Miso (2004 Film)

Miso (Korean: 미소), also known by its English title A Smile, is a 2004 South Korean drama film written and directed by Kyung-hee Park. The film explores themes of personal crisis and the pursuit of freedom in the face of physical decline.

Promotional poster for the film Miso — Promotional poster for the 2004 film Miso.

Plot

The story follows So-jung, a freelance photographer who receives a medical diagnosis indicating she has a degenerative condition that will eventually lead to blindness. Following the news, she returns to her hometown to attend her grandmother's funeral, where she encounters familial conflict. Disillusioned by these interactions, she returns to Seoul.

So-jung later discovers that a photograph she took of a "Smiling Buddha" is out of focus, confirming that her vision is already beginning to fail. Faced with the reality of her limited time, she decides to pursue a new goal: learning how to fly an ultra-light aircraft.

Cast

Chu Sang-mi as So-jung
Cho Seong-ha
Park Won-sang as Min-soo
Son Byung-ho
Il-gon Song as Ji-seok
Jin Kyung as Writer Ahn
Son Young-soon
Jin Soo-hyun as Sook-hee
Kim Soo-jin as Min-soo's wife

Production

The film was directed and written by Kyung-hee Park and released in South Korea on February 13, 2004. It has a runtime of 96 minutes.