Hill of Freedom

Hill of Freedom
Hill of Freedom
Directed by	Hong Sang-soo
Written by	Hong Sang-soo
Produced by	Kim Kyoung-hee
Starring	Ryo Kase ; Moon So-ri
Cinematography	Park Hong-yeol
Edited by	Hahm Sung-won
Music by	Jeong Yong-jin
Production; company	Jeonwonsa Films
Distributed by	Finecut
Release dates	September 2, 2014 (Venice Film Festival); September 4, 2014 (South Korea);
Running time	67 minutes
Country	South Korea
Languages	Korean ; English ; Japanese
Box office	US$292,411

Hill of Freedom (Korean: 자유의 언덕; RR: Jayuui Eondeok) is a 2014 South Korean arthouse film written and directed by Hong Sang-soo.^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5] It premiered in the Orizzonti ("Horizons") section of the 71st Venice International Film Festival,^[6]^[7] and won Best Film at the 34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards and the 36th Three Continents Festival.^[8]^[9] Hill of Freedom also made The New Yorker's list of Best Undistributed Films of 2014.^[10]

Plot

Japanese language teacher Mori arrives in Seoul to track down Kwon, a South Korean woman he fell for several years ago. Mori arrives in Bukchon, a neighborhood in the center of the city which has a tranquil atmosphere and historical background. Hoping for a chance to see her, he stays at a guesthouse near Kwon's old home, and he's befriended by the elderly owner, Gu-ok, and her broke but sociable nephew Sang-won. Mori begins to frequent Jiyugaoka ("Hill of Freedom"), a local coffee shop owned by Young-sun, where he writes letters to Kwon. Then even though Young-sun already has a boyfriend, she and Mori become lovers.^[11]

Cast

Ryo Kase as Mori^[12]
Moon So-ri as Young-sun
Seo Young-hwa as Kwon
Kim Eui-sung as Sang-won
Youn Yuh-jung as Gu-ok
Gi Ju-bong as Byeong-joo
Lee Min-woo as Ji Kwang-hyun
Jung Eun-chae as Nam-hee
Jeong Yong-jin as Yeom-gu
Na Hye-jin as Employee
Kim Min-jae as Employee

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Recipient	Result
2014	34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Best Film	Hill of Freedom	Won
	34th Korean Association of Film Critics Awards	Critics' Top 10	Hill of Freedom	Won
	36th Three Continents Festival	Best Film	Hill of Freedom	Won
2015	20th Chunsa Film Art Awards^[13]	Best Director (Grand Prix)	Hong Sang-soo	Nominated
	9th Asian Film Awards^[14]	Best Film	Hill of Freedom	Nominated
		Best Director	Hong Sang-soo	Nominated
		Best Actor	Ryo Kase	Nominated
	2nd Wildflower Film Awards^[15]	Best Director (Narrative Film)	Hong Sang-soo	Won
		Best Actor	Ryo Kase	Nominated
		Best Actress	Moon So-ri	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Hong Sang-soo	Nominated
	51st Baeksang Arts Awards	Best Director	Hong Sang-soo	Nominated
	24th Buil Film Awards	Best Film	Hill of Freedom	Nominated
	24th Buil Film Awards	Best Director	Hong Sang-soo	Nominated

