Bandhobi

Bandhobi (Korean: 반두비; RR: Bandubi) is a 2009 South Korean independent film directed by Shin Dong-il, about a frustrated and rebellious high school student who ends up becoming a friend of a migrant worker from Bangladesh who is desperate to receive his unpaid wages back. The title means "female friend" in Bengali.[1][2]

Bandhobi
Hangul반두비
Revised RomanizationBandubi
McCune–ReischauerPantupi
Directed byShin Dong-il
Produced byShin Dong-il
Kim Il-kwon
Written byLee Chang-won
Shin Dong-il
StarringMahbub Alam
Baek Jin-hee
Music byKim Jong-keun
CinematographyPark Jong-chul
Edited byMoon In-dae
Distributed byIndieStory
Release date
  • June 25, 2009 (2009-06-25)
Running time
107 minutes
CountrySouth Korea
LanguageKorean

Lead actor Mahbub Alam is a longtime resident of South Korea who entered the country as a migrant worker. He has since appeared in small film roles and become involved in various activist projects, including the launch of the Migrant Worker Film Festival, for which he serves as festival director.[3][4][5]

Plot

Karim (Mahbub Alam) is a 27-year-old Bangladeshi working in an industrial laundry. An intellectual whose academic degree was not recognized in South Korea, Karim's work permit is about to expire and he's still owed a year's pay by a previous employer, Shin (Jung Dong-gyu), who's not taking his calls; meanwhile, his wife back home is giving him a hard time about money problems.

Seventeen-year-old high schooler Min-seo (Baek Jin-hee) is a social loner at odds with her mother, Eun-joo (Lee Il-hwa), who has a jobless, live-in lover, Ki-hong (Park Hyuk-kwon), whom she's planning to marry. Minseo's friends all take after-school classes at study institutes, but her single mother can't afford to pay for them. She eventually gets an under the table job at a massage parlor in order to pay for English classes.

On the first day of summer vacation, Min-seo is riding the bus when Karim drops his wallet. He exits the bus, and Min-seo takes the wallet for herself. However, Karim soon realizes what happens and manages to chase Min-seo down in a side street. "Let's go to the police station," he says in excellent Korean, but Min-seo tries to dissuade Karim from reporting her to the police by offering to grant him a favor, and reluctantly agrees to help track down his former boss. As the unlikely pair pose as loan sharks, they find themselves transforming each other's worlds in unexpected ways. They slowly form a mutual understanding, with the girl asking indiscreet questions and the gentleman preaching about problems in South Korean society. For Min-seo, Karim is initially a convenient badge she can wear in a society she sees herself at war with. But as she lowers her defenses, the relationship touchingly turns into a friendship between two lonely souls. But Karim's visa will not last forever.[6][7]

Cast
  • Mahbub Alam - Karim
  • Baek Jin-hee - Min-seo
  • Lee Il-hwa - Eun-joo
  • Park Hyuk-kwon - Ki-hong
  • Jung Dong-gyu - Representative Shin
  • Kim Jae-rok - Homeroom teacher
  • Kwon Hyuk-poong - Drunkard
  • Hyun Won-hee - Ji-yeong
  • Kim Mi-hee - Min-seo's friend
  • Park Yeong - Gas station owner
  • Choi In-sook - Representative Shin's wife
  • Seo Wang-seok - Immigration control worker
  • Jang Sebastian - Heinz
  • Noh Jin-woo - Factory department manager
  • Jung Sung-hoon - Factory worker
  • Lee Dong-gyu - Convenience store worker/part-timer
  • Yang Hae-hoon - Son at gas station
  • Oh Chang-kyung - Detective Oh
  • Jang Dae-yoon - Detective Jang
  • Jo Eun-kyung - Massage section chief
  • Shin Yi-soo - Massage guest
  • Baek Geon-yeong - Businessman
  • Bang Yeong-seon - Convenience store guest
  • Kim Sun, Kim Dong-myeong - Jogging couple
  • Kang Bo-mi - Academy student
  • Sonia - Trisha
  • Yoon Sung-ho - Passerby
  • Jung Byung-gil - Passerby

Awards

References
  1. Lee, Hyo-won (18 June 2009). "'Bandhobi' Interweaves Growing Pains, Cultures". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-11-19.
  2. "Bandhobi". IndieStory. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  3. Lee, Hyo-won (15 July 2009). "Migrant Workers Fest to Promote Multiculturalism". The Korea Times. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  4. Na, Jenny (31 August 2007). "Migrant Worker Film Festival highlights both adversity and change". The Hankyoreh. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  5. Kim, Lydia (2 September 2007). "2nd Migrant Worker Film Festival Opens in Seoul". Arirang News. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  6. Elley, Derek (2 November 2009). "Bandhobi". Variety. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
  7. Paquet, Darcy. "Bandhobi". Koreanfilm.org. Retrieved 2012-12-04.
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