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ARCHIVE

10th(2008)



Never Forever

KIM Gina

  • Korea
  • 2007
  • 101min
  • 35mm
  • color
  • µå¶ó¸¶

SYNOPSIS


Sophie has an interracial marriage with a Korean-American lawyer, Andrew. The couple¡¯s most tragic loss is that they cannot conceive a child. Driven by her husband¡¯s infertility, which makes him extremely depressed, Sophie sets out to have a baby. She meets Ji-hah, an illegal immigrant from Korea, who¡¯s come to donate sperm at a fertility clinic, and propositions him, agreeing to pay three hundred dollars each time they have intercourse and thirty thousand if and when she gets pregnant. She starts the affair for her husband¡¯s sake, but their sexual transactions slowly grow more intimate and passionate. Sophie, who has felt like a stranger in her husband¡¯s middle-class family, with their conservative Christian faith, feels empathy with Ji-hah. She finally gets pregnant but Andrew finds out about the affair. The film ends with Sophie on the beach with two children but without Andrew or Ji-hah. Crossing the difference of class and race through the sexual relationship, Never Forever is made by Kim Gina, who has explored the issue of femininity not as equality with a male but rather as difference in prior all of her prior works, including Empty House (1999) and Invisible Light (2003). In spite of the film¡¯s neglect of Sophie¡¯s memory or other contextualization through relationships besides the ones with her husband or his community, the film exquisitely captures Sophie¡¯s wavering feelings towards Ji-hah through the most effective mise-en-scene and color. (KIM Sunah)
 

PROGRAM NOTE


Sophie has an interracial marriage with a Korean-American lawyer, Andrew. The couple¡¯s most tragic loss is that they cannot conceive a child. Driven by her husband¡¯s infertility, which makes him extremely depressed, Sophie sets out to have a baby. She meets Ji-hah, an illegal immigrant from Korea, who¡¯s come to donate sperm at a fertility clinic, and propositions him, agreeing to pay three hundred dollars each time they have intercourse and thirty thousand if and when she gets pregnant. She starts the affair for her husband¡¯s sake, but their sexual transactions slowly grow more intimate and passionate. Sophie, who has felt like a stranger in her husband¡¯s middle-class family, with their conservative Christian faith, feels empathy with Ji-hah. She finally gets pregnant but Andrew finds out about the affair. The film ends with Sophie on the beach with two children but without Andrew or Ji-hah. Crossing the difference of class and race through the sexual relationship, Never Forever is made by Kim Gina, who has explored the issue of femininity not as equality with a male but rather as difference in prior all of her prior works, including Empty House (1999) and Invisible Light (2003). In spite of the film¡¯s neglect of Sophie¡¯s memory or other contextualization through relationships besides the ones with her husband or his community, the film exquisitely captures Sophie¡¯s wavering feelings towards Ji-hah through the most effective mise-en-scene and color. (KIM Sunah)
 

Director

  • KIM GinaKIM Gina

    Kim Gina received her MFA from Cal Arts, where she focuses on women¡¯s body and identity through video dairy. Her feature debut Invisible Light (2003) was screened in numerous international film festivals including Locarno international film festival. Her new feature film Never Forever premiered at Sundance film festival 2007 and was awarded with Jury prize at Deauville American Film Festival 2007. She is now at Harvard University as a full time lecturer from fall 2004 to spring 2007.

Credit

  • ProducerLEE Joon-dong, LEE Chang-dong
  • Cast HA Jung-woo, Vera FARMIGA, David MCLNNIS
  • Screenwriter KIM Gina
  • Cinematography Matthew CLARK
  • Art director Lucio SEIXAS
  • Editor Pete BEAUDREAU
  • Music Michael NYMAN
  • Sound Jeff PULLMAN, Charles HUNT