Moving on

The spirit of Ozu and the observant eye of Kore-eda come to mind when watching young writer-director Yoon Dan-bi’s moving, funny, and just plain terrific debut. When their divorced father (Yang Heung-ju) goes broke, Okju (Choi Jung-un), a teenage girl on the cusp of her first romance, and younger brother Dongju (the scene-stealing Park Seung-jun) accompany Dad to their new lodgings: grandpa’s (Kim Sang-dong) house. Soon, they are joined by Aunt Mijung (Park Hyeon-yeong) who is going through her own rough patch. What Yoon achieves with this seemingly simple set-up is truly impressive: her multigenerational family drama is ‘a strikingly beautiful piece of cinema…

There are numerous moments of comedy and Yoon has an acute awareness of the joy that can be found in small things. All the actors are impressive and the dialogue, without ever seeming unnatural, is very effective at exploring multiple themes… A finely polished gem.’ — Jennie Kermode, Eye For Film