Review: The Slick, Manipulative and Disappointing Secretly Greatly

When a filmmaker makes a great debut, expectations are bound to be quite high for the follow-up. Such was the case for Jang Cheol-soo, who took the world by storm with his terrific island revenge saga Bedevilled in 2010. When word first surfaced of his next feature, which would see him adapt the popular webcomic Secretly Greatly, the initial buzz was one of excitement. However, as it progressed through casting and then production, it became more and more clear that this would be a completely different kind of film, and certainly not one aimed at the audience that was so enthralled by his debut.

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Revenge Week: Hell Hath No Fury... Part I

Part of MKC's Revenge Week (July 8-14, 2013).

By Paul Quinn, founder of the excellent Hangul Celluloid.

Ask almost anyone with even a vague knowledge of Korean cinema about continually prevalent K-film genres or themes and at some point in their response they'll likely mention more than one example from a near plethora of Korean revenge thrillers and cinematic tales of bloody retribution. While any discussion of genre predominance is of course multi-faceted, the fact that a country's cinema can almost not fail to be influenced by its nation's psyche - inherently reflecting trials and tribulations faced nationally - to my mind speaks volumes about the origin of Korean cinema's regular and ongoing use of revenge narratives: By its very definition, revenge comes as a direct response to wrongs suffered, oppression and/or repression and with Korea historically having had to endure not only decades of occupation by Japan - during which time repeated efforts were made by the Japanese to completely eradicate Korea as a nationality, including the banning of Korean language films from 1942 until 1945, when Korean independence was finally secured - but also subsequent years of stringent cinematic constraints and censorship instigated by the Korean government itself, the revenge genre has since provided opportunities for filmmakers to produce searing entertainment at the same time as, perhaps subconsciously, allowing a kind of audience catharsis by way of indulgence in fictional tales of vengeance and retribution where no national revenge could or would ever be sought in reality.

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Revenge Week: Recent “Women's Revenge” Films and The Curious Case of Bedevilled

Part of MKC's Revenge Week (July 8-14, 2013).

By Kyu Hyun Kim, Associate Professor at UC Davis and koreanfilm.org contributor.

Revenge is a mostly human behavior (I am loath to call it “uniquely” human: who knows, maybe there really is a killer whale like Orca, who chased and eventually knocked Richard Harris' brain all over an Arctic glacier, because the latter killed his pregnant mate. No idea what movie I am referencing? Can’t say I blame ya). Animals retaliate but do not dwell on the feelings of resentment, the sense that an injustice was done to them, the way humans do. An ant colony fights back when it is invaded by other colonies. However, when they lose a territorial war, they either get exterminated or absorbed into the winning side's community: there are no “buts” about the outcome. I doubt a soldier ant goes after the queen ant of the invading colony in a suicide mission of avenging her own queen, or deaths of her sister larvae.

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Korean Cinema News (12/22-12/28, 2011)

Bit of a slow news week over Christmas but a few great features nonetheless and some interesting tidbits on Cloud Atlas and Lee Myung-se's new film, not to mention more trailers, posters, and box office.

To sum up Korean Cinema News for 2011, I will post a feature of what I felt were the top 10 Korean film stories of the year on New Year's Eve.

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Bae Doo Na’s Hollywood Debut Piece Wraps Filming
After an 18-week shoot, Bae Doo-na has wrapped filming of the highly anticipated adaptation of David Mitchell's time-jumping opus Cloud Atlas.  The film is directoed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski Brothers and Bae stars in one of its six stories, set in a futuristic Seoul.  Tom Hanks, Hugh Grant and Halle Berry also appear as leads.  (eNewsWorld, December 27, 2011)

Three Films, Three Cities

The English-language Arirang TV network has produced three works as part of its annual film project which were shot in Bucheon, Pohang, and Gwangju.  Each of the writer-directors, Kim In-sik, Lee Sang-woo, and Kim Young-bin, shot their pieces in just two weeks.  (The Korea Herald, December 22, 2011)

