Sundance review: 'Bedford Park' captures two lonely people, dealing with family histories and Korean American expectations, coming together in a tender drama

Two people trying to find connection and make up for past mistakes come together in “Bedford Park,” a sensitive romantic drama brilliantly handled by director-screenwriter Stephanie Ahn.

The story spins out from the consequences of a minor traffic accident in New Jersey, sometime in the aughts. Eli (Son Sukku), a Korean American college student avoiding his adoptive brother, Jay (Jefferson White), swerves into the oncoming lane, and hits a car driven by an elderly Korean American woman (Won Mi Kueng). The woman suffers a minor injury, and calls her daughter, Audrey (Moon Choi) to take care of her and help negotiate the damages.

Audrey has a complicated backstory. She works as a physical therapist, but she also posts on dating apps that attract men who are into BDSM stuff — and it’s a coin flip whether she’s doing it for money or to get out of her own head. She also has a complicated relationship with her mom and her dad (Kim Eung-soo), who gets abusive when he’s been drinking, which happens a lot.

Audrey and Eli are annoyed with each other at first, as they try to work out how to pay the damages from the accident. But when Audrey learns Eli is without a car, and she’s looking to get out of the house, she offers to give him rides to and from work. You may imagine what happens next, but it’s more complicated than that — as both Audrey and Eli try to navigate the expectations placed on them by their very different families.

Ahh lets the audience get to know Eli and Audrey just as they’re getting to know each other — a little bit at a time, with revelations that show the complexities of their childhoods and current situations, like any couple must navigate. It helps that her lead actors, both based in Seoul but making their way into U.S. film, give strong, sympathetic performances.

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‘Bedford Park’

★★★1/2

Screening in the U.S. Dramatic competition of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. Not rated, but probably R for strong sexuality, language and images of domestic violence. Running time: 121 minutes; in English and in Korean with subtle.

The film will screen again: Sunday, Jan. 25, Redstone Cinemas 1, Park City; Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2:30 p.m., Eccles Theatre, Park City; Friday, Jan. 30, 6 p.m., Redstone Cinemas 4, Park City; Saturday, Jan. 31, 2:15 p.m., Broadway Centre Cinemas 3, Salt Lake City. Also screening on Sundance’s web portal, Thursday through Sunday, Jan. 29 to Feb. 1.