A Normal Family

Based on the celebrated Dutch novel Het Diner (The Dinner) by Herman Koch, which has sold more than a million copies and has been translated into several languages, A Normal Family is the latest work by renowned Korean filmmaker Hur Jin-ho. A drama about privilege, nepotism, and moral decline, the film explores the darker side of normalcy in a transglobal tale of binding blood ties that end up disintegrating the lives of its protagonists.

Jae-wan (Sul Kyung-gu), a successful lawyer, takes on the case of a rich executive’s son, who has purposely run over and killed a man and left his daughter seriously injured. It’s Jae-wan’s job to defend a murderer, just another rung on his career’s golden-stepped ladder. His younger brother (Jang Dong-gun), on the contrary, is a scrupulous and upstanding paediatrician, who always puts the health of his patients over profit and money, often contravening the rules of the private clinic where he works.

The brothers meet once a month with their wives for fine dining in expensive restaurants, but when an unexpected situation involving their teenage kids arises, their consciences are questioned and their usual dinner conversation takes an unexpected turn. As tensions heighten, their apparent fraternal closeness dissolves like snow in the sun.

Exploring the dichotomies between right and wrong, remorse and forgiveness, and what is said and not said, Hur’s solid direction and impeccable performances from the cast add weight and finesse to this dysfunctional story of the life of a family.

Official Selection, 2023 Toronto International Film Festival

Content advisory: violence, coarse language