The Bacchus Lady

2016

1 hr. 50 min.

Drama

List

100%

7 Reviews

Tomatometer

90%

Fewer than 50 Ratings

Audience Score

So-young, an aged prostitute, hears the news that Song, one of her regulars, had a stroke, so she visits the hospital to see if he is fine. Then, she gets confused because Song pleads with her to kill him.

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Audience Member

The best Korean movie.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Sad.. sad.. and sad.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

didnt expect, but one of the best movie that i watched. showing ppl at the bottom of their society where there is no protection and help from anywhere

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/01/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A wonderful real-life portrait of the korean social phenomenon of "bacchus ladies", elder prostitutes, sometimes in their 80s, who offer sexual services in parks and cheap hotels to support themselves. It also explores, with great poetry and tenderness, the themes of life, death and acceptance. A great portrait of how greed and modernity destroy a traditional life system based on values, family and mutual assistance. Absolutely not to be missed.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/23/23

Full Review

Audience Member

So many feeling and thoughts watching this sad but heartwarming-in-its-own-way movie. I started cringing watching how the main character makes her ends meet but she also carries on and contributes to her surroundings to the farthest extent that she knows how.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

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Je-yong Lee

Director

Youn Yuh-jung

So-young

Jeon Moo-song

Jae-woo

Yoon Kye-sang

Do-hoon

Ye Soo-jung

Bok-hui

Jo Sang-geon

Jong-su

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Phil Hoad

Guardian

A worthwhile, idiosyncratic film anchored with charismatic resignation by Youn.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 18, 2021

Full Review

Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

The Blue Lenses

Together, Youn Yuh-jung and E J-yong add a poignancy and subtlety to the story of this particular Bacchus Lady in a movie that in lesser hands could collapse into gratuitous exploitation.

Aug 25, 2018

Full Review

Andrew Heskins

easternKicks.com

Youn Yuh-jung stars in E J-Yong's comedy-drama about elderly sex workers...

Rated: 4/5

Sep 23, 2020

Full Review

Tori Brazier

One Room With A View

The Bacchus Lady is a twist on the tale of a hooker with a heart of gold, and this time it's a deliciously dark heart beating underneath all of its brushings-off.

Rated: 4/5

Mar 13, 2019

Full Review

Panos Kotzathanasis

HanCinema

The eventually film becomes subtler, after having presented realistically, the actual work conditions of these women while Lee retains a relaxed rhythm, although the utterly sad ending sets things straight, regarding the reality of So-yeong's life.

Dec 16, 2018

Full Review

Sarah Ward

Concrete Playground

Neither storyline plays out as you might expect, and nor does the resulting emotional impact.

Nov 29, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

So-young, an aged prostitute, hears the news that Song, one of her regulars, had a stroke, so she visits the hospital to see if he is fine. Then, she gets confused because Song pleads with her to kill him.

Director: Je-yong Lee
Executive Producer: Je-yong Lee
Screenwriter: Je-yong Lee
Production Co: Korean Academy of Film Arts
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Korean