OLD PARTNER

DIRECTED BY CHUNG-RYOUL LEE

“UNBELIEVABLY MOVING. Lee takes an odd premise and turns it into a remarkable tale of loyalty and attachment to the natural world.”
– Bilge Ebiri, New York magazine

“The elderly couple’s relationship with the animal who has shared their lives may seem odd,
charming and a bit absurd, but the deep and poignant insight of Mr. Lee’s film
is that such complicated interspecies bonds are perfectly natural.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times
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“Thanks to OLD PARTNER’s nostalgic depiction of farm life, anthropomorphically charming
lead animal and memorable HD scenery (which evokes traditional Korean painting),
the film’s universal appeal is virtually ensured.”
– Kevin B. Lee, Time Out New York

"Poignant beauty... A real-life fable of earthy, heartbreaking simplicity. A story of friendship
and a wistful ode to agrarian lifestyles that have all but vanished in the industrial age."
– Damon Smith, Filmmaker Magazine online

"Poetic... Universally appealing. Not since Robert Bresson's Balthazar has a beast of burden been so tenderly portrayed on film."
– Peter Debruge, Variety

“Until one has loved an animal, a part of one’s soul remains unawakened.”
– Anatole France

Mr. and Mrs. Lee, elderly peasants, eke out a living from their farm in a remote portion of South Korea, served by a 40-year-old ox who is their friend, their colleague, their lifeblood -- and clearly Mrs. Lee’s (successful) competitor for her husband’s love and loyalty. OLD PARTNER is a gentle, poignant tale of man and beast, one that will be familiar to anyone who has ever cherished a pet; but here that love is magnified by the symbiotic nature of the relationship. Mr. Lee gathers special fodder for his ox and refuses to use insecticide for fear of poisoning him. Like THE STORY OF THE WEEPING CAMEL, this is a moving documentary of near-biblical dimensions.

SOUTH KOREA • 2008 • 77 MINS. •  IN KOREAN WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES • SHCALO MEDIA GROUP