Misplaced Pages

Beautiful Days
Main poster
Hangul	뷰티풀 데이즈
Revised Romanization	Byutipul Deijeu
Directed by	Jéro Yun
Written by	Jéro Yun
Produced by	Kim Hyun-woo
Starring	Lee Na-young Jang Dong-yoon
Cinematography	Kim Jong-sun
Edited by	Jéro Yun
Music by	Mathieu Regnault
Production company	Peppermint & Company
Distributed by	Smile Entertainment Contents Panda
Release dates	October 4, 2018 (2018-10-04) (BIFF) November 21, 2018 (2018-11-21) (South Korea)
Running time	104 minutes
Countries	South Korea France
Language	Korean
Box office	US$45,395

Beautiful Days (Korean: 뷰티풀 데이즈) is a 2018 South Korean drama film starring Lee Na-young, Jang Dong-yoon and Oh Kwang-rok. The film premiered as the opening film of the 23rd edition of the Busan International Film Festival on October 4, 2018. It was released in theaters on November 21, 2018.

Plot

The film follows the life of a North Korean defector who gives birth to a son at a young age and abandons her husband and child for a better life abroad. The hidden past is revealed after fourteen years when the grown-up son visits her.

Cast

• Lee Na-young as Mother
• Jang Dong-yoon as Zhen Chen
• Oh Kwang-rok as Zhen Chen's father
• Lee Yoo-jun as Pimp
• Seo Hyun-woo
• Lee Jung-joon

Production

Beautiful Days is director Jéro Yun's debut feature film and lead actress Lee Na-young's first film in 5 years.

The film began production on October 31, 2017. Filming wrapped on November 26, 2017.

Reception

In Variety, Peter Debruge says, "Lee Na-young impresses as a North Korean woman tracked down by her long-since-abandoned son". Reviewing it for Screendaily, Wendy Ide noted the film as being structurally a little over-complicated, but still is an impressive drama which feels convincingly rooted in real lives and stories.

Clarence Tsui of The Hollywood Reporter writes, "Beautiful Days certainly lives up to its title with its mesmerizing imagery and very polished production values. But it is weighed down by a clichéd narrative and simplistic moral binaries".

References

1. ^ "Beautiful Days". www.biff.kr. Archived from the original on September 5, 2018. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
2. "Beautiful Days (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
3. "Beautiful Days". Korean Film Biz Zone.
4. "'Beautiful Days' to open 23rd BIFF". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
5. Kil, Sonia (4 September 2018). "Busan Festival to Open With North Korea Drama 'Beautiful Days'". Variety. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
6. "Busan to open with North Korean refugee drama 'Beautiful Days'". Screen. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
7. 윤재호 감독, 엘리제궁에서 “뷰티풀 데이즈”. KBS Media (in Korean). Retrieved October 17, 2018.
8. ^ "Lee Jung-joon to star in 'Beautiful Days - 2017' with Lee Na-young". HanCinema. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
9. Debruge, Peter (October 4, 2018). "Busan Film Review: 'Beautiful Days'". Variety. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
10. "'Beautiful Days': Busan Review". Screen. Retrieved October 8, 2018.
11. "'Beautiful Days' ('Byu-ti-pul de-i-jeu'): Film Review | Busan 2018". The Hollywood Reporter. 4 October 2018. Retrieved October 8, 2018.

External links

• Beautiful Days at HanCinema
• Beautiful Days at IMDb

• 2018 films
• 2018 drama films
• South Korean drama films
• 2018 directorial debut films
• Films about North Korean defectors
• 2010s South Korean films
• 2010s Korean-language films