They meet at the airport in Seoul and could not be more different: Chinese immigrant Jin Xia works at the security checkpoint, dresses practically, and does her duty. The green-haired woman who shows up that day is younger, more extroverted and unimpressed by the pat-down. Xia is fascinated. When the young woman involves her in her crooked dealings shortly afterwards, it becomes clear that the two have more in common than meets the eye. On the lookout for the big hit that could free them from all their dependencies, they venture into South Korea’s underworld where they hold their own against the men who seek to dominate, possess and use them.
In her second feature-length film, Han Shuai brings together two disparate lone female fighters who have learned to rely on no one but themselves. As they enter into a reluctant dance of getting-to-know each other – sometimes attracting, at other times repelling, sometimes drawing closer, at other times turning away – their plan recedes into the background. The cocoon that is spun around the two of them and binds them together as they race through the city at night on their mopeds seems fragile, but inevitable.
by Han Shuai
with Fan Bingbing, Lee Joo Young, Kim Young Ho
Hong Kong, China 2023 Korean, Mandarin 92’ World premiere

With

  • Fan Bingbing (Jin Xia)
  • Lee Joo Young (Green-haired Woman)
  • Kim Young Ho (Lee Seung-hun)

Crew

Director Han Shuai
Screenplay Han Shuai, Lei Sheng
Cinematography Matthias Delvaux, Kim Hyun Seok
Editing Tom Lin
Music Hank Lee
Sound Zhu Yunhao
Production Design Lee Hwa Sung
Costumes Yi Choongyun
Make-Up Kye Seonmi
Producers Liu Ziyi, Wang Jing

Produced by

Demei Holdings (Hong Kong)

Han Shuai

The screenwriter and director graduated with a PhD from the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing. Her short films have won a number of awards, including at the Hangzhou Asian Film Festival and the Beijing Student Film Festival. Han Nan Xia Ri is her feature film debut.

Filmography (selection)

2013 The Time to Live and the Time to Die; short film 2020 Han Nan Xia Ri (Summer Blur) 2014 The Son; short film 2023 Green Night 2015 Last Shot; short film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023