In Her Place (Korean: 인 허 플레이스) is a 2014 Canadian-South Korean film directed and written by Albert Shin. The film follows a wealthy woman who moves in to the countryside home of a pregnant teenage girl and her mother and waits to adopt the unborn child.
| In Her Place | |
|---|---|
 Film poster | |
| Directed by | Albert Shin |
| Written by | Albert Shin Pearl Ball-Harding |
| Produced by | Albert Shin Igor Drljaca |
| Starring | Gil Hae-yeon Ahn Ji-hye Yoon Da-gyeong |
| Cinematography | Moon Myeong-hwan |
| Edited by | Albert Shin |
| Music by | Alexandre Klinke |
Production company | TimeLapse Pictures |
| Distributed by | A71 Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 115 minutes |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | Korean |
It premiered on September 4, 2014, in the Toronto International Film Festival's Discovery program.[1]
Plot
editInspired by Korean culture's strong stigma against adoption,[1] the film stars Gil Hae-yeon and Ahn Ji-hye as a mother and daughter living on a farm in South Korea. When the teenage daughter becomes pregnant, a woman (Yoon Da-gyeong) arrives from Seoul to propose a secret adoption, conditional on her staying with them for the duration of the pregnancy so that she can hide the adoption when she returns to Seoul after the baby's birth.
Cast
edit- Gil Hae-yeon as Mother
- Ahn Ji-hye as Girl
- Yoon Da-gyeong as Woman
- Kim Chang-hwan as Police Officer
Production
editThe film was shot entirely in Korea at Shin's family farm.[2] Regarding his inspirations for the film, Shin said:
I had this idea of, "What if I bring together three women? And what if they were of different generations? And what if I told the film from three different perspectives?" And, instead of it being vignettes I made it one linear film and switched the point of view, all contained in one space.[2]
Release
editCritical reception
editOn review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 80% based on 5 reviews, and an average rating of 7/10.[3]
Variety's Jay Weissberg described the film as "an acutely observed psychodrama from sophomore helmer Albert Shin, powered by three sterling performances."[4] Radheyan Simonpillai in NOW Magazine called it "an expertly plotted drama that packs a paralyzing emotional gut punch."[5] The Toronto Star's Linda Barnard wrote, "Making good use of the mist-shrouded rural South Korea setting to create moody tension, Shin's film builds slowly to a shattering finale that shocks as much as it surprises."[6]
Accolades
editThe film was included in the list of Canada's Top Ten feature films of 2014, selected by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals organized by Toronto International Film Festival.[7] Shin was awarded the Jay Scott Prize at the 2014 Toronto Film Critics Association Awards for the film.[8]
| Award | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian Screen Awards | March 1, 2015 | Best Motion Picture | Albert Shin, Igor Drljaca, Yoon Hyun Chan | Nominated | [9] |
| Best Director | Albert Shin | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress | Yoon Da-gyeong | Nominated | |||
| Best Actress | Ahn Ji-hye | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actress | Gil Hae-yeon | Nominated | |||
| Best Screenplay | Albert Shin | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Albert Shin | Nominated | |||
| Wildflower Film Awards | April 7, 2016 | Best Director (Narrative Films) | Albert Shin | Nominated | [10] |
| Best Actress | Yoon Da-gyeong | Nominated | |||
| Best Cinematography | Moon Myeong-hwan | Nominated | |||
| Best New Actress | Ahn Ji-hye | Nominated | |||
| Best Supporting Actor/Actress | Gil Hae-yeon | Won |
References
edit- ^ a b Barnard, Linda (September 6, 2014). "In Her Place: Secrets and lies". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ a b "Albert Shin’s ‘reckless abandon’ pays off". The Origami, November 11, 2014.
- ^ "In Her Place (2014)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved August 24, 2019.
- ^ Weissberg, Jay (March 30, 2015). "Film Review: 'In Her Place'". Variety. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Simonpillai, Radheyan (February 11, 2015). "In Her Place". NOW Magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Barnard, Linda (February 12, 2015). "Reel Brief: Mini reviews of In Her Place, The Voices and The Last Five Years". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Barnard, Linda (December 1, 2014). "TIFF's Top Ten Film Festival: Spotlight on Canadian film". Toronto Star. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Lacey, Liam (January 6, 2015). "Villeneuve's Enemy wins $100,000 Toronto critics' prize for best Canadian film of 2014". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved January 13, 2020.
- ^ Mullen, Pat (January 13, 2015). "'Mommy' Leads 2015 Canadian Screen Award Nominations". Cinemablographer. Retrieved January 12, 2020.
- ^ "3rd Wildflower Film Awards Korea – Nominees 2016". Asian Film Festivals. March 26, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2020.