''Vegetarian'' () is a 2009 South Korean

erotic Eroticism () is a quality that causes sexual feelings, as well as a philosophical contemplation concerning the aesthetics of sexual desire, sensuality, and romantic love. That quality may be found in any form of artwork, including painting, scul ...

body horror Body horror or biological horror is a subgenre of horror that intentionally showcases grotesque or psychologically disturbing violations of the human body. These violations may manifest through aberrant sex, mutations, mutilation, zombification, ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Lim Woo-Seong based on the 2007 same-titled novel by

Han Kang Han Kang (; born November 27, 1970) is a South Korean writer. She won the Man Booker International Prize for fiction in 2016 for ''The Vegetarian'', a novel about a woman's descent into mental illness and neglect from her family. The novel is ...

. The film debuted at the

14th Busan International Film Festival The 14th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 8 to October 16, 2009, in Busan, South Korea. A total of 355 films from over 70 countries were screened, beating the record set in the last festival. With a total attendance of 173,5 ...

on October 8, 2009, and was later released in South Korea on February 18, 2010. In January 2010, it was invited to the World Cinema Narrative Competition at the 2010

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival (formerly Utah/US Film Festival, then US Film and Video Festival) is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with more than 46,66 ...

Justin Chang Justin Choigee Chang (born January 3, 1983) is an American film critic and columnist for the ''Los Angeles Times''. He previously worked for ''Variety''. Early life Justin Chang graduated from the University of Southern California in 2004. Chan ...

, writing for ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', said, "Body horror and body art are conjoined in the tastefully kinky" film, which is a "tonally extreme portrait of a woman who swears off meat before retreating into a literally vegetative state". He felt that the film was "an audacious if borderline risible psychodrama".

Cast

Chae Min-seo Chae Min-seo (born Jo Soo-jin; March 16, 1981) is a South Korean actress. Chae made her acting debut in 2002 with ''Champion'', and has since played leading roles in horror film ''The Wig'' and the indies ''Loner'' (2008), ''Vegetarian'' (2010) ...

as Young-Hye * Kim Hyun-sung as Min-Ho *

Kim Yeo-jin Kim Yeo-jin (born June 24, 1972) is a South Korean actress and activist. Kim made her acting debut in the stage play ''What Do Women Live For'' in 1995, and has since remained active in film and television, drawing praise for her supporting roles ...

as Ji-Hye

References

External links

* * * * 2009 films 2000s erotic drama films 2000s Korean-language films Films based on South Korean novels South Korean erotic drama films Anorexia nervosa 2009 drama films Vegetarianism in fiction 2000s South Korean films {{SouthKorea-film-stub