Italian Premiere | In Competition
South Korea, 2023, 119’, Korean
Directed by: Hur Jin-ho
Cinematography (color): Go Rak-sun
Editing: Kim Hyung-joo
Production Design: Mo So-ra
Mixing: Cho Min-ho
Sound Design: Park Yong-ki (IMS Studio)
Music: Cho Sung-woo
Producer: Kim Won-kuk
Cast: Sul Kyung-gu, Jang, Dong-gun, Kim Hee-ae, Claudia Kim
Date of First Release in Territory: TBA
Jae-wan is a successful lawyer who signs up for any case that brings home the dough, so when a rich conglomerate’s son seeks his help, he accepts. To him, work is work, and he hardly bats an eye while defending a murderer. Meanwhile, the daughter of the said murderer’s victim is coincidentally under the care of Jae-gyu, Jae-wan’s younger brother and a devoted paediatrician who is a man of integrity. Soon, their conflicting views on morals seep out and brew stronger beyond their respective occupations.
To outsiders, the two brothers seem close as they enjoy their luxurious dinners on the regular. But, the truth is distant. One day, an incident triggers their brittle relationship to finally crack. An unexpected situation involving their teenage kids arises to question their consciences and ideas of parenting. Tested and torn, the brothers and their wives must decide whether or not unconditional trust and love are what their family needs.
The height of the drama takes place on yet another dinner table. The conversations between the two couples ironically resembles the foreboding puffer fish they were served at an earlier dinner - a delicacy that must be handled with care or it will be lethal. When push comes to shove, even the most successful resort to their true human nature. Their actions are not justified nor criticised, and it’s up to the spectators to ponder, questioning what constitutes a normal family, what differentiates a victim from an assailant, and more importantly, morality.
Throughout the history of film, the dinner table has been the place for families to come together, or more often, to fall apart. As seen in films like Table for Six (2022) which screened at the festival, or August: Osage County, this correlation is evident in the works of both the East and the West, although the endings might differ. As the Korean adaptation of Herman Koch’s international bestseller The Dinner, A Normal Family poses that this story about a dysfunctional family is universal and that it will never grow old.
Hur Jin-ho’s staple films like his debut feature Christmas in August (1998) and One Fine Spring Day (2001) are known to be the pioneering set of work that initiated the heyday of Korean romance films. He is a renowned filmmaker and the mastermind behind the intricate and delicate emotions expressed and veiled in A Normal Family. By adding his touches to the adaptation, Hur doesn’t forget to include cultural-specific elements to the global story, which makes it all the more relatable for the Korean audience while making it uniquely his own. After exhausting the romance genre from his filmography, Hur makes a turnaround to deromanticize the lives of successful families.
In collaboration with Hur and performing in the key roles is a stellar cast and familiar faces. Sul Kyung-gu’s films Peppermint Candy (1999), Birthday (2019), Kingmaker (2022), and more were screened at FEFF, and he plays the older and rich brother Jae-wan. Jang Dong-gun, of festival Friend (2001) and Tae Guk Gi (2004) fame, plays Jae-gyu, the doctor of integrity. As Jae-gyu’s wife is Kim Hee-ae, more recognized for her mega-hit TV series such as The World of the Married (2020), while Claudia Kim of The Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015) plays the perfect second wife of Jae-wan who is somewhat removed from the incident but is the wisest among them all.
GUESTS
HUR Jin-ho, director
KIM Woo-sung, producer
HUR Jin-ho
Born in 1963, Hur Jin-ho studied directing in the Korean Academy of Film Arts. He made his debut in 1998 with the understated melodrama Christmas in August. That film and his subsequent feature One Fine Spring Day established Hur’s reputation as Korea’s foremost director of melodrama. After two more critically praised features in Korea, April Snow and Happiness, Hur turned to China for his contemporary-set coproduction A Good Rain Knows and the lavish period piece Dangerous Liaisons. He then shot two ambitious Korean period dramas, The Last Princess and Forbidden Dream. A Normal Family is his latest feature.
FILMOGRAPHY
1998 – Christmas in August
2001 – One Fine Spring Day
2005 – April Snow
2007 – Happiness
2009 – A Good Rain Knows
2012 – Dangerous Liaisons
2016 – The Last Princess
2019 – Forbidden Dream
2023 – A Normal Family