Jeon Do-Yeon and Ha Jung-Woo Square off in Lee Yoon-Gi's 멋진 하루 (My Dear Enemy)

He's doing that rather quietly, and with the predictable, nonchalant indifference from the public, but director Lee Yoon-Gi is building quite the body of work. His debut, 여자, 정혜 (This Charming Girl) achieved with the beauty of silence, subtlety and those abstract spaces between the lines what most films can't even dream about. His followup 러브토크 (Love Talk) was quite watchable and benefited from very strong performances from leading trio Bae Jong-Ok, Park Jin-Hee and Park Hee-Soon, but was marred by little details and a general lack of flow. Then, back to square one with 아주 특별한 손님 (Ad-Lib Night), a wonderful made-for-tv film which ended up flying away from the limitations of its medium. It had one of the most promising young actors in the business, Kim Young-Min, and someone who might eventually get there, if she stops wasting time with Daily Dramas and things like 일지매 (Iljimae), Han Hyo-Joo of course.

But director Lee's fourth feature film sounds like it could become a pretty decent calling card both at home and internationally, unless indie films' usual ghetto distribution seals its fate. 멋진 하루 (My Dear Enemy) stars Jeon Do-Yeon, fresh off her win at Cannes, her marriage and her incoming change of "roles" (she's becoming a mother); but also Ha Jung-Woo, who became a star thanks to 추격자 (The Chaser), but works much better in smaller project like these. Story sees Jeon as an old broad with no job and very little money, trying to find her old partner (Ha) to get back some of the money he owed her. And then, the games begin. Seems closer to Ad-Lib Night in mood than his two earlier works (perhaps even a little more quirky), but we'll have to wait and see. The release date has finally been announced, set for September 25.