Green Fish

Released from his mandatory military service, Makdong (Han Suk-gyu) returns to a hometown he no longer recognizes. After rescuing a beautiful young woman from harassment on a train, his life takes an unexpected turn when she unwittingly lures him into the criminal underworld. Finding himself in a dangerous love triangle with the local crime boss, Makdong must face the dire consequences of his choices.

Winner of the Best Film and Best New Director awards from the Korean Film Critics Association, Lee Chang-dong's GREEN FISH is a “wrenching, tonally nuanced first film” (Senses of Cinema) that combines “strong narrative drive, powerful visuals and a mind-blowing central performance” (Eastern Kicks). Presented in a new 4K restoration.

GREEN FISH defies the expectations for a crime thriller. “On the surface, it’s a noir whose closest analogue is Neil Jordan’s MONA LISA, in which a man working on the outskirts of organized crime falls in love with the boss’s girlfriend, but beneath the surface lurks a patient, meditative and uncompromising look at loneliness and the extent we’ll go to avoid it.” (RogerEbert.com). A journey to the unseen criminal underworld and a complex character study of those involved, GREEN FISH would be appropriate for courses such as Asian Studies, Film Studies, and Political Science programs.