The Surrogate Womb
A barren noblewoman encourages her husband to take a young peasant as a surrogate to secure the male line.
A barren noblewoman encourages her husband to take a young peasant as a surrogate to secure the male line.
Kang Soo-youn
Ok-nyeo
Kim Hyung-ja
Pil-nyeo
Bang Hee
Ms. Yoon
Yoon Yang-ha
Shin Chi-ho
Han Eun-jin
Grandmother
Lee Gu-sun
Shin Sang-gyu
Kim Jeong-ha
A barren noblewoman encourages her husband to take a young peasant as a surrogate to secure the male line.
Surrogate Woman is South Korean master **Im Kwon-Taek's** breakout international success, a film that would in many ways presage his critically acclaimed **Chunhyang**. The period drama occurs in the Yi dynasty, and covers the progress of a love affair gone terribly awry. Shin, a young heir, is given a surrogate wife to bear his child. However, **Ok-nyo** becomes more than this for him, and the couple soon become passionate lovers. The woman may have the social status of a servant, but the relationship changes both of them -- at least for a time. Lead actress **Kang Soo-Yeon** has been widely acclaimed in her role as the surrogate mother. Unfortunately, the film frequently wears its heart on its sleeve, almost forcing its emotionalism on you in the process. The events are traumatic, to be sure, and one is set to wonder about the plight of so many women even less fortunate than **Ok-nyo**. The overwhelming feeling is that a woman's emotional core has been gutted and spread out for all to see; it's more wrenching than many a blood and guts actioner. It lacks the distance of his later masterpieces like Sopyonje and Festival -- both equally tragic.
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