House of Hummingbird (Beolsae) (2020)
85%RT Audience Score: 72%
Awards & Nominations: 59 wins & 48 nominations
A striking debut for writer-director Kim Bora, House of Hummingbird delicately captures a turning point in one young woman’s life
House of Hummingbird is a coming-of-age drama that will make you feel like you’re in a contemplative midsummer lassitude. The film takes its time getting where it’s going, but the journey is worth it. It’s a slow-moving but exquisitely drawn character study that captures the dilemmas of adolescence with a certain compositional sobriety. The young lead actress Ji-hu Park delivers a touching and true performance that will stay with you for a long time. If you’re looking for a film that’s both brutal and achingly hopeful, House of Hummingbird is the one for you.
Production Company(ies)
Distributor
Well Go USA Entertainment
Release Type
Streaming, Theatrical
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Not Rated
Year of Release
2020
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby Digital
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Aspect ratio:1.78 : 1
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Runtime:2h 18m
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Language(s):Korean
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Country of origin:Korea (South)
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Jun 26, 2020 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 4, 2020
Genre(s)
Drama
Keyword(s)
House of Hummingbird, drama, Korean, Bora Kim, Zoe Sua Cho, written by Bora Kim, Park Ji-hu starring, Kim Sae-byeok starring, Jung In-gi starring, Lee Seung-Yun starring, Park Soo-yeon starring, Son Sang-yeon starring, Well Go USA Entertainment, 2018, 2h 18m, box office performance, budget, reviewed by Richard Whittaker, Nina Li Coomes, Cary Darling, Angie Han, David Ehrlich, Peter Sobczynski, Kathy Fennessy, Yasser Medina, Filipe Freitas, Witney Seibold, Dennis Harvey, MPAA rating, coming-of-age, character study, Seoul, Seongsu Bridge, collapse, love, adolescence, turning point, young woman’s life, sensitive, engrossing, naturalistic performances, striking debut, better future, businesses, teachers, world
Worldwide gross: $1,041,948
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $1,189,035
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,555
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 129,666
US/Canada gross: NA
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend:
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): NA
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): NA
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Kim Sae-byeok – Yong-ji
Jung In-gi – Eun-hee’s Dad
Lee Seung-Yun – Eun-hee’s Mom
Park Soo-yeon – Soo-hee
Son Sang-yeon – Dae-hoon
Director(s)
Bora Kim
Writer(s)
Bora Kim
Producer(s)
Bora Kim, Zoe Sua Cho
Film Festivals
Berlin
Awards & Nominations
59 wins & 48 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (48) | Top Critics (10) | Fresh (47) | Rotten (1)
That there is less a plot than a series of events is what distinguishes House of Hummingbird as a character study.
February 12, 2021
Richard Whittaker
Austin Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
With an easy, lingering tempo and stunning frames shot through with light, this South Korean drama leaves the viewer with a sense of contemplative midsummer lassitude.
August 13, 2020
Nina Li Coomes
Chicago Reader
TOP CRITIC
This slow-moving but exquisitely drawn character study and coming-of-age story, which has picked up several awards at film festivals around the world, takes its time getting where it’s going, but the cumulative impact of the journey is powerful.
July 16, 2020 | Rating: 4/5
Cary Darling
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
A really lovely, sensitive coming of age drama.
July 9, 2020
Angie Han
FilmWeek (KPCC – NPR Los Angeles)
TOP CRITIC
Sensitive and lived-in and strong in ways that a more forceful version of this story could never have been, Bora’s debut sketches a portrait of a girl coming into her own strength.
June 26, 2020 | Rating: B+
David Ehrlich
indieWire
TOP CRITIC
A thoughtful and engrossing take on a familiar theme that is boosted immeasurably by the contributions of writer/director Bora Kim and young lead actress Ji-hu Park.
June 26, 2020 | Rating: 4/4
Peter Sobczynski
RogerEbert.com
TOP CRITIC
Kim Bora avoids melodrama as Eun-hee faces one challenge after another, sometimes with grace, sometimes the opposite. If she isn’t a hero, she isn’t a victim either.
May 1, 2022 | Rating: 3.5/4
Kathy Fennessy
Seattle Film Blog
A coming-of-age drama that captures the dilemmas of adolescence with a certain compositional sobriety, but which turns out, at least for me, to be quite dull and routine when it slowly travels the univocal paths of indulgence. [Full review in Spanish]
November 28, 2021 | Rating: 6/10
Yasser Medina
Cinemaficionados
Eun-hee is not afraid to give a step forward and probe alternative directions that could bring her less suffering. And that, by itself, is laudable.
February 6, 2021 | Rating: 3/5
Filipe Freitas
Always Good Movies
A touching, true, brutal, and frustratingly achingly hopeful coming-of-age drama that will stay with me for a long, long time. One of the best films of 2020.
November 3, 2020
Witney Seibold
Critically Acclaimed Podcast
House builds impact almost imperceptibly, so that when our heroine finally lets her emotions out in a well-deserved tantrum, it’s like the sky is falling.
October 12, 2020
Dennis Harvey
48 Hills
A tale that mixes solemnity and spontaneity while possessing naturalistic performances from its central cast, House of Hummingbird is an assured debut from Kim Bora that truly soars.
September 23, 2020
Matthew St. Clair
Cinema Sentries…
Plot
In 1994 Seoul, a 14-year-old girl named Eunhee searches for love and navigates a turning point in her life after the collapse of the Seongsu Bridge in House of Hummingbird, a character study and coming-of-age story directed by Bora Kim.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels describes House of Hummingbird as a “striking debut” for writer-director Kim Bora.
Bora-Kim.jpg
