Microhabitat (Korean소공녀; Hanja小公女; RRSo-gong-nyeo; lit. A Little Princess) is a 2017 South Korean drama film written and directed by Jeon Go-woon.

Microhabitat
Theatrical release poster
Hanja
小公女
Literal meaningA Little Princess
Revised RomanizationSo-gong-nyeo
Directed byJeon Go-woon
Written byJeon Go-woon
Produced byKim Soon-mo
StarringEsom
Ahn Jae-hong
CinematographyKim Tae-soo
Edited byGo Bong-gon
Music byKwun Hyun-jeong
Production
company
Gwanghwamun Cinema
Distributed byCGV Arthouse
Release dates
  • October 2017 (2017-10) (BIFF)
  • March 22, 2018 (2018-03-22) (South Korea)
Running time
106 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean
Box officeUS$422,854[1]

Plot edit

The plot is woven around the life of Miso, a thirty something year old woman who is willing to give up her basic necessities of life in order to protect what she treasures the most: cigarettes, whiskey and her boyfriend.[2]

In 2015, Miso working as a housekeeper, finds her income barely enough to cover her expenses. When her landlord decides to increase the rent, she takes up more work to make ends meet. An increase in the price of cigarettes forces her to switch to a cheaper brand. Nonetheless, her calculations show her falling short of money by the end of the year. Pondering a bit over her main expenditures - rent, whiskey and cigarettes - she decides to do away with rent. She makes a list of her old band-mates, planning to stay with each of them for a while.

First one refuses to accommodate her citing her high-pressure job as the reason. The next, Hyeon Jeong was a keyboard player and warmly welcomes Miso into her marital home. Hyeon's husband objects privately, claiming the surprise guest would be an inconvenience for his parents and the couple argue loudly enough for Miso to hear. Among other things, Hyeon confesses to Miso her diffidence in cooking for her in-laws, who had run a restaurant for thirty years and her anger at having to do all of housework. In the morning, Miso cooks for her friend and leaves. She goes to the house of a drummer, Dae Yong, whom she had affectionately considered a younger brother. Dae has a room to spare since his 8-month old marriage has just broken down. But Miso's boyfriend, who is staying at an all-male dormitory provided by his factory, expresses feelings of inadequacy at Miso having to stay with a male friend. Miso moves out, spending the night in a restaurant. She calls on a guitarist (Woo Moon Gi) next. His parents are visibly elated and conspicuously hint at marriage to their son.

The next band-mate Miso visits is Choi Jeong-mi, who appears very well-off and has a large house. Recalling a previous instance when Miso had helped her out of debt, Choi Jeong-mi tells her she can stay as long as she wants. Free of having to pay rent at last, Miso builds up savings. In the meantime, her boyfriend reveals that he is fed up of his spartan life and that giving up his dreams of becoming a cartoonist, he has volunteered for an assignment in Saudi Arabia which would enable him to pay off his school debts in a couple of years. A conversation with Choi Jeong-mi's husband, where Miso refers to her wild past, annoys Choi Jeong-mi and Miso gets thrown out. Miso visits a number of apartments, each progressively worse, in search of a cheap place to stay but none appear within her means.

Cutting forward an unknown amount of time, all the band-mates except Miso are shown meeting up at a funeral, where they exchange perfunctory memories about Miso. A woman, with greying hair similar to Miso, is shown walking along and later in a portable tent pitched next to a highway.

Cast edit

A former musician who now works as a housekeeper that decides to leave her accommodation due to the increase in rental costs.
An aspiring online comic artist who hasn’t found much success, and also the boyfriend of Mi-so.

Production edit

Microhabitat is Jeon's feature debut. It was produced by independent production outlet Gwanghwamun Cinema, which Jeon founded in 2013.[3]

Release and reception edit

During the first two weeks since its release, Microhabitat had attracted 46,000 moviegoers.[4]

Screen Anarchy highlighted the lead performance of Esom and reviewed the film as "vibrant and fun, yet always thoughtful and often poignant".[5]

The rights to the film have been sold to multiple Asian countries including, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam and China.[6]

Awards and nominations edit

Awards Category Recipient Result Ref.
22nd Busan International Film Festival CGV Arthouse Award Microhabitat Won [7]
54th Baeksang Arts Awards Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Nominated [8]
43rd Seoul Independent Film Festival Audience Award Microhabitat Won [9]
17th New York Asian Film Festival Tiger Uncaged Award for Best Feature Film Won [10][9]
22nd Fantasia International Film Festival AQCC-Camera Lucida Award Won [11]
27th Buil Film Awards Best Actress Esom Nominated [12]
Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Won
55th Grand Bell Awards Won [13][14]
Best Screenplay Won
Best Actress Esom Nominated
Los Angeles Film Festival Best Film Microhabitat Nominated
38th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards Top 11 Films Won [15]
Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Won
39th Blue Dragon Film Awards Best Leading Actress Esom Nominated [16]
Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Won
Best Screenplay Nominated
19th Busan Film Critics Awards Best Actress Esom Won
18th Director's Cut Awards Best Independent Film Director Microhabitat Nominated
Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Nominated
Cine 21 Awards Won
19th Women in Film Korea Festival Best Screenplay Won
6th Wildflower Film Awards Best Director Won
Best Actress Esom Won
24th Chunsa Film Art Awards Nominated
Best New Director Jeon Go-woon Nominated

References edit

  1. ^ "Microhabitat (2018)". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  2. ^ Jin Min-ji (6 April 2018). "The story of a woman unafraid to be herself". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved July 20, 2018.
  3. ^ "Microhabitat". Busan International Film Festival.
  4. ^ "The story of a woman unafraid to be herself". Korea JoongAng Daily. 6 April 2018.
  5. ^ "Busan 2017 Review: MICROHABITAT, a Poignant and Lively Debut". ScreenAnarchy. 19 October 2017.
  6. ^ "M-Line scores sales on 'Feng Shui, Sunset in My Hometown' (Exclusive)".
  7. ^ "Göteborg Film Festival Invites Korean Quintet". Korean Film Biz Zone.
  8. ^ "제54회 백상예술대상, TV·영화 각 부문별 수상 후보자 공개". JTBC (in Korean). April 6, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Sung Ji-eun (July 19, 2018). "'Microhabitat' honored at festival". Korea JoongAng Daily.
  10. ^ "S. Korean title wins best feature film at New York Asian Film Festival". Yonhap News Agency. July 18, 2018.
  11. ^ "THE WITCH and MICROHABITAT Awarded at Fantasia". Korean Film Biz Zone. August 7, 2018.
  12. ^ [23회 부산국제영화제] 부일영화상. Busan.com (in Korean). 20 September 2018.
  13. ^ 제55회 대종상, 각 부문 후보 공개…'공작' 12개 최다부문 노미네이트. Seoul Sports (in Korean). 21 September 2018. Retrieved 2018-09-21.
  14. ^ "'Burning' wins best picture at Daejong Film Awards". Yonhap News. 22 October 2018.
  15. ^ [공식]이성민·한지민 '영평상' 남녀주연상…'1987' 작품상. Sports Chosun (in Korean). October 22, 2018.
  16. ^ 청룡영화상 후보 발표, ‘1987’ 최다·‘공작’도 9개부문 후보. Newsen (in Korean). November 1, 2018.

External links edit