Pailan

An increasing number of Chinese and Japanese stars have signed to appear in Korean films. In Failan, Hong Kong top star Cecilia Cheung plays a Chinese woman of Korean descent named Failan who, after the death of her parents, comes to Korea to make a living. She pays for a fake marriage in order to obtain a working permit, but is then led unwitting into a bar to work as a prostitute. Only by some quick thinking is she able to escape her situation and find a job at a laundromat run by an old woman. Meanwhile her legal husband, a third-rate gangster played by Choi Min-shik (Old Boy), is embroiled in troubles of his own. He dreams of returning to his hometown, but fights with fellow gang members as his life edges closer to collapse. One day, he receives a letter written in halting Korean from his wife, whom he has never met. (Independent Cinema Office)