한국 영화
Welcome to Koreanfilm.org.uk!
I am getting into the habit of regularly updating the site and due to a very busy 2007 and I am discovering 2008 is much the same, so I know updates have been quite irregular recently, but I will endeavor to post regular updates. I am also restructuring the site, and also looking at giving it a new look as I do feel it needs some work - more news soon. Updates will be listed below and are as follows:
Updates
Edinbrugh International Film Festival - check out what is screening up in Edinburgh.
(Posted 24 June)
Check out the new upcoming DVD releases
(Posted June 8)
I have done a news in brief in post - but it doesn't turn out to be that brief! But have a look.
(Posted June 1)
I have updated film of the month - see below
(Posted May 21)
Check out the latest news from Cannes Film Festival. Korean films are causing a stir!
(Posted May 20)
Updates have started again. I have put some more info on the upcoming Terracotta Film Festival. Please click here.
(Posted May 18)
Hello again, my Korean exam was yesterday, so I finally have some time to get this site up and running properly. Updates will be poping up from Monday. But for now, it is important to mention the Terracotta Film Festival, which is happening from next week. You can watch Eye for an Eye and Dream, by Kim Ki-duk. More information here.
Some of you will know Thirst has been released in Korea. It has done very well indeed in its opening week, largely due to the publiicty drawn from the explicit sexual content. Though, whilst it has been very successful for an Adult rating film, its success has seemed to tail off this past week as it slips to 3rd position in the box office. Reviews in the Korean press have been very mixed, but the reviews I have read seem to suggest it will probably do very well in the West. Park also seems to be back on form following the flop of I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK. Read Darcy's review here.
(Posted May 14)
Mother / 마더
Director: Bong Joon-ho (봉준호)
Starring: Kim Hye-ja (김혜자), Won Bin (원빈), Jin Goo (진구)
Running Time: 128 min
Korean Release Date: 28/05/2009
Korean Distributor: CJ Entertainment
Synopsis
The film follows Hye-ja (same name as the actress that plays her - Kim Hye-ja (김혜자)) as she takes care of her absent-minded son, Do Joon, played by Won Bin (원빈). Although he is 27, he is very childlike - he has a memory like a gold fish and has little sense everyday dangers. One evening he gets very drunk and subsequently thown out of a bar and then follows a school girl home - he is set on sleeping with her. She turns down his proposition, throws a rock at him and then chases him away. But she is found dead the next day and Won Bin is the key suspect. However, his mother doesn't believe he is capable of such a think and is determined to prove his innocence.
Some thoughts...
It won't come as a surprise that I am a big Bong Joon-ho fan and that I am very much looking forward to this film. And no doubt, there are many others that are would like to see this film and hence the flurry of activity amongst buyers at Cannes. You can find out more here where the film has been sold to.
Whilst it doesn't appear to be as commerical as The Host / 괴물, the star presence of Kim Hye-ja (김혜자) - she is a big TV star in Korea - and Won Bin (원빈) (Taegukgi / 태극기 휘날리며) will bring some attention. Let us not the forget the biggest star of all, Mr. Bong himself. Though, as the recent box office would suggest, stars don't necessrily bring success. That said, however, we probably have one of the most talented and consistent film directors at the helm, so I can't imagine it will fail to please audiences. At the very least, it will do well abroad. Like Park Chan-wook, Bong joon-ho commands a great deal of respect abroad.
In terms of reviews, inevitably, there is a bit of a mix, but the impression I get is that it hits gold, or very near to it. To be honest, I don't think it is possible for Bong to make a bad film. Interestingly, according to Goodridge over at screendaily, he seems to have been heavily influenced by Hitchock when making this film, though critics will often site popular film directors and make comparisons when it is not necessarily the case. However, like most filmmakers, be it in Korea or Hollywood, I am sure he will be very well versed in global cinema. And lets face it, any Hitcockian influence can't be a bad thing.
Bong also seems to be set on using real location to bring a sense of realism to the film. This is trait that is characteristic of Korean cinema since the 60s, which peaked during the late 80s and early 90s, though in recent times, this has gone out the window with one or two exceptions - Lee Chang-dong is one, of course. So it will be interesting to see how Bong explores this concept of realism - a characteristic, also, of the Cannes Film Festival.
The story itself has strong parallels to Memories of Murder / 살인의 추억, not only in the subject matter, but also in how Bong cleverally takes the forefront of the narrative - this being the crime and the mothers fight to clear her son's name - and move it, so that it becomes secondary. Instead, the releationship between the mother and son becomes the centre of the film. As Bong explains, "the film is like a magnifying glass that focuses warm sunlight to a burning point. It is a drama that unfolds with great intensity, a story rooted in the fundamental nature of motherhood". He also adopted a similar approach in Memories in Murder to astonishing affect. Likewise the crimes in Memories of Murder were also secondary interest to Bong; his primary focus was the films backdrop - the period when Korea moved from a dictatorship to a democracy. Bong is a remarkable film maker and I am confident that this film will reflect the enormous versatility he has as a film practitioner.
Sources: Screendaily
Cannes Film Festival website