Beautiful is a 2008 South Korean film, and the debut feature of director Juhn Jai-hong. The film is based on an original story by Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-duk

Kim Ki-duk is a South Korean filmmaker noted for his idiosyncratic "art-house" cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit. He is not related to the Kim Ki-duk who directed Yonggary in the 1960s...

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Plot

Eun-yeong is a young woman who finds her beauty to be a curse, drawing unwanted attention from all kinds of men and making other women jealous. Nevertheless, she leads a relatively content life until she is raped by one of her stalkers, Seong-min, who then blames Eun-yeong for the incident, saying, "I did it because you're so beautiful". Traumatised by her attack, Eun-yeong tries to destroy her beauty, first by attempting to become obese, and when that fails by making herself unattractively thin. When her beauty does start to fade, she becomes alarmed and tries to regain it by wearing gaudy make up and revealing clothes, her behaviour increasingly destructive and unstable. A policeman, Eun-cheol, watches her downfall with pity and sympathy, but eventually he too submits to his lustful desires.

Cast

• Cha Soo-yeon ... Eun-yeong
• Lee Chun-hee ... Eun-cheol
• Choi Myeong-su ... Detective Kim
• Kim Min-soo ... Seong-min
• Lee Min ... Mi-yeon
• Bae Yong-geun ... Beauty salon boss
• Kim Seon-bin ... Working man
• Jo Seok-hyeon ... Lavatory man
• Lee Chang-min ... Police station man

Release

Beautiful premiered in the Panorama section of the 58th Berlin International Film Festival

Berlin International Film Festival

The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...

, and was given a limited theatrical release in South Korea

South Korea

The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...

 on 14 February 2008, where it was screened in just five Seoul

Seoul

Seoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...

 theatres. As of 31 March it had received a total of 1,478 admissions, and as of 13 April grossed $

United States dollar

The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....

9,840.