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1993 | 101 MIN | Drama, War 

DIRECTOR PARK Kwang-su

CAST AHN Sung-ki, MOON Sung-keun, SHIM Hye-jin

RELEASE DATE December 24, 1993

CONTACT Korean Film Archive

Tel +82 2 3153 2001 

Fax +82 2 3153 2080 

Email kofa@koreafilm.or.kr

The work that introduced Lee Chang-dong to the world of filmmaking has an interesting story behind this collaboration. PARK Kwang-su, the director, whom Lee met through the writer CHOI In-seok, was eager to be introduced to IM Chul-woo, who wrote the novel that would later become the source for To the Starry Island. PARK initially asked Lee to make the connection and, after IM prepared a preliminary adaptation, requested that Lee revise it. Eventually, Lee also took on the role of assistant director. This background already hints at the layered creative sensibility that defines the final result. Source: Senses of Cinema.

The story begins in an immediately impressive fashion, with an opening scene that effectively dictates the tone of the entire narrative. Poet KIM Cheol is on a boat together with his friend Moon Jae-goo, who is returning to Guiseong, the island where his father once lived, in order to bury him in a plot he has purchased. The journey itself is part of a funeral procession, with the rest of the passengers singing a traditional funeral chant and a young boy holding the portrait of the deceased. However, trouble arises before the boat even reaches the island, when the man who sold Jae-goo the burial plot informs him that the islanders do not want his father buried there. Matters quickly escalate, and a fight breaks out, culminating in KIM Cheol ending up in the water while attempting to board the locals’ boat, whose occupants have come to prevent the funeral party from landing.

From that point onward, the narrative unfolds along two distinct but interconnected axes. The first takes place in the present, where Jae-goo attempts to persuade the locals to allow his father’s burial, assisted by KIM Cheol, who gradually begins wandering through the island’s muddied streets. As he walks and reconnects with old acquaintances, his memories are triggered, forming the second axis of the story.

This retrospective arc focuses on KIM Cheol’s father, who once worked as a teacher on the island, Jae-goo’s father Deok-bae, and a series of women whose lives reflect the island’s rigid social structure. Ok-nim is a simple-minded young woman who is forcibly married to an older man. Upsoonne, plagued by visions of her deceased father-in-law, eventually becomes ordained as a shamaness. There is also a young woman branded as promiscuous by the community, to the point where she is openly called ‘Easy Lay’. Deok-bae, however, is painted in the darkest shades from the outset. He is depicted as a thoroughly despicable figure, indifferent to his son and his ailing daughter, unfaithful to his wife, and increasingly cruel as time passes. Eventually, during the Korean War, the army arrives on the island, and everything changes, as the true nature of the inhabitants is revealed, with MOON once again emerging as the most despicable of all.

PARK Kwang-su directs the story in a way that captures key aspects of rural island life. This includes the status of women, who are largely perceived as the property of their husbands, the islanders’ limited understanding of the outside world, and above all their mischievous, meddlesome, and gossipy tendencies, which coexist with a laid back and cheerful demeanor. His approach is largely realistic, yet it is also infused with humor, a combination that makes the experience engaging while maintaining a light, nostalgic tone. The scene in which neighbors overhear a woman having sex and rush to check on her because they believe something is wrong with her stands out as a particularly memorable example.

This tone shifts with the arrival of the army. From that moment on, the narrative takes a more serious direction, leading to a plot development that recontextualizes many of the characters. Most importantly, it clarifies the reason the locals harbor such resentment toward Deok-bae, even after his death.

The performances are consistently effective. MOON Sung-keun, in the dual roles of Jae-goo and Deok-bae, presents two clearly differentiated characters, portraying both the father and the son with control and credibility. AHN Sung-ki delivers a restrained but quite impactful performance as KIM Cheol and his father, while SHIM Hye-jin approaches the role of Ok-nim with commitment and clarity, even if with a splash of excessiveness.

YOO Young-kil's cinematography is another of the film's traits, with him portraying the island with a sense of realism and nostalgia, while also highlighting its rural beauties. His prowess finds its highlight in the finale, in a truly memorable night sequence that involves the beach, the sea and a fire. Editing by KIM Hyeon is less consistent, as the transitions between past and present can occasionally be unclear, with one timeline flowing into the other without clear markers. The use of the same actors for both periods further contributes to this issue, which stands as the work’s main weakness.

Despite this shortcoming, To the Starry Island remains a highly competent and engaging work. It succeeds both as an absorbing narrative and as a vehicle for social, political, and philosophical commentary, all delivered with considerable depth and sophistication.

Written by Panos Kotzathanasis