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A Tale of Two Sisters (2003)

Genre : Horror, Thriller, Tragedy, Mystery, Drama.

Language : Korean
Country : South Korea
Cast : Su-Jeong Lim, Moon Geun Young, Jung-Ah Yum.
Directed by : Kim Ji-Woon
Run Time : 115 min
Release Date : 13th June, 2003

Synopsis :

“A Tale of Two Sisters” (Korean: Janghwa, Hongryeon a.k.a Changhwa, Hongnyŏ; Literally means, "Rose Flower, Red Lotus") is a 2003 South Korean psychological horror film directed by Kim Ji-Woon. The film is inspired by a Joseon Dynasty folktale entitled "Janghwa Hongreyon-jon", which has been adapted to film several times.

Director Kim Ji-Woon’s “A Tale of Two Sisters” has been hailed as one of the best Asian horror films of recent years, and has been snapped up by the Hollywood machine for a Western release and pointless remake. Although the plot and central premise may at first sound suspiciously familiar, and though Asian ghost stories are rapidly outstaying their welcome, the film succeeds not so much through its supernatural aspects, but rather its fascinating psychological examination of grief and sadness!

Plot :

The film begins with Su-Mi being brought to a psychiatrist. She is unresponsive until a picture of her family is shown in front of her. She is taken home by her father, Moo-Hyeon, along with her timid sister, Su-Yeon. There, they are met by their difficult stepmother, Eun-Joo.

That night Su-Yeon awakes to find somebody in her room and she flees to her sister. Su-Mi promises Su-Yeon that she will always be there for her and they fall asleep.

Su-Mi awakens after a nightmare to find that Su-Yeon has begun her period, as has her stepmother, on the very same day. The girls look at some old photos, which reveal that Eun-Joo was a doctor and a co-worker of Moo-Hyeon. Su-Mi sees bruises on Su-Yeon's arms and accuses Eun-Joo.

At dinner with guests (Eun-Joo's brother, Sun-Kyu, and his wife), Eun-Joo acts strangely. During dinner, Sun-Kyu's wife begins to choke and convulse on the floor. After they leave, Eun-Joo investigates around, only to be startled by a hand that reaches out as she tries to pick up a pin.

Eun-Joo insists that strange events have become frequent since Su-Mi and Su-Yeon returned. Her pet bird is slain and found in Su-Yeon's bed. In a rage, she locks Su-Yeon in the wardrobe, and after Su-Yeon is freed, Moo-Hyeon asks Su-Mi why she is making trouble.

Su-Mi insists that the stepmother harasses Su-Yeon, locking her in the closet. Moo-Hyeon informs her that Su-Yeon is dead, and that she is not getting better. The scene ends with Su-Yeon emotionally screaming.

Su-Mi wakes to find her sister missing and believes she sees her stepmother dragging around a bloody bag through the corridors of the house and beating it. Su-Mi runs to the kitchen to grab scissors to free her sister but Eun-Joo attempts to stop her by splashing boiling water from the kettle onto her. A fight ensues and Su-Mi is rendered unconscious.

Moo-Hyeon returns home to find an injured Su-Mi, however all evidence is suspiciously gone as are the stepmother and bag.

The scene shifts, Su-Mi is now shown as the stepmother. She looks up in surprise, and the camera rotates to show the real stepmother, standing in the door way, looking sympathetic. When the camera turns around again, Su-Mi is back where she was. All memories flash through her mind that gives evidence of her illness.

It is revealed that all along Su-Yeon really has been dead, and the stepmother was absent. Su-Mi was acting as the stepmother and imagining her sister throughout the film because of a severe dissociative identity disorder.

Su-Mi then flashes back to a time when Eun-Joo was a live-in nurse caring for the girls' sick mother. The girls sense that Eun-Joo and Moo-Hyeon are flirting. Su-Mi displays her disapproval toward Eun-Joo, who in turn takes her anger out on Su-Yeon. Su-Yeon, then returns to her room and collapses on her bed in tears. Su-Yeon's mother is shown trying to comfort her as she too starts crying.

The flashback ends, and the stepmother sits alone in the quiet home. A noise comes from Su-Yeon's room. When she investigates, the wardrobe opens and from it crawls out the ghost, presumably of either Su-Yeon or her mother. The scene ends ambiguously with a scream.

