Programme

Come Rain, Come Shine

Saranghanda, saranghaji anneunda

South Korea | 2011 | col | 105 mins | dir. Lee Yoon-Ki, with Hyun Bin, Jung-woo Ha and Hye-ok Kim, cert. tbc | in Korean with English subtitles | UK premiere

In this brilliantly crafted drama, a woman nonchalantly announces to her husband that she is leaving him for another man. On the day she is due to move out of their home, they both appear emotionless. All is seemingly normal, from their conversations about pasta recipes to booking a table at their favourite restaurant, until a torrential rain storm breaks out. Stranded in their own home, the landscape of their final day together is mapped out as past memories begin to flood back. Their achingly tense yet minimal dialogue is punctuated by a series of interruptions - the phone rings, a cat appears, neighbours show up looking for their cat - as the couple begin to face their dawning reality.

11 Flowers

China/France | 2011 | col | 110 mins | dir. Wang Xiao-Shuai, with Liu Wenqing | cert. tbc | in Mandarin with English subtitles | UK Premiere

From the director of Beijing Bicycle comes this semi-autobiographical story set in the rural Guizhou Province in the latter days of the Cultural Revolution. The mother of 11-year-old Wang Han buys him a new shirt which he wears with pride. As news of a local murder spreads, Han unwittingly comes face to face with the fugitive and is forced to give him his shirt and conceal his whereabouts. However, unable to keep the secret, Han confides in his closest friends, drawing them into a seemingly inescapable world of fear and unease. This is a warm coming of age tale, infused with symbolic resonances of the bridge between childhood and adulthood, memories of the past and human relationships.

Followed by a Q&A by actor Wang Jingchun