Director Chung-ryoul Lee delivers a poignant, humanitarian and heart-warming story laden with nostalgia for a way of life that is quickly disappearing.
Won-kyun Choi, an octogenarian Korean farmer, and his wife Sam-soon Lee have lived with their trusty and hard-working ox for 40 years in a remote valley in South Korea. Come rain or shine, the ox has toiled in the fields and carried burdensome loads to home and to market. Through their efforts, father and ox have enabled a whole generation of children to obtain college educations. Now in their twilight years, Mr. Choi and his ox are old, skinny and tired, and it’s anybody’s guess who will give out first. The devotion between the two of them is observable: the ox is the yin to Choi’s yang, the “one” who stayed behind on the farm to help him when his sons left home. It is this special bond between man and mammal that clearly infuriates Mrs. Choi, who rues the day the ox entered her life. As anyone who saw Weeping Camel knows, it’s not only humans who have feelings and show emotion. This gem was a huge hit at the recent Sundance film festival, and it will steal your heart, too — come prepared with tissues. (Korean with English subtitles) (Korean with English subtitles) -- Carol Coombes
The first showing of this film has already past, but you can catch it Thursday, April 2, at 12:15 p.m., at the Ritz East 1.
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