The Lovers and the Despot
Synopsis
In the aftermath of the Korean War, ambitious young film director Shin Sang-ok and actress Choi Eun-hee enter into a glamorous romance. They rise to the top of the South Korean film industry and are drawn into the inner circle of dictatorial President Park. Their groundbreaking films become instant sensations. But their movie-world idyll is shattered after Shin has a scandalous affair with another actress and confronts the President over censorship, who retaliates by shutting down his studio. Unable to reconcile, Choi and Shin divorce.
Then their lives take a bizarre turn. Choi is lured to Hong-Kong by the promise of work, but is bundled onto a boat and sedated. After a grueling sea voyage to North Korea she is welcomed ashore by whimsical dictator's son and movie-obsessive, Kim Jong-il, who imprisons her in his summerhouse.
Sundance Film Festival 2016 - World premiere
Details
- Year
- 2016
- Type of film
- Features
- Running Time
- 94 mins
- Director
- Robert Cannan, Ross Adam
- Producer
- Natasha Dack Ojumu, Robert Cannan, Ross Adam
- Executive Producer
- Lizzie Francke, Richard Holmes, Nick Fraser, Kate Townsend, Sheryl Crown, Maggie Monteith, Victoria Steventon, Cristina Ljungberg, Sandra Whipham
- Editor
- Jim Hession
- Sound
- Sound Designer: Alastair Sirkett
- Music
- Nathan Halpern
- Principal Cast
- Shin Sang-ok, Choi Eun-hee
Genre
Production status
Complete
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Last updated 22nd April 2016