References

^ "Hill of Freedom (2014)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr.
^ Lodge, Guy (2 September 2014). "Venice Film Review: Hill of Freedom". Variety. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Elley, Derek (10 September 2014). "Hill of Freedom". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Anderson, John (11 September 2014). "Toronto Review: Hong Sang-soo's Hill of Freedom is Full of Soul". Indiewire. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Brody, Richard (27 September 2014). "Hong Sang-soo's Hill of Freedom". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Conran, Pierce (5 September 2014). "Korean Masters on Show in Venice". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ "Hong Sang-soo's Latest Film Receives Rave Reviews at Venice Film Fest". The Chosun Ilbo. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Conran, Pierce (4 November 2014). "Top Honors for HILL OF FREEDOM at 34th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-11-08.
^ Ahn, Sung-mi (3 December 2014). "Hong's Hill of Freedom wins top film award in Nantes". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-12-05.
^ Brody, Richard (11 December 2014). "The Best Movies of 2014". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2014-12-16.
^ Yun, Ina (22 September 2014). "(In Focus) Hill of Freedom: Hong Sang-soo's daring new film, alternately funny and haunting". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Lee, Eun-sun; Lee, Sung-eun (5 September 2014). "Looking for love in Bukchon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-10-30.
^ Ma, Kevin (9 March 2015). "Hard Day leads Chunsa Film Art nominations". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
^ Yoon, Ina (4 March 2015). "Korean Films and Artists Nominated for the Asian Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-03-19.
^ Ma, Kevin (1 April 2015). "Girl at My Door leads Wildflower nominations". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-01.

External links

Hill of Freedom at the Korean Movie Database (in Korean)
Hill of Freedom at IMDb
Hill of Freedom at HanCinema

[1] "Hill of Freedom (2014)". www.koreanfilm.or.kr.

[2] Lodge, Guy (2 September 2014). "Venice Film Review: Hill of Freedom". Variety. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[3] Elley, Derek (10 September 2014). "Hill of Freedom". Film Business Asia. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[4] Anderson, John (11 September 2014). "Toronto Review: Hong Sang-soo's Hill of Freedom is Full of Soul". Indiewire. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[5] Brody, Richard (27 September 2014). "Hong Sang-soo's Hill of Freedom". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[6] Conran, Pierce (5 September 2014). "Korean Masters on Show in Venice". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[7] "Hong Sang-soo's Latest Film Receives Rave Reviews at Venice Film Fest". The Chosun Ilbo. 4 September 2014. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[8] Conran, Pierce (4 November 2014). "Top Honors for HILL OF FREEDOM at 34th Korean Film Critics Association Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2014-11-08.

[9] Ahn, Sung-mi (3 December 2014). "Hong's Hill of Freedom wins top film award in Nantes". The Korea Herald. Retrieved 2014-12-05.

[10] Brody, Richard (11 December 2014). "The Best Movies of 2014". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2014-12-16.

[11] Yun, Ina (22 September 2014). "(In Focus) Hill of Freedom: Hong Sang-soo's daring new film, alternately funny and haunting". Korean Cinema Today. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[12] Lee, Eun-sun; Lee, Sung-eun (5 September 2014). "Looking for love in Bukchon". Korea JoongAng Daily. Retrieved 2014-10-30.

[13] Ma, Kevin (9 March 2015). "Hard Day leads Chunsa Film Art nominations". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 14 March 2015. Retrieved 2015-03-19.

[14] Yoon, Ina (4 March 2015). "Korean Films and Artists Nominated for the Asian Film Awards". Korean Film Biz Zone. Retrieved 2015-03-19.

[15] Ma, Kevin (1 April 2015). "Girl at My Door leads Wildflower nominations". Film Business Asia. Archived from the original on 15 April 2015. Retrieved 2015-04-01.

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v t e Films directed by Hong Sang-soo
1990s	The Day a Pig Fell into the Well (1996) The Power of Kangwon Province (1998)
2000s	Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors (2000) On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate (2002) Woman Is the Future of Man (2004) Tale of Cinema (2005) Woman on the Beach (2006) Night and Day (2008) Like You Know It All (2009)
2010s	Hahaha (2010) Oki's Movie (2010) The Day He Arrives (2011) In Another Country (2012) Nobody's Daughter Haewon (2013) Our Sunhi (2013) Hill of Freedom (2014) Right Now, Wrong Then (2015) Yourself and Yours (2016) On the Beach at Night Alone (2017) Claire's Camera (2017) The Day After (2017) Grass (2018) Hotel by the River (2018)
2020s	The Woman Who Ran (2020) Introduction (2021) In Front of Your Face (2021) The Novelist's Film (2022) Walk Up (2022) In Water (2023) In Our Day (2023) A Traveler's Needs (2024) By the Stream (2024)