Jun has fled from North Korea and tries to manage without money or family in the South Korean capital, Seoul. It briefly looks as if a romance will develop with Sun-Hee, a colleague at the filling station where Jun has a job. But Sun-Hee, who comes from a Korean family in China, is too confused and afraid.
In a different, more wealthy part of town, the young, handsome Hyeon looks at the night-time lights of Seoul. He lives in a chic apartment registered in the name of his older lover, who is so jealous that he would most like to lock Hyeon up.
Slowly but surely, the stories of Jun and Hyeon, two lost souls, come together in the poetic and stylish Stateless Things. Despite his young age, Kim Kyung-Mook (b. 1985) has long been regarded as one of South Korea’s greatest talents; he has made a name for himself with short and mid-length films such as A Cheonggyecheon Dog (2008) and the controversial Faceless Things (2005). The positioning of the opening titles is enough to show Kim’s idiosyncrasy: they only appear on screen after 90 min.
Film details
- Country of production
- South Korea
- Year
- 2011
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2012
- Length
- 115'
- Medium/Format
- HDcam
