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2009｜96 MIN | Drama

DIRECTOR BOO Ji-young

CAST KONG Hyo-jin, SHIN Min-a

RELEASE DATE Apr 23, 2009

CONTACT INDIESTORY

Tel: +82 2 722 6051

Fax: +82 2 722 6055

Email: indiestory@indiestory.com

Before 2014’s timely drama Cart, which detailed the plight of part-time female workers abused by their company and the suppression of their resultant protest, director BOO Ji-young debuted with a far more intimate, but no less impressive indie road drama. 

Sisters On The Road, which debuted at the Busan International Film Festival in 2008 before going on a solid festival run the following year, which included stops at the Hong Kong and Karlovy Vary International Film Festivals, featured major stars KONG Hyo-jin and SHIN Min-a tackling more challenging roles than what they typically received in the mainstream and taking a chance on a new directorial voice in the process.

SHIN features as Myeong-eun, an office worker in Seoul who returns to her family home on Jeju Island when she receives news of the sudden passing of her mother. There she stays with her sister Myeong-ju (KONG), a gruff fishmonger, and her daughter Seung-a, as well as their housemate Hyeon-a. Dealing with the sudden trauma and her feelings of being an illegimate child, Myeong-eun then sets on a journey to find her real father, and Myeong-ju accompanies her, feeling a sense of duty as her older sister.

Sisters On The Road debuted at the Busan Film Festival around the same time that LEE Kyoung-mi’s Crush And Blush went on release, another bold role taken on by KONG, who was already well known as a model and TV star but had until then seldom played lead roles in films. Similarly, SHIN was a well known name, with several high profile credits, such as KIM Jee-woon’s A Bittersweet Life (2005), but wasn’t usually at the top of the bill. Both actresses, who briefly appeared together in 2001’s Volcano High and were already friends off set, stepped out of their comfort zone in an intimate film that amply showcased their unique talents.

Director BOO weaves together a tale of sisterly rivalry by eliciting strong performances from her leads in an exploration of an all-woman family that features a memorable twist ending. Despite a reliance on flashbacks on subplots that detract from the compelling main arc, Sisters On The Road proved to be a confident debut for an impressive new talent in the Korean film industry.