Sarah Polley on Lee Chang-dong’s 이창동 SECRET SUNSHINE | TIFF 2022

When her husband dies in a car accident, Shin-ae (Jeon Do-yeon, who won the best actress award at Cannes for this role) decides to leave Seoul with her son Jun (Seon Jeong-yeob). She relocates to Miryang, a nondescript city with no particular appeal other than its being the hometown of her deceased spouse. Having given up a promising career as a concert pianist to marry at a young age, Shin-ae does not hesitate in leaving behind her former life to start anew in a different, seemingly hospitable little town. But the smiles and friendliness of the people around her soon turn into wicked sneers at her misfortune when Jun is kidnapped. Even the kind friendship of the auto-repair shop owner, Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), whom she met on her first day in town, can’t possibly soothe this immense despair. Ultimately a film about bereavement, Secret Sunshine has the complexity and the range of a refined, exquisitely written novel. Gaining her place on the Olympus of great living performers, the extraordinary Jeon g