I need more people to watch Secret Sunshine (2007)
Lee Chang-dong is best known for Burning it seems, which is understandable.
However, two films prior he dropped this banger of an exploration of grief and religion. This is Chang-dong at his most literary, thrilling, and my god heartbreaking. In my opinion this is the film that solidifies Chang-dong as a masterful storyteller. Also, I’ve just never seen a film confront religion so bluntly.
Not to mention it has what I believe to be the most massively underrated performance of the century. I mean, Jeon Do-yeon won best actress at Cannes but besides that her performance is never brought up in lead actress performance conversations. What she does here is on par if not better than Sean Penn and his depiction of grief in Mystic River. There’s one particular scene in a church that gives me chills just thinking about it.
Please watch I have literally nobody to talk about this movie with!