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A Child’s Race Home
South Korean filmmaker Lee Chang-dong’s first short film, “Heartbeat,” will make its worldwide Netflix debut Nov. 2. The 28-minute film, completed in 2022 but never given a formal theatrical release, stars Jeon Do-yeon and features Sul Kyung-gu in a voice-only special appearance.
Child actor Kim Gun-woo plays Cheol, a boy whose mother lives with depression while his father stages a protest atop a tower crane. When his mother does not answer the phone, Cheol becomes overwhelmed by fear and runs home without stopping. Lee’s camera remains closely focused on the boy’s face and point of view throughout the film.
Jeon, a longtime collaborator of Lee’s, plays the mother. Sul voices the father.
A Film Commissioned to Address Depression
“Heartbeat” began as a project commissioned by the World Health Organization and the Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation, which invited filmmakers from several countries to create works about depression. The film was first shown to audiences at South Korea’s Jeonju International Film Festival in 2022.
Netflix plans to provide subtitles in several languages, including English, Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, French and German.
From a Short Film to ‘Possible Love’
The ideas behind “Heartbeat” also connect to Lee’s new Netflix feature, “Possible Love.” Lee had long considered making a film about laid-off SsangYong Motor workers, and that concept developed through the short before becoming the feature.
Jeon, Sul and screenwriter Oh Jung-mi, who wrote “Heartbeat,” returned for “Possible Love.” The feature received the Silver Lion Grand Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and is scheduled to arrive on Netflix Nov. 6.
Netflix Builds a Global Lee Chang-dong Collection
For viewers in the United States and other international markets, the release adds Lee’s only short film to a Netflix catalog that spans his entire directing career, from his 1997 feature debut, “Green Fish,” through “Possible Love.” The service already carries “Peppermint Candy,” “Oasis,” “Secret Sunshine,” “Poetry” and “Burning,” along with “Green Fish.”
“Green Fish,” “Peppermint Candy,” “Oasis” and “Secret Sunshine” are available in 4K-remastered versions. With “Heartbeat” joining the lineup, Netflix will offer every film Lee has directed to audiences worldwide.
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