The flashback picks up again from when Su-Yeon had fallen asleep, with her waking up and discovering her dead mother inside her wardrobe, who had hanged herself with an article of clothing. Terrified, Su-Yeon shakes the body and screams. A bottle of pills drops and spills open, while Su-Yeon accidentally pulls the wardrobe down on top of herself, causing her to scream again.

Various people in the house hear the bang, but not the scream. Out of everyone, only Eun-Joo (the nurse and future stepmother) goes to investigate. She discovers Su-Yeon screaming for help and clawing at the wardrobe. Eun-Joo leaves rather than helping Su-Yeon, but then changes her mind and heads back for the scene. En route, she passes Su-Mi coming out of her room to investigate the noise. An argument starts between Eun-Joo and Su-Mi. During the argument, Su-Yeon is shown whimpering under the wardrobe.

After the argument, when Su-Mi tries to leave the house, Eun-Joo stops her. Eun-Joo advises her to go and investigate the noise, warning Su-Mi that she might regret it if she doesn't. Su-Mi dismisses the warning as nonsense and angrily marches out of the house. Outside, Su-Mi passes Moo-Hyeon, who was going to investigate. Moo-Hyeon assumes that the noise was Su-Mi's, and he ends up not entering the house.

The scene switches back to Su-Yeon crying out for Su-Mi's help, because Eun-Joo decided not to go back and help her. Su-Yeon continues clawing at the wardrobe until she eventually dies. Outside the house, Su-Mi turns back long enough to exchange angry stares with Eun-Joo, who is standing on the balcony. The film ends with Su-Mi continuing to walk away from the house, but stopping to pause and think.

As the credits scroll, an image is shown of Su-Mi sitting on the dock by the pond. She is in the same outfit as in an earlier scene: The day she had come home and had done the same with Su-Yeon. However, this time, Su-Mi is sitting alone!

Remake:

“The Uninvited” (2009), is an American remake of this Korean thriller drama starring ‘Emily Browning’ as Anna Ivers (Su-Mi), and ‘Arielle Kebbel’ as Alex Ivers (Su-Yeong).

Cast :

■ Su-Jeong Lim - Bae Soo-Mi (Janghwa)
■ Moon Geun-Young - Bae Soo-Yeon (Hongryeon) 
■ Jung-Ah Yum - Eun-Joo (Step Mother) 
■ Kap-Su Kim - Bae Moo-Hyeon (Father)

Awards :

1. It won the 2003 Blue Dragon Award for the Best New Actress – Su-Jeong Lim.
2. It won the New Currents Award for the Best New Actress - Su-Jeong Lim at the Pusan International Film Festival in 2003. 
3. It won the Festival Trophy for the Best Picture at the Screamfest Awards in 2003. 
4. It won the Silver Raven Award for the Best Supporting Actress – Jung-Ah Yum at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film in 2004. 
5. It won the Most Popular Film Award at the Fant-Asia Film Festival in 2004. 
6. It won the International Fantasy Film Award for the Best Film, Best Director & Best Actress – Su-Jeong Lim at the Fantasporto Awards in 2004. 
7. It won the Orient Express Section Special Jury Award at the Fantasporto Awards in 2004. 
8. It won the Grand Prize, Prix 13ème Rue & Youth Jury Grand Prize at the Gérardmer Film Festival in 2004. 
9. It was nominated at the 2003 Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival for the Best Film. 
10. It was nominated at the 2006 Chlotrudis Awards for the Best Supporting Actress – Jung-Ah Yum.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.4/10;  RottenTomatoes.com = 7.2/10
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, RottenTomatoes, HanCinema, BeyondHollywood]

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...Ing (2003)

Genre : Romance, Comedy, Melodrama.

Language : Korean
Country : South Korea
Cast : Im Su-Jeong, Kim Rae-Won, Lee Mi-Sook.
Directed by : Lee Eon-Hie
Run Time : 104 min
Release Date : 24th November, 2003

Synopsis :

“...Ing” (Korean : Ai En Chi), also known as “The Guy Was Cool” or “The Cool Guy” is a 2003 South Korean film that follows the life of young woman who has become reserved and indifferent to the world as a result of her chronic illness and deformed hand.

