About This Film
Lee Man-hee-I is one of the most significant Korean directors that worked in the 60 and the 70s', with films like the present one, “The Marines Who Never Returned”, “Late Autumn” (a now lost film which has been remade a number of times in Korean cinema), “Break up the Chain” and many more. “A Water Mill”, one of his greatest works is a film that mages to communicate its significant messages through a very entertaining story, and, in the process, to highlight the great job done by Lee Man-hee-I, the cast and the crew.
Synopsis
The story unfolds during the Joseon period, and revolves around a drifter (Shin Young-kyun) who meets a mysterious woman called Boon-i (Ko Eun-ah-I) during a festival around a water mill. The man, who soon is given the name Bang-won soon finds work for the local landlord, while his fascination with Boon-i reaches the borders of obsession. He decides to pay up her debt towards the landlord and in doing so he promises his whole life to another landlord who soon turns up to be a true womanizer and proceeds on courting Boon-i. Inevitably, violence ensues again.
