A woman, who has been married for five years, one day tells her husband she wants to leave him for another man. The husband, an introvert who rarely speaks his mind, does not ask her why. On the day she moves out, he makes coffee and wraps her favorite teacup so she can take it with her.

Starring Hyun Bin and Im Soo-jeong, director Lee Yoon-ki’s new film, “Come Rain, Come Shine,“ tells the story of a young married couple who spend a final three hours together before parting ways.

Funded by G-Cinema, a movie fund launched by Gyeonggi Performing and Film Commission, “Come Rain, Come Shine” is the only feature-length film from Asia that has been invited to the competition section of the Berlin International Film Festival this year. Director Lee won the Caligari Prize at the 2005 Berlin film festival with “The Charming Girl,” which starred actress Kim Ji-soo.

Hyun Bin, who enjoyed enormous popularity for his role in the highly successful SBS drama series “Secret Garden,” plays the nameless husband who frustrates his wife by not communicating enough.

“It wasn’t easy for me to understand this particular character,” said Hyun at a press conference held in Seoul, Thursday. “The hardest part was repressing my feelings the way my character would. Though there were some similarities I found between the character and myself, I wouldn’t let my wife go without asking anything if I were in that situation.”

Im, who played Hyun’s wife, said she was extremely happy throughout the filming process.

“I think it’s rather brave to leave your husband for someone else,” she told reporters. “Like Hyun, I, too, had some hard time understanding my character. But throughout the running time, my character struggles as she still has feelings for her husband. And I thought of it as one of many forms of love, and I was happy to learn about it.”

Both Hyun and Im agreed to film the movie without receiving their guaranteed minimum payment.

“There are so many passionate people in Korea’s movie industry,” said Im. “And I am afraid the working environment is worsening every year. As an individual who enjoys movies, I thought this was one of the ways to improve the current situation.”

Director Lee Yoon-ki agreed.

“As Im said, the situation is bad,” he said.

“You don’t have to watch my movies. But watching more movies of any kind can help.”

Speaking of support, Kim Moon-soo, governor of Gyeonggi Province, said he and his province would like to help fund more films in the future. “We are especially interested in funding low-budget movies with creativity. I think it’ll help diversify the Korean movie industry.”
Lee, whose works -- notably “This Charming Girl” (2004) and “My Dear Enemy” (2008) -- are known for their unique characters and reflective nature, said while he is happy that his movie has been invited to the Berlin Film Festival, he does not care so much about winning.

“I consider prizes as a bonus,” Lee said. “I did not make this movie specifically for that film festival. I made a film that I wanted to make, and I’m happy it somehow gained recognition.”

Hyun is set to join the Marine Corps in March for his two-year mandatory military duty.

“I’m afraid I’m in the spotlight for something that everyone goes through,” said Hyun. “I’d just like to serve my duty without receiving too much attention.”


“Come Rain, Come Shine” opens in theaters on Feb. 24.

By Claire Lee (clairelee@heraldcorp.com)