Punch

Lee Han's 2011 South Korean film is about the odd relationship between a boy in his last year of school and his teacher. Wan-deuk lives in a poor neighbourhood; his father has a curved spine and makes a living dancing in markets, his mother left years ago. Dong-ju, his form teacher, lives on the same street, shouts at him from the roof, interferes constantly and answers to no one. When the teacher tells Wan-deuk that his mother is Filipina and lives in the city, the question of his identity opens. The film treats discrimination against migrant workers and mixed families in Korea from inside comedy and is not afraid of feeling. Kim Yun-seok's teacher is outside the mould: rude, sarcastic and genuinely involved. It was a large box office success in Korea. Who it's for: viewers who like Korean youth drama and comedy mixed with drama. Who it's not for: anyone who dislikes emotional endings; the film leans on one.