''Mai Ratima'' () is a 2013 South Korean film that portrays the unlikely love affair of a Korean man in his 30s living on the bottom rung of society and a mail-order bride from Thailand in her 20s. It is actor-director

Yoo Ji-tae Yoo Ji-tae (born April 13, 1976) is a South Korean actor, film director and screenwriter. After a stint as a fashion model, Yoo launched his acting career in 1998 then rose to fame through the films ''Attack the Gas Station'' (1999) and ''Ditto' ...

's first feature film. Yoo emphasizes the

discrimination Discrimination is the act of making unjustified distinctions between people based on the groups, classes, or other categories to which they belong or are perceived to belong. People may be discriminated on the basis of race, gender, age, relig ...

against the ever-increasing number of Southeast Asian women who come to Korea for prearranged marriages, saying he wanted to "portray seemingly insurmountable obstacles facing people who desire to make a difference and beat the odds," and delve into "the pain, desire and deficiency that love bears." The film won the Jury Prize ("Lotus du Jury") at the 2013

Deauville Asian Film Festival The Deauville Asian Film Festival (the Festival du film asiatique de Deauville) takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema. A film competition was added to the festival in 2000 and a video competition in 2002. ...

. It was praised by Deauville's jury president,

Jérôme Clément Jerome (c.347–420) was a priest, confessor, theologian and historian from Dalmatia. Jerome may also refer to: People Given name * Jerome (given name), a masculine name of Greek origin, with a list of people so named * Saint Jerome (disambiguat ...

for its sensitive handling and Yoo's keen insight as director. Clément said, "It's astonishing that this is his first feature film. This award is presented with the hopes that this film will have a chance to be seen widely by film fans worldwide." ''Mai Ratima'' was released in theaters on June 6, 2013.

Plot

To support her sister and

Alzheimer's Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As t ...

-afflicted mother back in Thailand, Mai Ratima ( Park Ji-soo) enters into an arranged marriage with mentally challenged Sang-pil (Lee Jun-hyuk). Stuck in the drab seaside town of

Pohang Pohang () is a city in the province of North Gyeongsang, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River. The city is divided into two wa ...

, she endures the daily harangues of her mother-in-law and sexual harassment by her brother-in-law Sang-rim (Kim Kyung). Mai's woes are exacerbated when her visa renewal comes up, but she narrowly escapes deportation thanks to the spur-of-the-moment kindness of Soo-young (

Bae Soo-bin Bae Soo-bin (born Yoon Tae-wook on December 9, 1976), is a South Korean actor. He is best known for his roles in the television dramas '' Brilliant Legacy'', ''Temptation of an Angel'', ''49 Days'', and '' Dong Yi''. He also starred in the film ...

), a social outcast who can't even afford to renew his national ID. They run off to Seoul and inevitably drift into a relationship, but their happiness doesn't last long as Soo-young becomes entangled with bar hostess Young-jin (

So Yoo-jin So Yu-jin (; born August 11, 1981) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her leading roles in the television dramas ''Rookie'' (2000), ''Delicious Proposal'' (2001), ''Fox and Cotton Candy'' (2001), as well as in ''Rival'' (2002) and '' ...

). The corruption and callousness of the big city leave them bruised and jaded.

Cast

- Soo-young * Park Ji-soo - Mai Ratima *

- Young-jin *

Go Se-won Go Se-won (born December 13, 1977) is a South Korean actor. Go began his acting career in musical theatre, then made the leap to television in 2007. He has played supporting roles in several Korean dramas such as '' Three Brothers'', ''Cinderella ...

- Joon *Kim Kyung - Sang-rim * Lee Jun-hyeok - Sang-pil *Hwak Sook-sung *

Dong Hyun-bae Dong or DONG may refer to: Places * Dong Lake, or East Lake, a lake in China * Dong, Arunachal Pradesh, a village in India * Dong (administrative division) (동 or 洞), a neighborhood division in Korea Persons *Queen Dong (1623–1681), princes ...

as the Company President Jang's party 2 *

Choi Deok-moon Choi Deok-moon (born 1970) is a South Korean actor. Filmography Television series Film Theater References External links * * * Choi Deok-moonat Daum Choi Deok-moonat Naver Movies {{DEFAULTSORT:Choi, Deok-moon 1970 births Livin ...

as Karaoke's owner.

Production

wrote the synopsis while still at college but it would be another 15 years before the project was finally turned into a movie. Prior to his feature film debut, Yoo proved his potential as a director after having helmed several

short film A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

s (such as ''

Out of My Intention ''Out of My Intention'' () is a 2008 South Korean short film written and directed by Yoo Ji-tae. It is the third short film by actor-turned-director Yoo, and the first of his films to receive a public release. Lee Dae-yeon and Jo An star as the fi ...

''), which were all highly critically praised. Initially titled ''A Boy Dreams of

Sansevieria ''Sansevieria'' is a historically recognized genus of flowering plants, native to Africa, notably Madagascar, and southern Asia, now included in the genus '' Dracaena'' on the basis of molecular phylogenetic studies. Common names for the 70 or s ...

'', filming began in

Gyeonggi Province Gyeonggi-do (, ) is the most populous province in South Korea. Its name, ''Gyeonggi'', means "京 (the capital) and 畿 (the surrounding area)". Thus, ''Gyeonggi-do'' can be translated as "Seoul and the surrounding areas of Seoul". Seoul, the na ...

on January 26, 2012. It premiered at the

17th Busan International Film Festival The 17th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 4 to October 13, 2012 at the Busan Cinema Center and was hosted by Ahn Sung-ki and Chinese actress Tang Wei, who is the first foreign celebrity to host the event. In this year's fes ...

on October 5, 2012.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * *{{IMDb title, 2473884 Films about interracial romance 2012 films South Korean romantic drama films 2012 directorial debut films 2010s South Korean films