The Girl on a Bulldozer () is a 2022 South Korean mystery film directed by Park Yi-woong, starring Kim Hye-yoon, Park Hyuk-kwon, and Oh Man-seok. It tells the story of a daughter who digs up her father's whereabouts after a sudden accident. It was released theatrically on April 7, 2022.
The film has garnered critical acclaim and was nominated for the Best Film category at the Osaka Asian Film Festival. It achieved remarkable success at the box office, securing the first position in the Korean independent film category, while also ranking seventh in the overall box office. Moreover, upon its release on Netflix in Korea, the film made an impressive debut at number five and subsequently rise to the number one spot, maintaining its position for a week.
Synopsis
The film tells the story of a 19-year-old Goo Hye-young (Kim Hye-yoon) known as a troublemaker, who constantly gets into fights. For now she must learn to control her anger and take a vocational training course where she decided to learn how to drive a bulldozer, despite being told that it's a job closed off to women. With her tough image projected through her dragon tattoo, she channels most of her rage towards her father, Goo Bon-jin (Park Hyuk-kwon), who is a desperate restaurant owner caught in a cycle of drinking and gambling.
However, everything changes when Bon-jin gets into an accident and ends up in the hospital. Hye-young suddenly has no easy target to hate or blame for her existence and must face the fact that deep down she cares for her father. She must not only assume the responsibility of caring for her younger brother, but also uncover the mystery of how her father got into that accident.
Cast
Kim Hye-yoon as Goo Hye-young
a woman who is good at talking tough, but actually burdened by the weight of her father’s failings. Park Hyuk-kwon as Goo Bon-jin a restaurant owner and Hye-young's father who ended up being comatose after a sudden accident. Oh Man-seok as Choi Young-hwan a man who made Bon-jin promises he has no intention of keeping. Yesung as Go Yoo-seok a detective in charge of Bon-jin's accident Park Si-woo as Goo Hye-jeok Hye-young's younger brother.
Release
The Girl on a Bulldozer was screened at 26th Busan International Film Festival in October 2021 and is being screened at 2022 Florence Korean Film Festival in April 2022. It was released in theaters on April 7, 2022.