Art house: Korean drama Family Ties analyses what it means to be related

What is it that makes a family? In past centuries, the answer to this question might have seemed obvious: blood ties are what define a family and hold it together. But of course, the 21st century answer to this question is much more complicated.

And director Kim Tae-yong takes on this issue directly in Family Ties, a 2006 drama that holds a special place in the hearts of South Korean cinephiles. Recently voted by critics and scholars as one of the 100 most iconic South Korean films of all time, this nuanced and well-acted portrait of unconventional and unplanned families makes you stop and think about the deeper meaning behind the concept of 'family'.

Family Ties is made up of three separate storylines. In the first, Mira (Moon So-ri) is dumbfounded one day when her delinquent brother (Eom Tae-woong), who vanished without a trace five years earlier, shows up on her door with a bouquet of flowers and a new wife (Ko Du-shim), who is 20 years older than him. Although deeply uncomfortable with this new arrangement, Mira reluctantly agrees to let them live in her home.

Part two centres on hard-headed Seon-gyeong (Kong Hyo-jin), who is driven to distraction by her mother (Kim Hye-ok) carrying on a long-term affair with a married man. Unable to accept her mother's wishes and life decisions, she decides to confront the man who has upended her family.

Part three focuses on a young couple (Jung Yu-mi and Bong Tae-gyu) who love each other but carry the emotional after-effects of their own unusual upbringings.

On the most basic level, this film's strengths are its strong acting and sensitive direction. Fans of South Korean cinema and TV drama will recognise many of the faces on screen, many of whom have closets filled with acting trophies. Director Kim for his part is well-loved nationally for his 1999 debut feature Memento Mori (co-directed with Min Kyu-dong) — a horror movie that captures the psychology of high-school girls with unusual insight — and his romance Late Autumn, shot in Seattle with TV star Hyun Bin and Chinese actress Tang Wei. Recently, Kim and Tang set off a media storm with the announcement of their marriage.