The Bacchus Lady

E J-yong's 2016 Korean film follows So-young, sixty-five, making her living in the parks of Seoul selling energy drinks to old men and working as a prostitute. She is also caring for a Korean Filipino child she met at a hospital. The matter at the centre is poverty in old age in Korea and the state doing nothing for these people. The story goes somewhere unexpected in the second half: some of her old clients ask her to help them die. Youn Yuh-jung's performance carries that weight quietly. The subject is extremely heavy and the film offers relief at no point. Who it's for: viewers interested in Korean independent cinema and films about old age. Who it's not for: anyone avoiding the subjects of euthanasia and sex work, or wanting a hopeful close.