The film quietly portrays the unconventional, yet endearing relationship between mother and daughter Min-Ah (Im Su-jeong) and Mi-Sook (Lee Mi-Sook) as well as the development of Min-Ah as she is befriended by the high spirited and carefree photographer Young-Jae (Kim Rae-Won) who moves into their apartment complex.

Plot :

“…ing”, oddly as it sound but yet a highly engaging romantic melodrama about living life one day at a time. Kang Min-Ah (Im Soo-Jung) is a pretty high school girl who has had the misfortune of spending most of her life in hospitals, especially during her formative years. Min-Ah has a deformed hand, and unbeknownst to her, a terminal illness within her. However, Min-Ah’s single mother Mi-Sook (Lee Mi-Sook) does know the truth and keeps it hidden from her daughter, instead trying to turn this negative fact into positive motivation. Although hurting on the inside, Mi-Sook puts on a brave face, encouraging her daughter to take life by the horns and live in the here and now. Min-Ah is skeptical, but soon finds the possibilities of life re-opening to her.

On the way to school, she finds a person who lost his love in a road-accident at the front of Min-Ah's high school. For this reason, he helps the school girls to cross the road. Min-Ah heard from the teacher that the man lost his girl-friend in front of the school on a rainy day, so in the rain the man cries missing his love. According to Min-Ah, "TRUE LOVE IS NOT ABOUT GETTING, BUT IS GIVING!"


Soon enough, a photographer named Young-Jae (Kim Rae-Won) enters both of their lives by moving into the downstairs apartment. Upon seeing her, Young-Jae immediately does his best to win Min-Ah’s attention, engaging in a series of well-intentioned, but slightly juvenile acts that he hopes will make her change her mind about him. Although highly resistant at first, Min-Ah eventually caves in to Young-Jae’s goofily charming persistence, and the two embark on a tentative friendship. Much to the delight of her mother, the friendship between Min-Ah and Young-Jae eventually turns to love (albeit chaste), and they soon plan a trip to Hawaii together to see the sea turtles. But with the bitter realities of Min-Ah’s fatal illness looming low on the horizon, one begins to wonder if the budding couple will be able to make it to Hawaii before it’s too late..!

Cast :

■ Gang Min-Ah (Im Su-Jeong) 
■ Young-Jae (Kim Rae-Won) 
■ Mi Sook (Lee Mi-Sook) 
■ Kyung-Soo (Yun Chan) 
■ Guard (Kim In-Mun)

Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.4/10;  HanCinema.net = 9.1/10; SpcNet.tv = 4.5/5
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, HanCinema, SpcNet]

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The Classic (2003)

Genre : Romance, Comedy, Tragedy, Melodrama, War Drama.
Language : Korean
Country : South Korea
Cast : Son Ye-Jin, Cho Seung-Woo, Jo In-Sung, Lee Ki-Woo.
Directed by : Kwak Jae-Yong
Run Time : 127 min
Release Date : 30th January, 2003

Synopsis :

“The Classic” (Korean: Keulraesik) is a 2003 classic Korean romantic melodrama film starring Son Ye-Jin, Cho Seung-Woo and Jo In-Seong. "The Classic" is director Kwak Jae-Yong's long-awaited follow-up to his 2001 smash hit "My Sassy Girl”.

This film shows the parallel love stories of a mother and daughter, bridging two different time periods. The story of the mother is told partially in flashbacks. It will be justified to say that “The Classic” is an important milestone in the history of Korean romantic melodramas!

Plot :

The film begins in the present day, where the daughter, Ji-Hye (Son Ye-Jin), is cleaning-up around her house when she comes across a box containing an old diary and some love letters belonging to her mother, Joo-Hee (also played by Son Ye-Jin). Periodically in the film, Ji-Hye reads one of these letters, which starts a flashback scene which begins narrating the 1960’s story about the love triangle that formed between Ji-Hye's mother Joo-Hee, her future father Tae-Soo (Lee Ki-Woo), and Tae-Soo's best friend Joon-Ha (Cho Seung-Woo). Though Joo-Hee fell in love with Joon-Ha after a chance meeting in the countryside, she was already engaged to Tae-Soo in an arranged marriage!

