So Yong Kim gets rave reviews for her 2nd film Treeless Mountain

Treeless Mountain is a simple story about a six-year-old girl, Jin, and her journey to early maturity. Jin's sensitivity and the complexity of the emotions stem from her desire to have her family life back. She must let go of everything she has known in order to persevere. In this sense Treeless Mountain is an intimate portrait of a young girl and a classic coming-of-age story.

Treeless Mountain was written and directed by So Yong Kim and was inspired by events from her early childhood in Pusan, Korea. "My mother divorced our father and left us with our grandparents on a rice farm. She immigrated to America in order to find a better life for herself and to build a future for her children. At the time of these events we were too young to understand and our mother did not tell us what was happening. I began writing the film to search for certain lost memories from this period of my life and also as a letter to my mother," said So Yong Kim.

As the story began to take shape, Jin, the main character, took on her own distinctive personality and blossomed. As the writing progressed, the story and the characters began to separate from actual events from my life. Jin's emotional and physical journey became the main force of the story. As in the case of the Aimie character in IN BETWEEN DAYS, I used my personal memories and experience as the starting point to develop Jin, and then allowed her to dictate her own journey.

Reviews
“Exquisite. A quiet, poignant drama of abandonment and resilience.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“Simply one of he best films about childhood ever made! Remarkable performances.”
– Melissa Anderson, Village Voice

“(A) neo-realist gem!” – Stephen Holden, The New York Times

“Lovely. An unsentimental and delicately observed portrayal of the quiet resilience of children… Tremendously affecting performances.”
– Gavin Smith, Film Comment Magazine

“There's enough heart here to sense that the world -
the one inside the movie theater - is expanding.”
– Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

“Features heart-tugging performances by real-life sisters, ages 7 and 5.”
– V.A. Musetto, New York Post

“Superbly realized… the film ends on a beautifully retrained note of resilience.”
– Anthony Kaufman, indieWIRE

“Lovely.” – Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

“Life-affirming… beautifully natural performances.” – Robert Koehler, Variety

“Superbly realized…beautifully restrained.” – Anthony Kaufman, indieWIRE

OPENS APRIL 22 – NEW YORK - FILM FORUM
MAY 8 – LOS ANGELES – MUSIC BOX and MPARK THEATRE

NATIONAL EXPANSION TO FOLLOW

*CENTERPIECE FILM FOR LOS ANGELES ASIAN PACIFIC FILM FEST – MAY 2 - DGA

Written & Directed by: So Yong Kim
Produced by: Bradley Rust Gray, Ben Howe, Lars Knudsen, Jay Van Hoy, So Yong Kim
Running Time: 89 minutes
Rating: Not Rated by the MPAA
World Premiere: Toronto International Film Festival, 2008
Official Selection: New Directors/New Films, New York 2009