Two failed men, one library, zero eye contact — but plenty of stolen apricots.
The unemployed father kills his time in the library to escape the heat. His son is in the same library, studying for the civil service exam that he's been preparing for the past few years. These two "losers" go to the same library but pretend not to notice one another. The father secretly picks apricots from the tree in the backyard of the library. The son is displeased with his father.
Acting
Ki Joo-bong's crumpled dignity in every frame.
Direction
Yang Jae-joon turns a library into a war zone.
Cinematography
Sweat, stillness, and stolen fruit as visual language.
Director
Yang Jae-joon
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Korean 'goshiwon' culture and civil service exam obsession create a specific pressure cooker for male identity — this film captures the shame of being seen as a 'preparer' forever.
The apricot tree references traditional Korean father-son symbolism; yangban scholars planted them for generations. Jong-hwan's theft is both pathetic and historically loaded.
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