Meanwhile, in the present, Ji-Hye has some romantic entanglements of her own to work out. She is in love with Sang-Min (Jo In-Seong), the boyfriend of her narcissistic best friend Soo-Kyeong (Lee Sang-In) and a senior in the theatre club, yet finds herself unable to express her true feelings. On the other side, Soo-Kyeong asks Ji-Hye to do her a favor – write a love letter to Sang-Min. Ji-Hye pours out her own feelings for him on paper, but sadly in her friend’s name. Touched by the letter, Sang-Min is attracted to Soo-Kyeong, and Ji-Hye. Feeling uncomfortable and even guilty, Ji-Hye tries to avoid him. And yet by coincidence or by fate she keeps running into him. Bouncing back and forth, the film draws parallels between the heartbreak, lessons learned, and travails of mother and daughter, whose destinies are inextricably intertwined!

Flashback to the summer of 1968...The mother, Joo-Hee visits the countryside as a student during her summer vacation and meets Joon-Ha. Together they explore the countryside, playing near a small river bridge with the fireflies. When a storm starts they take shelter together under a tree, but not before Joo-Hee twists her ankle and is rendered helpless. Joon-Ha carries her on his back and they struggle home, only to be confronted by her angry parents. Before they separate, Joo-Hee gives him a necklace, which he keeps close as a precious reminder of their time together.

Having parted with Joo-Hee without a word of farewell, Joon-Ha spends the rest of the summer heavy-hearted! With summer vacation being over Joon-Ha also returns to Seoul. At school, his classmate Tae-Soo asks him to write a love letter to send to a girl. And who would it be but Joo-Hee, Joon-Ha’s dream girl. Unable to confess his own summer love story, Joon-Ha reluctantly complies with his friend’s request!

Unfortunately, as often happens in affairs of the heart, a third party prevents any deepening of their relationship. Joo-Hee has been promised by her parents as a bride to Tae-Soo, Joon-Ha's best friend. But Tae-Soo, a noble friend, finds out about Joo-Hee and Joon-Ha's attraction for each other and helps the two communicate secretly by letting them use his own name in place of Joon-Ha's in their letters. When Tae-Soo's father finds this out, however, he beats Tae-Soo. Tae-Soo tries unsuccessfully to commit suicide so that his two friends can be together!






Meanwhile, in the present, Ji-Hye falls for Sang-Min in whom her friend Soo-Kyeong is also very interested, but he seems not to notice. Then, in a sweet scene, they take shelter from the rain together under the same tree. He uses his coat to cover both of them and escorts her to where she needs to go. The moment, while magical, does not go anywhere as she feels his help was only due to his generous nature and not from any feelings for her on his part.

Back in the past, Joon-Ha is guilt-ridden over his friend's attempted suicide and Joo-Hee's own guilt. Determined to prevent any more hurt to her, Joon-Ha joins the army and goes to Vietnam. There he loses his eyesight while he tries to retrieve the necklace Joo-Hee had given him. When he returns to Korea, he meets again with Joo-Hee, and, trying to hide his blindness, convinces her that he has married in the hope she will move on with her life. Though heartbroken that their relationship cannot continue, she does move on and eventually marries Tae-Soo. After they have been married for several years and have a young daughter (Ji-Hye), Joo-Hee is approached by friends of Joon-Ha, who relate Joon-Ha's last wish – ‘that his ashes be scattered by Joo-Hee in the river, now a reservoir, where they first met!’ She then finds out that Joon-Ha hadn't married, but he later did after she married Tae-Soo! She was told that he had a son also. The heart-break is too much and she cries.

In the present, Ji-Hye's own story unfolds. Sang-Min reveals his true feelings for Ji-Hye - feelings that mirror her own! It is also revealed that their taking shelter together during the storm was no accident – he had purposely left his umbrella behind in a shop so that he could join her under the tree. Then, when Ji-Hye pensively reveals her mother's story to him, tears stream down his face. Silently he lifts a necklace from around his neck and places it around hers. It is the necklace that Ji-Hye's mother, Joo-Hee, had given to Joon-Ha when they met. The circle is completed – Joo-Hee's daughter and Joon-Ha's son have fallen in love!

In other words, the eternal love between Joo-Hee and Joon-Ha has finally got its destination across the divisions of time – in the shape of the love between Ji-Hye and Sang-Min! ...The younger generation has accomplished the aspirations in their lives what their parents could not!

