“Return to Seoul”, on the other hand, was critically acclaimed with its premiere at the prestigious Un Certain Regard section of the Cannes Film Festival, but has received only limited box office success in South Korea.
The film was selected as the Cambodian entry for the Best International Feature Film category at the 95th Academy Awards. But according to official cinema figures, only about 4,500 people have seen it in South Korea.
Industry figures show that it grossed barely US$2 million worldwide. By comparison, the summer blockbuster “Barbie” grossed about US$1.4 billion.
In Chow’s film, actress Park plays Freddy, a courageous and ruthless Korean-born French adoptee who, at the age of 25, sets out on a quest to find her birth parents.