| Little Forest | |||||
| Native Name: |
| ||||
| Director: | Yim Soon-rye | ||||
| Producer: | Jenna Ku | ||||
| Screenplay: | Hwang Seong-gu | ||||
| Starring: | Kim Tae-ri Ryu Jun-yeol Moon So-ri Jin Ki-joo | ||||
| Music: | Lee Jun-oh | ||||
| Cinematography: | Lee Seung-hoon | ||||
| Editing: | Kim Seon-min | ||||
| Studio: | Watermelon Pictures | ||||
| Distributor: | Megabox Plus M | ||||
| Runtime: | 103 minutes | ||||
| Country: | South Korea | ||||
| Language: | Korean | ||||
| Budget: | [1] | ||||
| Gross: | [2] | ||||
Little Forest is a 2018 South Korean drama film directed by Yim Soon-rye and based on a manga series of the same name by Daisuke Igarashi which was first published in 2002.[3] [4]
After failing to pass the national qualification exam to become a teacher, Hye-won (Kim Tae-ri) abandons her part-time job in Seoul to return to the small village where she was raised.
The story of a young woman who returns to her childhood home, in a traditional Korean village, after leaving for the big city in pursuit of what turned out to be an elusive dream. When she returns home, her mother isn't there – but her mother's "Little Forest", the many ways in which a single mother successfully made a home for her much loved child, unfurl with a long succession of lovingly sketched details involving mostly food preparation.
The unfurling moments are lightly but lovingly shared with two childhood friends, one of whom also abandoned their elusive dream of success in the big city (Seoul) and the other who is still pursuing the small town equivalent of that elusive dream—without ever leaving home.
Principal photography began on January 21, 2017. It took place in a small village in South Gyeongsang Province. Filming wrapped up on October 26, 2017.[8]
The film was produced at a cost of US$1.4 million.[9]
The film came in second place at the Korean box office on the opening day by attracting 131,337 audiences.[10] During the first weekend since the film was released on 832 screens, Little Forest drew 372,394 moviegoers accounting for 22.3 percent of the weekend's ticket sales.[11] This accumulated to a total of 686,000 ticket sales at the end of the first five days.[12]
By March 10, 2018, within 11 days since its premiere, the film was watched by more than 1 million moviegoers, with in takings.[13]
During the second weekend, the film was viewed by 262,953 audiences and fell to third place at the Korean box office.[14] [15]
Little Forest remained in third place at the Korean box office after three weekends, attracting 127,456 moviegoers during the weekend and increasing the total ticket sales to 1.35 million at the end of three weeks.[16] [17]
Throughout the fourth weekend, the film attracted 60,162 moviegoers and dropped to fourth place at the weekend box office.[18] [19]
The Korea Herald reviewed Little Forest as "a small film with no villain, no real tension, and no real conflict", stating that the director tries to "shows us that maybe letting go can give us exactly what we’ve wanted."[20]
| Awards | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Actress | [21] | |||
| 27th Buil Film Awards | Best Actress | Kim Tae-ri | [22] [23] | |
| Best New Actress | ||||
| 55th Grand Bell Awards | [24] | |||
| 2nd The Seoul Awards | [25] | |||
| 38th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards | Top 11 Films | Little Forest | [26] | |
| 39th Blue Dragon Film Awards | Best Film | [27] | ||
| Best Director | Yim Soon-rye | |||
| Best Actress | Kim Tae-ri | |||
| Best Editing | Kim Sun-min | |||
| Best Art Direction | Yoon Na-ra | |||
| 5th Korean Film Producers Association Awards | Best Director | Yim Soon-rye | [28] | |
| 18th Director's Cut Awards | Best Actress | [29] | ||
| 24th Chunsa Film Art Awards | Best Director | Yim Soon-rye | ||
| Best Actress | Kim Tae-ri | |||
| Best New Actress | ||||