“Treeless Mountain” is a follow-up from the New York based indie director So Yong Kim, who made an impressive debut with “In Between Days,” which world premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Fest.
“Treeless Mountain” world-premiered last year at Toronto International Film Festival to sold out audiences and rave reviews, and was an official selection of the 2009 New Directors/New Films. The film, which opens in New York on April 22 at the Film Forum and in Los Angeles on May 8 at the Laemmle’s Music Hall is also the centerpiece selection for the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Fest on May 2, at the Directors Guild of America.
Screenwriter/director So Yong Kim takes a story out of her own life and brings it to the screen with this film. The actors in the film are not trained actors, but young girls she found in Korea. Kim was born in South Korea and moved to Los Angeles at age 12 and now lives in New York City with her daughter and producing partner husband and filmmaker Bradley Rust Gray.
When their mother leaves her family to find their estranged father, seven-year-old Jin and her younger sister, Bin, are left to live with their Big Aunt for the summer. With only a small piggy bank and their mother’s promise to return when it is full, the two young girls are forced to acclimate to changes in their family life. Counting the days, and the coins, the two bright-eyed young girls eagerly anticipate their mother’s homecoming. But when the bank fills up, and with their mother still not back, Big Aunt decides that she can no longer tend to the children. Taken to live on their grandparent’s farm, it is here that Jin comes to learn the importance of family bonds
Like “In Between Days,” the new movie has lyrical passages accentuated by arresting imagery, resulting in a meditative, thought-provoking feature. With only two films under her belt, So Yong Kim is a major talent to watch and may fill the growing gap of gifted female directors.
Credits
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Running Time: 89 minutes
Dialogue in Korean with English Subtitles
