Many of the most celebrated films from the beginnings of the Korean New Wave explore the toll the war of the 1950s continued to take upon the psyches of contemporary South Koreans. A prominent example, To the Starry Island opens in the present with the efforts of Moon Jae-go to carry out his father’s dying wish to be buried on the small island where he was born. Upon arriving on the island with his father’s body, Moon is shocked to learn that they will not allow the funeral to take place. Extended flashback sequences, with actors playing the parents of their present-day characters, reveal the reason for this enduring hatred. The screenplay marks one of the first screen credits for Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine, Poetry). – DP