its world premiere in the Korean competition section of the Jeonju International Film Festival in late May this year and lead actress Yeom Hyeran shared the best actress prize.