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'The Housemaid' in International Cannes Film Festival

Director Im Sang-soo's movie "The Housemaid - 2010", which is in competition at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival, was released on May 13 (local time) at night through a press preview.

"The Housemaid - 2010" is a remake movie of late director Kim Ki-young's original "The Housemaid - 1960", but every part, including the basic storyline and characters, has been modified and portrays today's situation in Korea, which capitalism has totally pervaded.

The preview which started at 10 pm drew great attention from the press, even enough to make it difficult to find a vacant seat. It might be thanks to actress Jeon Do-yeon, who garnered the Best Actress Award with the movie "Secret Sunshine" at the international Cannes film festival in 2007, trust toward director Im Sang-soo, who is popular in France, and the fact that the movie has advanced to the competition in the festival.

During the beginning of this movie when Eun Yi (Jeon Do-yeon) began to work at the mansion as a housemaid, Bazin Theater, where the movie was screened, was full of chuckles by reporters and people in the movie industry who had come from all around the world. When Hoon (Lee Jung-jae) drank wine, audience members began to smile, and when Byeong Sik (Youn Yuh-jung) made a nasty facial expression after she found out the secret relationship between Eun Yi and Hoon, audience members laughed out. Unlike the beginning part of the movie, which is a mixture of melodrama and comic, the movie gradually portrays social problems, and audiences began to become serious, losing their smiles and laughter. The whole audience was silent when characters spoke out violent words and the movie reached its climax. The sound of a cough was the only sound that could be heard in the theater.

A movie reporter from Luxemburg, Jan Louis Shepon made a favorable comment by saying, "The movie is very stylish and showed great screen composition". An American reporter in his fifties who did not reveal his name praised the film, saying, "I did not know that this movie is a remake movie, but my colleague told me it is the remake. Actress Jeon Do-yeon's acting was really impressive".

After the preview, there were clapping from here and there even though it was not enough to comprise loud applause. But press previews are not known to be generous regarding clapping, unlike official preview sessions. The movie "The Housemaid - 2010" was officially screened on May 14 at 10:30 pm at the Lumiere Theater.

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