Man-soo, a railroad engineer, experiences a traumatic accident, while Hanna, a German-language university lecturer who is having an affair with one of her colleagues, also suffers a personal tragedy. The two meet after boarding a train on the Gyeongui Line, and find themselves stranded in heavy snow at the last stop before the Korean Demilitarized Zone. With no other choice they are forced to spend the night together, and over time they begin to open up to each other and reveal their inner pains.
Following a lukewarm reception to his debut feature, The Twins, director Park Heung-sik wrote the screenplay for The Railroad determined to make a film with a story he wanted to tell. His wife, Park Gok-ji, attached herself to the project as co-producer and co-editor, and used her influence within the local film industry to assist in the production. Director Park drew on his own experiences for the film; the character of Hanna was influenced by a woman he once saw in Taejongdae who looked suicidal, and he chose her profession as a German-language lecturer having studied German himself. The Railroad was supported by the 2005 KOFIC Production Support for Low-budget Films program.
Distribution and reception
The Railroad made its world premiere at the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in October 2006. The film competed in the New Current section and received a favourable reception from critics and audiences, with Paolo Bertolin of The Korea Times commenting that while director Park takes his time in delivering the film's subdued climax, he "nevertheless displays an assured command of visual composition and emotional punctuation". It later opened publicly on 10 May 2007 with a limited screening in just ten theatres, accumulating a total of 4,025 admissions and grossing US$28,737. Lead actor Kim Kang-woo was disappointed with the low level of distribution, and appeared at screenings by himself in an effort to promote the film. In November 2007, The Railroad screened at the 25th Torino Film Festival in Italy, where it won the FIPRESCI award as well as Best Actor for Kim Kang-woo's performance. Although pleased to have won the award, Kim was more thrilled by the positive reaction from the Italian audience, noting that they responded to the film in much the same way as a Korean audience.
