Official selection
Busan International Film Festival 2020
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2021
Honors
2021 Osaka Asian Film Festival - Most Promising Talent Award
Director
Choi Jin-young
Writer
Choi Jin-young
Cast
Park Hye-jin, Kang Jin-a, Hong Sang-pyo
Producer
Kim Ahram
Cinematographer
Roh Da-hae
Composer
Yang Chang-keun
Editor
Choi Jin-young
contact
M-Line Distribution
Chun-hee (Kang Jin-ah, MICROHABITAT) has yet to come out of her shell. Reeling from trauma harking back to her parent’s death, she still lives in her childhood home and goes about her business in a rather solitary but empathetic way – peeling inordinate amounts of garlic for restaurants and trying to connect with other people. Until she is struck by lightning – an event she not only survives, but which manifests her younger self (Park Hye-jin) into her life, in flesh and bone, awaiting explanations for this sad state of affairs.
Who do we become? And if one could meet one’s younger self, what would one say? Filmmaker Choi Jin-young spins a delightful fantasy yarn from this perennial question in THE SLUG, a perceptive character study that achieves – much like the lightning bolt at the heart of its plot – miracles within a simple framework. Bridging the gap between the naturalistic tendencies of arthouse South Korean cinema and its quirky, genre counterparts, director Choi designs a film in which past, present and future become one in remarkable ways. This allows for a rich exploration of the weight that our past selves exert on our present ones, and of the steps required to heal long-lasting wounds. Told in seamless, playful flashbacks articulated around young Chun-hee’s uncanny presence, the film builds a powerful feeling of intimacy that takes the usual loner narrative into unexpected directions, leading to an emotional reckoning at once powerful and gentle. – Ariel Esteban Cayer
Showings
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