MOVIE

The Bargain

2021 · 118 min ·

Liu wants to sell his unprofitable travel agency business. One day, when one of his employees falls into a coma for a dubious reason, his family and relatives come to Liu, demanding a settlement. Meanwhile, Liu's ex-wife Tao Qing, a middle school teacher, is troubled by her lover who keeps on delaying their marriage, and his teenage daughter, while her son Yi Fan, who has no experiences or skills to show for or things he wants to do, happens to befriend a group of people who illegally drive cars. Director Wang Qi, who is visiting Busan for the first time with THE BARGAIN, depicts a dense narrative of a dispersed family that is struggling in the rapidly changing modern Chinese society and the wave of capitalism. The occasional handheld camera and close-up shots placed appropriately throughout the film add powerful emotions to the sober narrative.