GREEN FISH | 초록 물고기

SOUTH KOREA | 1997 | COLOR | DCP | 111’ | KOREAN

After completing his military service, a young man returns to his hometown only to find that rapid modernization has changed everything. Looking to find his place in the world, he is drawn into the dark labyrinth of Seoul’s organized crime, ending up trapped in a dangerous game of loyalty, power and unrequited love. In his criminally underrated directorial debut, Lee Chang-dong crafts a neo-noir elegy, transforming his protagonist’s downfall into a melancholic allegory about the heavy price of urbanization and a scathing commentary on the dark underbelly of a seemingly advanced society. Thodoris Karamanolis

DIRECTOR: Lee Chang-dong
SCREENWRITER: Lee Chang-dong
DoP: Yong-kil You
MUSIC: Lee Dong-jun
EDITOR: Hyun Kim
PRINCIPAL CAST: Han Suk-kyu, Shim Hye-jin, Moon Sung-keun, Min Kyung-jin

LEE CHANG-DONG

Acclaimed South Korean film director, screenwriter and novelist. Born in Daegu in 1954, he began his artistic career in theater and literature. He transitioned to filmmaking in his early forties, quickly establishing himself as a defining figure of Korean Cinema. He also served as South Korea’s Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2003 to 2004. His celebrated filmography is characterized by profound humanism, complex characters, and descriptions of societal trauma. His work frequently explores themes of grief, alienation and redemption.

FILMOGRAPHY
2026 Possible Love
2018 Burning
2010 Poetry
2007 Secret Sunshine
2002 Oasis
1999 Peppermint Candy
1997 Green Fish