Korean film ‘Our Season’ delivers heartfelt healing message

Experience the enchanting journey of ‘Our Season,‘ a Korean masterpiece described as a “healing fantasy film,” now showing exclusively at SM cinemas. Immerse yourself in the touching narrative of a departed mother bestowed with a heavenly reprieve to reunite with her cherished daughter on Earth.

Bok-ja, played by Kim Hae-sook (“Thirst”, “The Thieves”, “Assassination”), has been dead for 3 years. On her death anniversary, she takes a 3-day vacation on Earth, accompanied by a “Guide” who must ensure that she follows the rules of this visit.  Bok-ja’s excitement about being with her daughter once again is replaced with disappointment as she sees her back in their hometown and not in America as she expected.

Jin-ju, played by Shin Min-a (“My Love, My Bride”, “Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha”), is her mother’s pride and joy. After studying tenaciously, she became a professor in a prestigious university in America. Missing her mother who had passed away, she decided to return to their home and revive her mother’s old home-cooked meal restaurant. Jin-ju feels that there are no answers in life, but she holds on to her mother’s memories and recipes which she uses as guide in cooking. 

Bok-ja wants to tell her daughter to go back to her life in America, but Guide, played by Kang Ki-young (“Crazy Romance”, “Exit”) reminds her that all she can do is watch. No talking, no touching.  Guide tells Bok-ja, “Just take happy memories from your vacation.” 

As Bok-ja watches Jin-ju, the mother-daughter relationship will be revealed. There are regrets, and there are longings. If they cannot communicate, how can Bok-ja express her feelings towards Jin-ju? Will Jin-ju feel her mother’s presence and ease the emptiness she feels?

From the writer of the phenomenal “Miracle in Cell No. 7”, “Our Season” is set to deliver a warm healing message.  Explaining how she came to write the screenplay, Yu Young-ah said, “I imagined what I would like to say to my loved ones after I die, and what they’d like to say to me if they died, and came up with the story.” She adds, “I hope it’s an opportunity to talk about the little regrets with those who are precious to you right now.”

Food plays an integral part in the story, and so Shin Min-a really worked hard to learn and follow the cooking scenes. She constantly practiced dicing and cutting ingredients to cook in the movie.

Kim Hae-sook, who is fondly called “national mother” in Korean showbiz, shares that she thought a lot about her role “to portray a unique mother and show emotions of a non-physical being.” 

Director Yook Sang-hyo, best known for the movie “Inseparable Brothers”, guarantees that the characters in the movie “will feel very familiar and identifiable to all of us.”

Watch “Our Season” in SM cinemas starting March 13, 2024. From VIVA International Pictures.