A Brand New Life (Korean: 여행자; RR: Yeohaengja) is a 2009 film and the debut feature of Ounie Lecomte, a Korean adoptee who grew up in France who directed and wrote the film. The film also marked the cinematic debut of actress Kim Sae-ron.
Loosely based on Lecomte's own experience, the movie is set in Seoul in 1975. A girl abandoned by her father at a Catholic orphanage struggles to adjust to a new life.
A Brand New Life was released in South Korea on October 29, 2009. The film grossed over US$167,776 and was well received by critics. It won several awards such as Best Asian Film at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival and the jury award at the 2009 Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam.
Contents
Plot
Jin-hee (Kim Sae-ron), 9, is abandoned by her father at an orphanage run by Catholic nuns after remarrying. Before leaving her, he buys her new clothes and a cake to convince her that she is going on a trip. This coincides with the Korean title, which literally means "traveler" or "tourist". At the orphanage, she initially struggles to accept her abandonment by her father and insecurities about a possible adoption. She gradually makes friends, though she sticks to the belief that her father will return for her. She struggles, sometimes violently, to adjust to her surroundings and makes a failed attempt to run away from the orphanage. Eventually, she is adopted by a French couple. The movie's final scene is of her arrival at the airport in France to her "brand new life".
Cast
Kim Sae-ron as Jin-hee
Park Do-yeon as Sook-hee
Go Ah-sung as Ye-shin
Park Myung-shin as a nanny
Sul Kyung-gu as Jin-hee's father
Oh Man-seok as Director Goo
Shin Young-sik as Ye-shin's foster father
Moon Sung-keun as a doctor
Richard Wilson as puppeteer/U.S. soldier
Rob Youngs as Sook-hee's adoptive father
Luke Doyle as guitarist/U.S. soldier
Harvey Schmidt as Jin-hee's adoptive father