The biggest hit at the Korean box office this week was not the Hollywood blockbuster "Interstellar" or the big budget Korean film "Big Match."
The film that topped the charts was the documentary "My Love, Don't Cross The River." The touching film documents an elderly couple's 76-year marriage, which ends with the husband's death. The film's message is that love can endure.
Choi Kying Mi, who works for the film's public relations company, Creative Communication, described the film as a "story of love, a real one that lasted for a lifetime."
Jin Mo Young, the film's director, said he first learned about the elderly couple through a five-part 2011 television documentary titled "Grey-Haired Lovers." After seeing the documentary, he was so moved that he rushed to the couple's home in the Gangwon Province. He asked the 98-year-old husband and his 89-year-old wife if he could make a film about them. They agreed. After he got their permission, he simply followed the couple for 15 months.
"I tried to shoot the couple's lifelong love," he said at a press conference for the film. He sought to film their relationship objectively and dispassionately, but the couple's feelings for each other and their joy in each other's company was obvious.
Jin filmed them in the spring picking flowers. He captured them in the summer as they splashed water at each other. He documented the quiet moments they enjoyed together. The film also documents their inevitable parting. As the husband's body begins to weaken, the couple prepares to say goodbye to each other.
When Jin Mo Young first envisioned the film, he thought that his audience would be older. He imagined the story would appeal to people in their 40s and 50s, but it has gained a following with people in their 20s and 30s. According to data compiled by CGV, Korea's largest multiplex chain, people in their 20s made up 54.2 percent of the audience, while people in their 30s accounted for 24.3 percent.
One reason for the appeal among younger viewers may be the film's depiction of a love that lasts a lifetime. In an age where everything changes so quickly and divorce ends more marriages, it's an appealing notion that love can weather time.
Released on Nov. 27, the 85-minute film topped the box office by Dec. 11. According to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), the film has attracted more than a million viewers since its premiere, which is a rare accomplishment for an indie film.
"My Love, Don't Cross The River" won an Audience Award when it was shown at the DMZ International Documentary Film Festival.
