Kang Hyeong-cheol’s SUNNY goes back and forth between 1986 and 2011 as a group of friends reunites when one of them faces tragedy
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: SUNNY (Kang Hyeong-cheol, 2011)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, May 28, free, 7:00
212-759-9550
www.koreanculture.org
www.tribecacinemas.com
A huge critical and popular hit in South Korea, Sunny is a delightful melodrama about a group of high school friends who attempt to reunite after twenty-five years when one of them becomes seriously ill. Taking its name from Bobby Hebb’s bright and cheery 1966 song (“Sunny, yesterday my life was filled with rain / Sunny, you smiled at me and really eased the pain”), the film opens with Im Na-mi (Yoo Ho-jeong) discovering that the leader of their old high school gang, Ha Chun-hwa (Jin Hee-kyung), has only two months to live. Na-mi, a housewife who is seeking more out of her boring, less-than-satisfying existence, decides to track down the rest of the members, none of whom, it turns out, is really happy with how their life turned out. Cowriter and director Kang Hyeong-cheol (Speedy Scandal) seamlessly weaves between 1986 and 2011 as the modern-day Na-mi looks back at her first days at school as a transfer student (played as a teenager by Shim Eun-kyung) befriended by the tough Chun-hwa (Kang Sora). Teaming up with the goofy Kim Jang-mi (Go Soo-hee as an adult, Kim Min-yeong as a teen), the older Na-mi tries to find Hwang Jin-hee (Hong Jin-hee / Park Jin-joo), Seo Geum-ok (Lee Yun-kyung / Nam Bo-ra), Ryu Bok-hee (Kim Sun-kyung / Kim Bo-mi), and Jung Su-ji (Yoon Jung / Min Hyo-rin), each of whom has their own personality and story both as teens and as grown-ups. Although it often gets silly, the film deals with such serious topics as bullying, terminal cancer, extramarital affairs, and slave labor as the young girls’ hopes and dreams seemingly remain just out of reach, anchored by the honest relationship among the characters, particularly between Na-mi and Chun-hwa, with standout performances by the adorable Shim and the compelling Kang, who won numerous awards for the role. Sunny is screening for free May 28 at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the Korean Movie Night series “Laughter and Love at the Box Office!,” which continues June 11 with Lee Yong-joo’s Architecture 101 and June 25 with Jo Sung-hee’s A Werewolf Boy.