mystery, family, grief, identity, society
The Ugly is a 2025 South Korean mystery film about Dong-hwan, whose life is upended when his long-missing mother’s skeletal remains are discovered after four decades. Working with a documentary producer, Dong-hwan investigates the circumstances of his mother’s disappearance and the family secrets surrounding it, confronting the judgmental society that once ostracized her as a “monster”. The film, directed by Yeon Sang-ho and based on his graphic novel, explores themes of memory, identity, and the societal obsession with physical beauty
Toronto International Film Festival 2025
Yeon Sang-ho (born December 25, 1978) is a South Korean film director and screenwriter. He gained international popularity for working his adult animated films The King of Pigs (2011) and The Fake (2013), and the live-action film Train to Busan (2016), its animated prequel Seoul Station (2016) and live-action sequel Peninsula (2020), and first South Korean superhero film Psychokinesis (2018).