Cast :

■ Ji-Hye / Joo-Hee, Mother of Ji-Hye (Son Ye-Jin)

■ Joon-Ha, Father of Ji-Hye (Cho Seung-Woo)

■ Sang-Min (Jo In-Seong)

■ Tae-Soo, Friend of Joon-Ha (Lee Ki-Woo)

■ Soo-Kyeong, Friend of Ji-Hye (Lee Sang-In)

■ Na-Hee, Friend of Joo-Hee (Seo Yeong-Hee)

■ Shopkeeper (Im Ye-Jin)

Awards :

1. It won the 40th Dae Jong Sang Award for the Best New Actress - Son Ye-Jin in 2003.
2. It won the 39th Baek Sang Arts Award for the Best New Actress - Son Ye-Jin in 2003.
3. It won the 24th Blue Dragon Film Award for the Most Favourite/ Popular Star - Son Ye-Jin in 2003.
4. It won the 9th Moscow International Love Movie Award for the Best Couple in 2004.
5. It was nominated at the 2004 Hong Kong Film Awards for the Best Asian Film.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.7/10;  HanCinema.net = 9.1/10; KYHB.com = 9/10

[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, HanCinema, KMDb, KoreanMovie, MediaCircus]

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A Millionaire’s First Love (2006)

Genre : Romance, Comedy, Tragedy, Melodrama.
Language : Korean
Country : South Korea
Cast : Hyun Bin, Lee Yeon-Hee, Lee Han-Sol, Jo Yong-Jun.
Directed by : Kim Tae-Gyun
Run Time : 116 min
Release Date : 9th February, 2006

Synopsis :

“A Millionaire's First Love” (Korean: Baek-Man-Jang-Ja-Ui Cheot-Sarang) is a successful Korean romance film starring Hyun Bin and Lee Yeon-Hee in the lead roles. The basic theme of this movie is "Nothing is more important than the true love of your heart!".

Plot :

The story of the movie revolves around the life of a typical rich guy, Kang Jae-Kyung (Hyun Bin) who has no goal in life, and is just busy in enjoying the luxuries. He’s arrogant, spoilt rotten, drives sporty cars, attends the big clubs and rides through school corridors on his motorbike. On his 18th birthday, he’s set to inherit his grandfather’s multi-million dollar fortune. But to his surprise, there’s a strange condition in his grandfather’s will that he has to graduate from an unknown and low-profile school in a hilly town, Gangwondo, if he wants to inherit that fortune. The only way to inherit his fortune without a certificate from this school is to get expelled!

Until then all access to his penthouse, cottage and credit cards is denied. Should he fail to graduate or drop out then he loses everything. With little choice he heads out to the countryside and a small town in which daily life is far removed from what he’s used to. Now, he makes all the trouble he can but everything fails. He even bribes the principal to expel him, but it’s futile. Trapped in a place where everything is forgiven, he has no choice but to finish school!

Shortly after settling into his new home he meets 18 year-old class monitor, Choi Eun-Whan (Lee Yeon-Hee), who just happened to run into him back in Seoul. They don’t exactly hit it off; he’s far too stubborn and cool for school, while she sees hope for him and sets out to make him see it for himself. As they eventually draw closer, thanks to a set of coincidences and school projects they learn more about one another, and love finds its way to the heart of this rude, spoiled boy. Her existence creeps into his heart and shakes up his closed-minded world. Kang Jae-Kyung learns of Choi Eun-Whan's terminal disease and does what he can to make her happy. He even tells his lawyer that he would give up his inheritance so he could buy and save the orphanage for her.

 

Once during the rehearsal of a play at the school, Kang Jae-Kyung notices that the play is actually like the incident that had happened in his life. He recalls a childhood memory of being at the orphanage at Gangwondo, where he had met Choi Eun-Whan and had made a promise to return in ten days. He was unable to fulfil his promise and did not remember his promise nor the girl because his parents had died in an accident so he erased all his memories of the tragic and unfortunate past!

Their lives are forever changed as they fight the disease together and their love grows even stronger with time! “A Millionaire's First Love” also reminds us some similarities in its plot and characters with the hit American romance film, “A Walk to Remember”!

