Plot
The film follows the emotional journey of two estranged brothers as they reconnect and find healing through music and family.
The story centers on Jo-ha (played by Lee Byung-hun), a washed-up boxer who has spent most of his life on the fringes of society. Down on his luck and with nowhere to go, Jo-ha reconnects with his long-estranged mother In-sook (Youn Yuh-jung), whom he has not seen in over a decade. To his surprise, she is now caring for Jin-tae (Park Jung-min), his younger half-brother, who has savant syndrome and is a gifted pianist with an extraordinary musical talent but limited ability to navigate the world on his own.
Forced to live under the same roof, Jo-ha initially struggles to adapt to his new environment and feels awkward around his intellectually disabled brother. However, as time passes, he begins to soften and form a bond with Jin-tae, discovering both the pain and beauty of family connections he had long rejected. As Jo-ha confronts his own failures and lost dreams, he becomes inspired by Jin-tae’s innocence, resilience and musical passion.
Reception
Critical reception
The film explored themes of forgiveness, reconciliation and the power of family, using heartfelt performances and moments of humor to tell a moving story about second chances. With a strong emotional core and standout performances, especially from Park Jung-min as Jin-tae, the film was well received for its sincere portrayal of disability and familial love. It became a moderate box office success in South Korea and contributed to ongoing conversations about neurodiversity in mainstream cinema.
Yoon Min-sik of The Korea Herald called the characters and plot "generic and predictable" but praised the acting performance of the film. [7]
Shim Sun-ah of Yonhap News Agency praised Choi Seong-hyeon for handling family relationships with the utmost sensitivity and drawing good performances out of his actors. [4]
Box office
According to figures provided by the Korean Film Council, just 3 weeks after its release, the film had surpassed 3 million viewers. [8]
This page is based on this
Wikipedia article Text is available under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
