A Brand New Life | |
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![]() Theatrical release poster
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Hangul | |
Hanja | |
Revised Romanization | Yeohaengja |
McCune–Reischauer | Yŏhaengja |
Directed by | Ounie Lecomte |
Produced by |
Lee Chang-dong Laurent Lavole Lee Joon-dong |
Written by | Ounie Lecomte |
Starring |
Kim Sae-ron Park Do-yeon |
Music by | Jim Sert |
Cinematography | Kim Hyun-seok |
Edited by | Kim Hyung-joo |
Production
company |
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Distributed by | Finecut DCG Plus |
Release date
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Running time
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92 minutes |
Country | South Korea |
Language | Korean |
Box office | US$167,776 |
A Brand New Life (Hangul: 여행자; RR: Yeohaengja; MR: Yŏhaengja) is a 2009 film. The film is the debut feature of the director Ounie Lecomte, who directed and wrote this film.
Loosely based on Lecomte's own life experience, A Brand New Life is set in Seoul in 1975, and is about a girl who is left in an all-girls Catholic orphanage by her father, and her struggle to adjust to her new lot in 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 the Best Asian Film Award at the 22nd Tokyo International Film Festival and the jury award at the 2009 Cinekid Festival in Amsterdam.
Jin-hee (Kim Sae-ron) is a 9-year-old girl whose father leaves her at an orphanage after remarrying. Before leaving her at the orphanage, her father 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") In the orphanage she tries to come to grips with the abandonment by her parents and insecurities about a possible adoption. She gradually makes friendships, although she retains the belief throughout most of the movie that her father will return to take her back, and struggles (sometimes violently) not to adjust to her surroundings. In the end, Jin-hee is adopted by French parents who are eagerly waiting for her at an airport to meet their new child.