Sunflower

Kang Suk-bum's 2006 South Korean film is about a man leaving prison. Tae-sik served ten years for killing someone and wants only an ordinary life; the mother of the man he killed takes him into her house, gives him work in her restaurant and treats him as a son. He has promised himself never to use violence again and endures every insult to keep that promise. A gang in the neighbourhood wants to replace the restaurant with a nightclub and is squeezing the family. The film raises that pressure step by step until the viewer is waiting for him to break his word, and the last section is very harsh. It uses the shape of a revenge story while directing its real interest at remorse and forgiveness. It gained a cult following in Korea. Who it's for: viewers who like Korean crime drama and revenge films. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding extreme violence; the ending is built on it.