“Sleep” tells the story of a newlywed couple, Hyeon-soo (played by Lee Sun-kyun) and Soo-jin (played by Jung Yu-mi). One night, Soo-jin discovers Hyeon-soo sleepwalking, with a strange behavior that is not like him. Every time night falls, she becomes restless, for fear that her husband will harm their newborn.
Directed by Jason Yu, known as a disciple of director Bong Joon-ho, “Sleep” marks his feature film debut.
The film garnered praise from critics and was selected to be screened in the Critics’ Week section at the 76th Cannes Film Festival. At the time, it received a standing ovation for its unique story and unpredictable plot development.
Lee Sun-kyun also enjoyed the honor of having both this film and “Project Silence” invited to the Cannes Film Festival in May last year.
The Gerardmer Film Festival, which began in 1994 and is now in its 31st year, focuses primarily on films in the genres of science fiction, horror and fantasy.
Among Korean films, director Kim Jee-woon’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” received the Grand Prize at this festival in 2004, while director Kim Moon-saeng’s “Wonderful Days” received the Best Picture award in the animation competition category in the same year. The film “2009: Lost Memories” (Lee Si-myung) received the Audience award at the 2003 ceremony.
Lee Sun-kyun had been under police investigation since October last year on suspicion of drug use and was found dead in a car in a park on Dec 27th, 2023.
Overseas media also reported heavily on the passing of the actor, who gained worldwide attention with the film “Parasite”.
Source: Wikitree
