Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won, Bae Doona, Lee Ji-eun
Sang-hyun (Parasite‘s Song Kang-ho) runs a small launderette in Busan. He’s proud of his work, but – saddled with debt and leaned on by local gangsters – gradually resorts to another, less publicly acceptable activity in collaboration with his right-hand man, Dong-soo (Gang Dong-won) involving ‘baby boxes’, safe places set up in Korean churches for new mothers to leave unwanted infants. One night in the pouring rain, they make a decision that brings young mother So-young (Lee Ji-eun) into their orbit. Meanwhile, police detectives Su-jin (Bae Doona) and Lee (Lee Joo-young) are on their tail…
Renowned for intimate, compassionate, artfully composed dramas exploring unconventional family dynamics like Shoplifters (2018), Like Father, Like Son (2013) and Still Walking (2008), Hirokazu Kore-eda’s first South Korean production is both delicate and big-hearted and while complex, perhaps one of his most accessible films to date, fusing his eye for nuanced human moments with broader genre elements.