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Treeless Mountain

Play trailer Poster for Treeless Mountain 2009,  1h 29m,  Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Stream Now Watchlist 86% 63 Reviews Tomatometer 72% 1,000+ Ratings Popcornmeter
86% Tomatometer 63 Reviews 72% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Jin (Kim Hee-yeon) and her younger sister, Bin (Song Hee Kim), are left by their mother (Soo Ah Lee) with Big Aunt (Kim Mi-Hyang). The girls' mother is trying to hunt down their father. She gives them a piggy bank, telling her daughters that when it is full of coins she will return. Big Aunt is an alcoholic who neglects to look after the children. By selling roasted grasshoppers, the two girls manage to take care of themselves over the summer, waiting all the while for their mother's return.
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Critics Consensus

Intermittently wondrous and harsh, this sensitive drama about two abandoned sisters gives time and space to the intimate and beautiful moments of childhood.

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Critics Reviews

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Tom Charity The Times (UK) Jun 1, 2015
4/5
This very personal, naturalistic Korean film is all about emotional damage, and it's a real heartbreaker. Go to Full Review
Robert Koehler Variety Jul 6, 2010
Drawing out beautifully natural performances from her child actors, Kim once again has a distinct way of letting her camera observe her characters with kind thoughtfulness, allowing for a quiet mood to wash over the scenes. Go to Full Review
Derek Malcolm London Evening Standard Jan 8, 2010
3/5
So Yong eschews drama for a quiet sensitivity which suggests the young can get over almost anything adults put upon them simply with native wit and resource. Go to Full Review
Grant Watson Fiction Machine Nov 6, 2020
8/10
Treeless Mountain is a very interesting, meditative drama. It presents a remarkable contrast to popular South Korean cinema, which is so often a very fast-paced, melodramatic experience. Go to Full Review
Yasser Medina Cinefilia Jul 25, 2020
6/10
This film by director So Yong Kim has, in my opinion, aesthetic qualities that make me reflect on the meaning of family and childhood tragedies, but it lacks emotional flair. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
Ellie Lucas From the Front Row Jul 7, 2019
3.5/4
There is a melancholic innocence at work here, juxtaposed with the tender warmth of Kim's camera, and we are left with the question of whether childhood innocence has survived or ended too early. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Theodore S Feb 12, 2017 A lot of people like the threadbare minimalism of this coming of age tale, but I found it was rather lacking. Two girls' mother leaves them with their alcoholic aunt in search of her husband. Then the aunt leaves them with the grandparents on a farm. The end. The film doesn't have a lot to offer except the two performances of the children who are decent. See more
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Treeless Mountain

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Cast & Crew

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So-yong Kim

Director

Kim Hee-yeon

Jin

Song Hee Kim

Bin

Soo Ah Lee

Mother

Kim Mi-Hyang

Big Aunt

So-yong Kim

Screenwriter

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Treeless Mountain

(L-R) Song Hee Kim as Bin and Hee Yeon Kim as Jin in "Treeless Mountain." (L-R) Song Hee Kim as Bin and Hee Yeon Kim as Jin in "Treeless Mountain." (Front) Song Hee Kim as Bin and (Middle) Hee Yeon Kim as Jin in "Treeless Mountain." Treeless Mountain (2008) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Jin (Kim Hee-yeon) and her younger sister, Bin (Song Hee Kim), are left by their mother (Soo Ah Lee) with Big Aunt (Kim Mi-Hyang). The girls' mother is trying to hunt down their father. She gives them a piggy bank, telling her daughters that when it is full of coins she will return. Big Aunt is an alcoholic who neglects to look after the children. By selling roasted grasshoppers, the two girls manage to take care of themselves over the summer, waiting all the while for their mother's return.
Director
So-yong Kim
Producer
Bradley Rust Gray, Ben Howe, So-yong Kim, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy
Screenwriter
So-yong Kim
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
Korean
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 22, 2009, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 22, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA)
$60.0K
Runtime
1h 29m
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