GEOMEN TANGYI SONYEO OI

There is a long tradition of films dealing with difficult childhoods amid tough economic circumstances, but it has been a while since there has been one quite so powerful as With the Girl of Black Soil. The latest quiet wonder from the ever-fertile world of South Korean cinema, its distinction deserves to raise writer and director Jeon Soo-il: The superb contribution of cinematographer Kim Sung-tai is only one outstanding aspect of a production that excels in pretty much every area, both behind and in front of the camera. But the star is nine-year-old newcomer Yoo Yeon-mi. She is simply breathtaking - and heartbreaking - as Choi Young-lim, who lives with her father and mentally-handicapped brother in a industrial corner of mountainous Kangwon province. The father toils below ground at the coal-mine, long the area's main employer, which is now winding down. Unable to cope with being laid off, he declines into alcoholic despair, leaving Choi effectively in charge of a rapidly-worsening situation. Jeon Soo-il and his collaborators take an austere, measured approach to establishing the characters' precise geographical and social setting. (Neil Young)