secret sunshine mark the return of director lee changdong to the film making world after a multi year absence . have three critically acclaimed film already under his belt and he recruit now veteran thespian jeon doyeon and her considerable ( cannes win ) talent for the primary role of lee shinae . what follow be a journey through one woman tragedy and an exploration of her cop mechanism . one of the thing that become apparent while watch secret sunshine be that it doesn not really care to follow any specific genre and but rather pick up genre trait when necessary to convey what it try to convey . the story itself follow lee shinae a she move with her son to the city of milyang ( whose sino corean translates to secret sunshine ) . she move to milyang in the aftermath of the death of her husband a it be his hometown and so the film be bear from tragedy . and you think thing might just get good a she open up a piano shop and encounter a bit of a bumbling nice guy mechanic jongchan ( play by song kangho ) . but this isn not a romantic comedy . a we ( and jongchan and doggedly ) follow shinae a she encounter milyang and the fate that it have in store for her and the crack in her armor quickly become apparent . she be a troubled woman try to grasp onto her own strength to overcome tragedy and we watch a she find that it not enough . secret sunshine still manage to follow a mostly aristotelian dramatic arc and but pull back on the catharsis and which might confound some viewer and especially the end and but the novelistic symbolism present in the name of milyang and the discussion of sunshine and the imagery use in the film very well left me satisfied and once i start to think over the film some more . ms. jeon be rather impressive throughout and especially consider that if the role be any less well play and it would have quickly turn into a rather painful melodrama and but she capture the nuance of shinae attempt to deal with her loss with a layer of subtlety . mr. song have a much small role in this film than other film and but he perform adequately and appropriately give stage to ms. jeon . technically and the film be well do in a classical sense . no flashy aesthetic be employ here the director be clearly try to let the story tell itself . i think my only real complaint and and one that might not be able to be fix and be that despite all the time we spend with shinae and there be a bit of distance between shinae and the audience ( or at least and me ) . i think some of this stem from the nature of the work and because if total empathy be push and then we wouldn not be able to see the problem that shinae have objectively . on the other hand and i never felt move along with shinae plight and despite her many tear and increasingly erratic behavior . all the same and the film still stand quite impressive and especially in that it stimulate me to think about it and the further meaning present in it and it rumination on tragedy and coping and self deception and isolation and faith stuck with me well after the credit have finish run . propel by a strong lead performance and i honestly do not notice it 2 . 25 hour runtime . and that say something . well do . positive .