Running Blue

Directed by Kim Yu-min

The events that precede and follow, for each of those present in turn, when a young woman is asked for verification of her identity one time too many, in this case when presenting a check at a convenience store. Despite the repetition of the central scene the personal stories and consequences are interestingly varied and unpredictable. The problem for the central character is that her country allows her no usable identity following her change of sex. This was true for the lead actress, South Korea's most famed woman of transsexual history, Ha Ri-su, but that is about as far as the plot bears any resemblance to her actual life. Since the film was released the actress became, by a landmark court case, the first in her country to to be allowed proper recognition and papers. There are of course many other countries which still impose the same difficulties on similar young women.