Cafe Noir (Korean: 카페 느와르; RR: Ka-pe-neu-wa-reu) is a 2009 South Korean romance melodrama film starring Shin Ha-kyun, Moon Jeong-hee, Kim Hye-na and Jung Yu-mi. Written and directed by first-time director Jung Sung-il, a well regarded film critic-turned-director, it is a contemplation on love and heartbreak largely based on two works of literature - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther and Fyodor Dostoyevsky's White Nights. The critically acclaimed work debuted at the 66th Venice Film Festival in 2009, and Jung was nominated for New Talent Grand Pix at the 2010 Copenhagen International Film Festival.[1][2][3][4][5]
| Cafe Noir | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Jung Sung-il |
| Screenplay by | Jung Sung-il |
| Produced by | Kim Jong-won |
| Starring | Shin Ha-kyun Moon Jeong-hee Kim Hye-na Jung Yu-mi |
| Cinematography | Kim Jun-young |
| Edited by | Moon In-dae |
| Music by | Lee Ji-yeon |
Production company | Polaris Production |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 198 minutes |
| Country | South Korea |
| Language | Korean |
Young-soo (Shin Ha-kyun), a music teacher, has an affair with his student's mother, Mi-yeon (Moon Jeong-hee). He becomes desperate when Mi-yeon decides to end their relationship following the return of her husband (Lee Sung-min). He tries to kill the husband and when it fails, he realizes that for the happiness of the woman he loves, he must leave her.
Later, Young-soo meets a young woman Sun-hwa (Jung Yu-mi) by chance, who is waiting for her lover (Kim Sang-kyung) on the bridge for a year. He begins to see her every day and falls for her. Just when she decides to give up thinking that her lover does not love her anymore, he suddenly appears on the bridge. They leave together happily, leaving Young-soo behind.
Cafe Noir was screened for a full year at various events of the festival circuit before it was given a domestic release in late December 2010. The DVD was finally released in June 2012.[6][7]
Cafe Noir received positive reviews.[6][1][3]