HOT IN DAY, COLD AT NIGHT

Like all success stories, the history of Korean cinema has many other facets. Independent Korean cinema, which is met with admiration and respect at film festivals around the world, hardly receives the same recognition in South Korean movie theaters. This difference between the powerful (commercial cinema) and the humble (independent cinema) is clearly reflected in the narrative and formal expression chosen by director Park Song-yeol. Najeneun deopgo bameneun chupgo (Hot in Day, Cold at Night) tells us, through perfectly staged shots and the depiction of a city that is as routine as it is far removed from tourist images, of the economic hardships of a young couple who find themselves in distress due to a lack of work, bills piling up and credit cards that eventually stop working due to non-payment. In this everyday struggle, which is less epic than routine and absurd, and in which social and family relationships seem to crumble until they cease to exist, the film shows us the face of a society in which certain sections of the population are increasingly being left behind. Sung Moon