Cast :

■ Kang Jae-Kyung (Hyun Bin)

■ Choi Eun-Whan (Lee Yeon-Hee)

■ Goo-Ho (Jo Yong-Joon)

■ Myungshik (Lee Han-Sol)

Ratings : IMDB.com = 7.1/10; HanCinema.net = 9.1/10

[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, HanCinema, KMDb]

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Ballad Of A Soldier (1959)

Genre : War Drama, Romance.
Language : Russian
Country : Soviet Union (USSR)
Cast : Vladimir Ivashov, Zhanna Prokhorenko.
Directed by : Grigori Chukhrai
Run Time : 88 min
Release Date : 1st December, 1959

Synopsis :
“Ballad of a Soldier” (Russian: Ballada O Soldate) is an apolitical Soviet film depicting the humanitarian impulses of its characters to their nature rather than to an adherence to state ideologies. The plot of the film is set during World War II and shows how the Red Army soldier Alyosha tries to make it home during a leave, meeting several people on his way and falling in love with Shura.

Ballad of a Soldier is not primarily a war film. It recounts, within the context of the turmoil of war, various kinds of love - the romantic love of a young couple, the committed love of a married couple, and a mother's love of her child!

Plot :
The film tells the story of a young and naive Russian soldier Alexei Nikolaevich Skvortsov aka ‘Alyosha’ (Vladimir Ivashov) and his journey to home in the midst of World War II. The story starts with the chase of a scared signalman Pvt. Alyosha (19) by two German tanks. In the attempt of self-preservation, Alyosha single-handedly manages to destroy the German tanks and earns a commendation for his bravery. Instead of accepting a medal, he requests the General to grant him a 4-day leave to go home. The kind General awarded him a 6-day leave pass to visit his mother and repair the leaking roof of his village house!

During his journey to home, he encounters the devastation the war has brought on his war-torn country and meets numerous people and uses up much of his valuable leave time through his efforts to help others! The first person he met was a soldier Pvt. Pavlov, who asked Alyosha to meet his wife in route to home and give her two pieces of soap as a gift. At the railway station, Alyosha helps and encourages a veteran soldier Vasya (Yevgeni Urbansky) who, having lost a leg in the war, is afraid to return to his wife, fearing she might reject him!

At the changing station, Alyosha met a venal train guard Gavrilkin (Aleksandr Kuznetsov) willing to grant him free passage in a freight car of a military supply train in exchange for some cans of beef. Riding in the train, he met a young and beautiful girl Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko) and falls in love with her. The scared girl made innocent Alyosha to believe that she’s on her way to visit her fiancé. So, he tried to help her in any way to reach her destination. On the way, Alyosha met Pavlov’s wife (V. Markova) and found that she has betrayed her husband by marrying other man. He took back the soaps from her, and gives it to old and sick Pavlov’s father (Vladimir Pokrovsky) in the hospital, who longs for his son’s return.

After wasting his most of the leave time in helping others, Alyosha finally manages to arrive home too late. He only has enough time to hug his mother and immediately start on his journey back to his unit, before his 6-day leave expires. He finds his way back to the front but, as told via voiceover, he never returns from the war! At the end, the voiceover narrator says, “He would have been a fine man.... but we remember him just as a soldier - a Russian Soldier!” - emphasizing not his political ideology but his national identity!

Cast :
■ Private Alyosha Skvortsov (Vladimir Ivashov)
■ Shura (Zhanna Prokhorenko)
■ Alyosha’s Mother (Antonina Maksimova)
■ The General (Nikolai Kryuchkov)
■ Vasya (Yevgeni Urbansky)
■ Vasya's Wife (Elza Lezhdey)
■ Gavrilkin -The Train Sentry (Aleksandr Kuznetsov)
■ Zoya (Marina Kremnyova)
■ Liza - Pavlov’s Wife (V. Markova)
■ Old man in Hospital - Pavlov’s Father (Vladimir Pokrovsky)

Awards :
1. It won the Special Jury Prize at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.
2. It won the Golden Wolf Award for Best Film at the 1960 Bucharest Film Festival.
3. It won the Golden Gate Award for Best Film and Best Director at the 5th San Francisco International Film Festival, 1960.
4. It won the 1960 Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Participation.
5. It won the 1961 BAFTA Award for Best Film - Any Source.
6. It won the Bodil Awards for Best European Film, 1961.
7. It was nominated for the 1961 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay.
8. It was nominated for the 1960 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Award for Best Foreign Film.

Ratings : IMDB.com = 8.1/10; AllMovie.com = 4/5.
[Source : Wikipedia, IMDB, AllMovie, Criterion]

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