TRAILERS

Park Ji-Min is Outstanding in Adoption Drama 'Return to Seoul' Trailer

by Alex Billington
November 30, 2022
Source: YouTube

"You have to evaluate the danger and jump in." Sony Pictures Classics has unveiled an official trailer for an indie film from France titled Return to Seoul, from up-and-coming Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou. This first premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, then went on to win the Audience Award at the Hamptons Film Festival. It has been submitted by Cambodia as their official entry to the Best Internatioanl Film category at the Academy Awards this year. A 25-year-old French woman returns to Korea, the country she was born in before being adopted by a French couple, for the very first time. She decides to track down her biological parents, but her journey takes a surprising turn. The film spans years of time, following her as she struggles to deal with her identity, her parents, and her place in the world. Newcomer Park Ji-Min gives an unforgettable performance as a troubled young woman, with a Korean cast including Oh Kwang-Rok, Guka Han, and Kim Sun-Young. I saw this in Cannes and raved about it as one of my favorites of the festival this year, saying in my review "there has never been a film like this before." It's worth your time.

Here's the official US trailer (+ poster) for Davy Chou's Return to Seoul, direct from SPC's YouTube:

For more of my thoughts on this film - read my 8/10 review from the Cannes. Keep an eye out for this film.

After an impulsive travel decision to visit friends, Freddie (newcomer Park Ji-Min), 25, returns to South Korea for the first time, where she was born before being adopted and raised in France. Freddie suddenly finds herself embarking on (an unexpected )journey in a country she knows so little about, taking her life in new and unexpected directions. Return to Seoul is both written and directed by Cambodian-French filmmaker Davy Chou, making his third feature film after directing Diamond Island and the doc Golden Slumbers previously, as well as a few other short films. Produced by Katia Khazak and Charlotte Vincent. This initially premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival earlier this year (read our review) playing in Un Certain Regard. Sony Classics opens Return to Seoul in select US theaters starting February 17th, 2023, after a brief one-week limited awards qualifying run on December 2nd, 2022. Head to their official site.

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