The opening film for the Toronto Korean Film Festival 2012, Secret Sunshine (Director Lee Chang-dong), tells the story of a mother persevering despite the death of her husband in a car accident. Shin-ae is upbeat and trying to make a fresh start for her and her young son by moving to her husband's hometown, Miryang (meaning Secret Sunshine in Chinese). However, despite her best efforts things do not go according to plan and tragedy strikes yet again. The film charts what is essentially her nervous breakdown as she deals with a grief so powerful that it pushes her to the edge of sanity. Standing by throughout it all however, is the adoring mechanic and Shin-ae's only real friend in Miryang, Jong-chan. Nothing that Shin-ae dishes out is too much for Jong-chan and he even starts attending an evangelical church when she does, just so that he can be near her. The end of the film does not make any definitive statements about Shin-ae's condition but it is implied that while she will always bear the scars of the traumas that she has been through she has somehow found an inner strength and will go on. In the last scene when she cuts her hair in her backyard, Jong-chan stands in front of her holding up a mirror. We know that he will always be there for her even if it is just to do something simple.
Jeon Do -yeon puts a tremendous amount of emotional and physical energy into her performance as Shin-ae. It is at times difficult to watch because it feels as though you are watching someone that you know going through a breakdown. Song Kang -ho gives a humorous and touching performance as Jong-chan who is regarded as a loser even by his own mother but is actually the most decent person in Shin-ae's life.
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