April Snow

Hur Jin-ho's 2005 South Korean film is about the quiet period that follows the discovery of a betrayal. In-su and Seo-young meet when their spouses are hospitalised after a crash in the same car; until that moment neither knew the two were having an affair. Waiting for the people in the comas, they stay in the same hotel, walk the same corridors and slowly draw closer. The film does not present that closeness as revenge or consolation, holding it instead in an uncertain place where anger, shame and loneliness run together. Hur Jin-ho is known for restraint and avoids explanation here too; the feeling stays in glances and silences. Bae Yong-joon and Son Ye-jin, two of the best known actors of the period, give unusually still performances. Who it's for: viewers who like slow Korean drama. Who it's not for: anyone expecting a clear resolution and moral closure; the film offers neither.