Screen/Society--Cine-East: Transnational North Korea--"The Journals of Musan"

Film Screening: "The Journals of Musan" (Jung-bum Park, 2010, 127 min, South Korea, Korean with English subtitles, color, DVD) -- Director Park plays a North Korean defector trying to make an honest living in South Korea, where he is continuously faced with the harsh difficulties of fitting into capitalist society. This lonely introvert finds odd jobs in the city that often lead to pain and trouble, but he manages to hold on to some romantic curiosity-and to a fluffy dog who becomes his one reliable source of companionship. This meticulous, almost neorealist portrait hovers between observation and judgment, attachment and detachment, stoicism and sentimentalism, revealing a protagonist who is painfully flawed and fully human. -- Winner of Best New Director at 2010 Tribeca Film Festival!