''Re-encounter'' (; lit. "Hye-hwa, Child") is a 2011

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, in ...

written and directed by Min Yong-keun. Starring

Yoo Da-in Yoo Da-in (born Ma Young-seon on February 9, 1984) is a South Korean actress. She is best known for her performance in the indie film An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is pr ...

and

Yoo Yeon-seok Yoo Yeon-seok (born Ahn Yeon-seok on April 11, 1984) is a South Korean actor. After making his acting debut in 2003 with a small role in '' Oldboy'', he resumed his acting career in 2008. His notable works include the films '' Re-encounter'' (2 ...

, it is a

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

story about two young people who fall in love but lose contact when the girl becomes pregnant and the boy leaves her to go to Canada; they meet again after five years to look for their child, who they believe has been adopted. It premiered at the

15th Busan International Film Festival The 15th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 7 to October 15, 2010, at the Busan Stadium Yachting Center Outdoor Stage, hosted by actors Jung Joon-ho and Han Ji-hye. A total of 308 films from 67 countries were screened in 6 th ...

in 2010, and was released in theaters on February 17, 2011.

Plot

When precocious teenager Hye-hwa realizes that she is pregnant, the assertive young woman seems to have everything under control. But her convictions come crashing down when her loving, docile boyfriend Han-soo disappears without a word, apparently having been exiled to Canada by his mother. Five years down the road, Hye-hwa’s spunky attitude and fondness for colorful manicures have been replaced by a fixation with rescuing abandoned dogs when she's not grooming the creatures for a living. Mothering her widowed boss's son provides her some relief; she is wise and weathered far beyond her 23 years. The fragile equilibrium maintained by her routine lifestyle breaks, however, after an unwarranted re-encounter with Han-soo. At first Hye-hwa refuses her ex's approach, but her heart drops when he informs her that their child is actually well and alive — contrary to her understanding that the baby girl had died hours after birth. Han-soo explains that their daughter had been given up for adoption by their own grandmothers. Unable to help herself, Hye-hwa goes along with him in trying to track the baby down, leading to tragic consequences.

Cast

as Hye-hwa *

as Han-soo *

Park Hyuk-kwon Park Hyuk-kwon (born July 11, 1971) is a South Korean actor. Park began his acting career in 1993 as a member of the theater troupe Sanulrim. He later became a well-regarded supporting actor in films such as '' Chaw'' (2009) and ''Secret Reunion ...

as veterinarian Jung-hun *Choi Hee-won as Na-yeon *Son Young-soon as Hye-hwa's mother *

Park Sung-yeon Park Sung-yeon is a South Korean actress. She is known for her roles in dramas such as ''Love Alarm'', ''Mine'', ''Abyss'', '' Reflection of You'', ''Do Do Sol Sol La La Sol'' and '' Record of Youth''. She also appeared in movies ''The Silenc ...

as Han-soo's sister *

Gil Hae-yeon Gil Hae-yeon ( ko, 길해연) is a South Korean actress. She is best known to North American audiences for her performance in the film '' In Her Place'', for which she garnered a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress at th ...

as Han-soo's mother *

Kim Joo-ryoung Kim Joo-ryoung (; born September 10, 1976) is a South Korean actress. She is mainly known for portraying Han Mi-nyeo or Player No. 212 in the Netflix original web series ''Squid Game''. For her performance, she was nominated for Best Actress in ...

as Hwa-young *Kim Tae-in as Kindergarten director *Kwon Oh-jin

Reception

with unknown actors and a production budget of just (), ''Re-encounter'' drew favorable reviews from critics. It attracted a little more than 10,000 viewers, which is a dream figure in the world of Korean indie films, where low production budgets, minimal promotion and short runs in theaters are the norm. ''Re-encounter'' was sponsored in part by the Korean Film Council and the Seoul Film Commission, who covered half of the film's production costs. The film's production team later made headlines for donating all of the proceeds from ticket sales to film and arts organizations such as the Seoul Independent Film Festival and MediACT.

Awards

*2010

: Best Director, Korean Cinema Today: Vision section - Min Yong-keun *2010 36th

Seoul Independent Film Festival Seoul Independent Film Festival (서울獨立映畵祭, 서울독립영화제, SIFF) is an independent film festival in Republic of Korea. The Seoul Independent Movie Festival is jointly held by the Korean Film Council and the Association of Kor ...

: Independent Star Award -

*2010 36th

: Kodak Award *2010 36th

: Best Film *2011 31st

Korean Association of Film Critics Awards The Korean Association of Film Critics Awards (), also known as the Critics Choice Awards (), is an annual awards ceremony for excellence in film in South Korea. It was established in 1980 by the Korean Association of Film Critics (KAFC). The c ...

: Best New Actress -

*2012 13th Asian Film Festival (Tours, France): Best Performance by an Actress -

*2012 13th Asian Film Festival (Tours, France): Jury Award

References

External links

''Re-encounter''
at

Naver Naver (Hangul: 네이버) is a South Korean online platform operated by the Naver Corporation. It was launched in 1999 as the first web portal in South Korea to develop and use its own search engine. It was also the world's first operator to in ...

* * * {{hancinema film, Re-encounter, Re-encounter 2010 films South Korean drama films South Korean independent films 2010 drama films Teenage pregnancy in film 2010 independent films 2010s South Korean films 2010s Korean-language films