Synopsis

A Petty Middle manager is the first comedy film by LEE Bong Rae who was usually noticed by his polished melodramas until then, and the film has gained public favor. KIM Seung Ho, the head of Samchully Transport's branch office, has much trouble at work and loses his authority at home as well. To be a manager of the head office, he opens a dance hall on the second floor of the branch office for the mistress of his superior, KIM Hee Gap. It troubles him both at work and home. Along with , this film is a typical "KIM Seung Ho Style" family drama which features the father and salaried man of the lower middle class. The director LEE Bong Rae shows the joys and sorrows of people in the lower middle class, while adding wit and humor in the story. Biting satire and humor is the greatest strength of the film. In the mean time, the fathers in the director's movies, standing at the center of the story, are "quite good and right, but pitiable" according to the lines of the daughter. What those fathers can depend on is love among their family members, which they only get when they give up their authority. Despite many incidents, the dining table where all family members eat together is always full of laughter. Such a happy family life is possible because the fathers are not heavy-handed but liberal. On the one hand, the movie is full of biting sarcasms and witty lines, but on the other hand, it shows the life of ordinary people due to 4.19 revolution. However, since then, KIM Seung Ho's family dramas lost the flavor of sarcasm and criticism, and tragic affairs Instead, it put more emphasis on unemployment or adultery. In this respect, ​A Petty Middle manager can be seen as both the beginning and the peak of the genre. (LEE Gil Sung)

Diretor

LEE Bong Rae

Among the fans of Korean films, LEE Bong Rae is known as the director of A Petty Middle Manager  . He was, however, a multi-talented artist who focused on film and literature. As the intellectual of the era, he led the cultural movement those days.Born in 1922, LEE studied in Japan and worked as a journalist till his return to Korea. He came back to Korea after the Korean War, work as a critic and a scriptwriter. His early literary works are affected by modernism and showed the lifestyle of the people. LEE Bong Rae produced and directed wide range of films. He especially left a notable footprint on comedy film that contains the sense of the life those days. Lee's four films, including his famous A Petty Middle Manager and The Door of the Body , will be screened in the retrospective, providing a fine opportunity to reaffirm LEE Bong Rae"s talent as a director.