Secret Sunshine

Secret Sunshine follows Lee Shin-ae, a young widow and piano teacher who moves with her son Jun to Miryang, the small town where her late husband was born. She tries to build a new life there, opening a piano academy and meeting locals, among them Kim Jong-chan, a cheerful garage owner who takes an interest in her. Before long, another tragedy strikes, and Shin-ae turns to a local church for comfort. When that comfort proves conditional, she begins to set herself against God. The film stays with her grief rather than resolving it.

Lee Chang-dong directed and wrote the film, his fourth feature after Green Fish, Peppermint Candy and Oasis, and it was shown at Cannes. Jeon Do-yeon plays Shin-ae, with Song Kang-ho as Jong-chan. The cast of twenty-one also includes Jo Young-jin, Seon Jeong-yeop as Jun, Kim Young-jae and Park Myung-shin. Made for about 3 million dollars, the film took roughly 12 million worldwide, a strong return for its budget.

On IMDb it holds 7.5 out of 10 from around 11,000 votes, and on TMDB 7.2 from a much smaller pool. A critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 32 reviews sits above both audience scores, suggesting reviewers responded more warmly than general viewers. The film runs 143 minutes. A Korean production from CJ Entertainment, Cinema Service and Pinehouse Film, it was released in May 2007.