Happiness

Young-su has lived inside Seoul's nightlife and never looked after himself. Diagnosed with serious liver disease, he goes to a health retreat in the countryside. There he meets Eun-hee, who has been living with a lung condition for years. The two begin looking after each other; a plain life, regular meals, clean air. Young-su recovers. Then the city calls him back. Hur Jin-ho's film begins like an illness drama and goes somewhere else: can a person who has been healed stay loyal to the thing that healed them. The telling declares nobody evil; Young-su's weakness and the fact that what Eun-hee gave him goes unreturned are shown with the same calm. Hwang Jung-min and Lim Soo-jung lead. It uses the shape of melodrama without cheapening the feeling.