Poongsan has the unenviable - and death-defying - job of delivering messages across the North and South Korean border to separated families. When South Korean government agents ask him to smuggle in In-ok, the lover of a high-ranking North Korean defector, into the South, the damsel and rescuer fall in love instead.
Acting
Yoon Kye-sang's silent intensity—barely speaks, says everything.
Cinematography
Bleached, wintry DMZ landscapes that feel like another planet.
Direction
Kim Ki-duk's script brings his signature poetic brutality.
Director
Juhn Jai-hong
Yoon Kye-sang
Poong-san
Kim Gyu-ri
In-ok
Choi Moo-seong
Team Leader
Kim Jong-soo
North Korean Defector
Joe Odagiri
North Korean Solider 1
Han Gi-joong
Section Chief
Yoo Ha-bok
North Korean Public Officer
Jin Sun-kyu
North Korean Solider
Kim Jae-rok
Mr. Yoon's Son
Kim Jung-pal
Hit Team 1
Yoo Soon-chul
Grandfather
Bae Yong-geun
Wolf
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Director Juhn Jai-hong was Kim Ki-duk's former assistant director; this was his second feature and carries his mentor's DNA.
The film's release in 2011 coincided with heightened North-South tensions, making its romanticized border-crossing feel almost transgressive.
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