Crossing 2008 - (English)

Crossing(크로싱)is a June 26, 2008 Movie directed by Kim Tae-Gyun and produced by Patrick D. Choi South Korea.

Plot

Yong-soo lives in a small coal-mine village in North Korea with his wife and young son. Although living in extreme poverty, the family is happy just to be with each other. Then one day, Yong-soo's pregnant wife becomes critically ill. Let alone medicine, Yong-soo can't even find food for her in North Korea. So he secretly crosses the borders of China hoping to find the medicine for his wife. After many life threatening moments in China, Yong-soo is forced into South Korea, becoming an unwanted refugee prohibited to return to his family. Meanwhile, his wife passes away leaving their young son alone in desperation. With no one to turn to, his young son sets out to find his father not knowing where or how to find him.

Cast

• Cha In-Pyo as Kim Yong Soo, the main protagonist and the father.
• Sin Myeong-Cheol as Kim Joon, the son of Kim Yong Soo.
• Seo Young-Hwa as Yong Soo's wife
• In Gi-Jeong as Sang-Cheol, friend of Yong Soo's who eventually gets sent to a labor camp, for smuggled goods.
• Joo Da-Yeong as Mi-Seon, daughter of Sang-Cheol, friend of Joon.

[edit]Themes

The politics of North Korea in this movie are left behind and are mainly in the background. Instead it concentrates more on the life of the average North Korean, such as the hardship in a impoverished state and the fear of getting caught and being persecuted in North Korea. Subtle themes include religion, which runs through the film, as Yong Soo hopes that his son comes back safely, as well as football which is a way in connecting the North Koreans to the outside world.

[edit]Controversy

Shortly after the film was released it became embroiled in controversy as it has been accused of plagiarism by Lee Kwang Hoon. He argued that the film was written on a scenario titled "The Conditions of Human" based on the story of North Korean defector Yoo Sang-joon which he wrote. Lee's lawyer also said that director Lee and Yoo had signed a contract to make a film about Yoo's life and has been preparing for the past three years. The lawyer claimed that a court injunction was sought because director Kim has not discussed the matter with director Lee, although Kim had known about the existence of a scenario about Yoo. The request for an injunction applies to all theater presentations, as well as in the forms of DVD, video, and internet videos. Vantage Holdings, the distributor of Crossing has countered the accusation by saying that the director nor the film company has not violated Lee's copyright and added that they are looking into taking legal measures themselves.

The film has also been selected as South Korea's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film. But the Korean Film Council will select another submission if Crossing is found guilty when the issue comes to court. However in the end the film was submitted to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, but was not nominated for the awards.