''Lucky Chan-sil'' () is a 2019 South Korean

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

romance film Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...

written and directed by Kim Cho-hee. It stars Kang Mal-geum in the title role, alongside

Youn Yuh-jung Youn Yuh-jung (, ; born June 19, 1947) is a South Korean actress, whose career in film and television spans over five decades. Her accolades include an Academy Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, British Academy Film Award, and Independent Spir ...

, Kim Young-min,

Yoon Seung-ah Yoon Seung-ah (; born September 29, 1983) is a South Korean actress. She debuted as a magazine model, and first gained attention in 2006 by appearing in two music videos by Alex Chu and Ji Sun. After finishing her art major, Yoon pursued an act ...

and Bae Yoo-ram. The film was released in theaters on March 5, 2020.

Plot

Lee Chan-sil is a film producer who becomes jobless after the director she has worked with for years suddenly dies. She starts working as a cleaning lady for an actress and meets her new employer's French teacher. She is immediately attracted to him but she is held back by her life problems. Chan-sil realizes old anxieties are about to emerge: her already gone-youth, messed-up love life, and broken career.

Cast

Main

Kang Mal-geum Kang Mal-geum (; born January 3, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She graduated in Arts from Pusan National University, Department of Korean Language and Literature. She made her acting debut in 2010 in the film ''Yong-Tae: The Ordinary Memori ...

as Lee Chan-sil *

as Grandmother * Kim Young-min as Jang Gook-young *

as Sophie * Bae Yoo-ram as Kim-young

Special appearances

Choi Hwa-jung Choi Hwa-jeong (; born February 10, 1961) is a South Korean actress, radio presenter and television presenter. Her syndicated talk radio show ''Power Time'', airs via SBS Power FM and its provincial affiliates since 1996. Filmography Film ...

as Representative Park * Lee Young-jin as an actress * Seo Sang-won as Director Ji

Release

The film had its world premiere at the

24th Busan International Film Festival The 24th Busan International Film Festival was held from October 3 to October 12, 2019 at the Busan Cinema Center in Busan, South Korea. A total of 299 films from 85 countries were screened at the festival, including 118 world premieres and 27 in ...

on October 8, 2019 and was released in South Korean theaters on March 5, 2020. It was screened at the 15th

Osaka Asian Film Festival The Osaka Asian Film Festival (OAFF, ) is an annual film festival held in Osaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan in March. The festival began in 2005 and currently introduces Asian films. History In December 2005, the Korean Entertainment Film Fes ...

on March 9 and 14, 2020. The North American premiere of the film was scheduled to be held at the 63rd

San Francisco International Film Festival The San Francisco International Film Festival (abbreviated as SFIFF), organized by SFFILM, is held each spring for two weeks, presenting around 200 films from over 50 countries. The festival highlights current trends in international film and vid ...

on April 16 and 18, 2020 before the festival was canceled due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The film was invited to compete at the 22nd Udine

Far East Film Festival Far East Film Festival (FEFF) is an annual film festival held in Udine, Italy. It is one of the most important events promoting Asian Cinema in Europe. It focuses mainly on the films from East Asia East Asia is a geocultural region of Asia. ...

which was postponed from April 24 – May 2 to June 26 – July 4 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Reception

Critical response

Marc Raymond of ''

Senses of Cinema ''Senses of Cinema'' is a quarterly online film magazine founded in 1999 by filmmaker Bill Mousoulis. Based in Melbourne, Australia, ''Senses of Cinema'' publishes work by film critics from all over the world, including critical essays, career ...

'' said that "The self-reflexive style risks making the film just an in-joke exercise, but it is kept afloat by the genuine existential sadness of the lead character, who has devoted her life to her work in cinema, forsaking marriage and children, and is left doubting her life choices and wondering if she could perhaps change course."

Accolades

References

External links

* * * {{hancinema film, Lucky_Chan-sil 2019 films 2010s Korean-language films 2019 romantic drama films 2019 fantasy films South Korean romantic drama films South Korean fantasy films South Korean independent films 2010s South Korean films 2019 independent films