Crossing (2008 film)

Crossing
Theatrical poster
Hangul	크로싱
RR	Keurosing
MR	K'ŭrosing
Directed by	Kim Tae-gyoon
Produced by	Patrick D. Choi
Written by	Lee Yu-jin
Starring	Cha In-pyo Sin Myeong-cheol
Editing by	Ko Im-pyo
Distributed by	Vantage Holdings
Release date(s)	June 26, 2008
Running time	107 min.
Country	South Korea
Language	Korean
Admissions	881,960

Crossing (also known as Keurosing) is a 2008 South Korean film directed by Kim Tae-gyun. It has been selected as South Korea's submission to the 81st Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

Plot

The story tells of a North Korean father and husband who decides to illegally cross into China to buy medicine for his pregnant wife who is suffering from tuberculosis. However, once he crosses into China, he realises that it's not as easy as he thought. He finds himself working as an illegal immigrant under the constant threat of being captured by the Chinese authorities and deported back to North Korea. He eventually finds his way to South Korea by entering the embassy in China. Meanwhile, his family in North Korea suffer without his support, his wife's health failing and his son ending up on the street.

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.

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.

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.^[1]

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.^[2] 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.

See also

• North Korea
• North Korean defectors
• Human rights in North Korea

References

1. ^ "Film "Crossing" may be banned from theaters". Han Cinema. 2008-07-14. http://www.hancinema.net/film-crossing-may-be-banned-from-theaters-14638.html. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
2. ^ Han, Sunhee (2008-08-07). "S. Korea picks Crossing for Oscars". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=news&articleid=VR1117990204. Retrieved 2008-08-23. 

External links

• Official website
• Crossing at the Internet Movie Database
• Crossing at the Korean Movie Database
• Crossing at HanCinema
• Trailer (English sub) at Youtube
• Video Review from VoA (English) at Youtube