Film Therapy Institute Names Punch as Year’s Most Healing
Runaway hit Punch has been named the most healing motion picture of the year at the Korea Institute of Film Application (KIFA) annual Healing Cinema Best 10 event.  A relatively novel technique in the field of psychotherapy, cinema therapy involves therapists who prescribe films to their patients.  Advocates of the technique say that watching films with relatable life themes and subject matter can alleviate patients’ mental distress.  (Joong Ang Daily, December 23, 2011)

The Unlikely Survival Story of Korean Cinema
Korean cinema hasn’t always been as dynamic and acclaimed as it is today. Along the way, Korean filmmakers have had to overcome Japanese colonial oppression, wartime destruction, authoritarian censorship and competition with Hollywood blockbusters.   (10 Magazine, December 2011)

Top & Flop 2011

Ki Mun, the lead editor over at AsianMediaWiki guests posts on Wildgrounds with a look at the best and most disappointing films of 2011.  A lot of independent Korean films made the cut!  (Wildgrounds, December 23, 2011)

Local Films Foray Into Chinese Market
The past year has seen Korean cinema on an upward climb from the recession that hit the industry hard in the mid-2000s, particularly as homespun works made successful debuts in the Chinese box office and more experimental mid-budget films drew crowds domestically.  In the early 2000s, few Korean movies enjoyed wide releases in large neighboring Asian markets such as Japan. In September, however, The Man From Nowhere, a 2010 crime drama, made successful box office debuts not only in Japan but also in China, one of the world’s fastest growing markets.  (The Korea Times, December 26, 2011)

Miss Conspirator Wraps Shoot

On December 15, new action-comedy Miss Conspirator wrapped shooting.  The film stars Ko Hyun-jung and is directed by Park Chul-kwan who previously brought the successful gangster comedy Hi Dharma (2001) to the screen.  The film, which has been presold by 9ers Entertainment to Thailand's STG is set to be released in the first half of 2012.  Next Entertainment World, better known as N.E.W., is releasing the film in South Korea.  (KOBIZ, December 26, 2011)

Witness the Seoul of the Future in New Cloud Atlas Concept Art
The upcoming big screen adaptation of David Mitchell's sprawling, time hopping novel Cloud Atlas has been much in the news over the last year thanks to its high profile cast, directing team and the unusual manner of its creation.  The picture is being shot simultaneously by two separate film crews – one directed by Tom Tykwer, the other by the Wachowskis - with cast members each playing multiple characters in multiple time periods.  (Twitch, December 27, 2011)

Palm Springs Fest to Screen The Front Line
The upcoming Palm Springs International Film Festival (PSIFF) will screen South Korea’s Oscar submission The Front Line in its Awards Buzz section.  The section will feature 40 of the 63 official submissions the Academy Awards’ Best Foreign Language Film category.  The 40 films were selected by festival programmers as the strongest entries in this year’s race.  The 2012 Palm Springs International Film Festival will run Jan. 5 – 16.  (KOBIZ, December 26, 2011)

Daniel Henney Will Play His First Villain in Lee Myeong-se's Mr. K
Daniel Henney's new challenge will be to make his debut as a terrorist villain in 'master of mise-en-scène' Lee Myeong-se's new film, Mr. K. The action blockbuster will also star Seol Kyeong-gu and Moon So-ri as a couple.  As associate of Henney told TV Report on December 26th, "Henney has been cast in a stylish role for famous director Lee Myeong-se's new film" and "He will appear as a terrorist that clashes with Seol Kyeong-gu over secret information, showing a side of himself we've never seen before".  (hancinema.net, December 26, 2011)

Busan calls For Submissions to Ties That Bind
The Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) / Asian Project Market (APM) has made a call for submissions for the 2012 Ties That Bind – Asia / Europe Producers Workshop.  In its fourth edition, the workshop is held in partnership with EAVE, the Udine Fareast Film Festival, and Friuli Venezia Giulia (FVG) Audiovisual Fund.  (KOBIZ, December 26, 2011)

Cinemart Selects Jang Cheol-soo’s Service for People
The Rotterdam film festival’s co-production market CineMart has selected Korean director Jang Cheol-soo’s project Service for People for its upcoming 29th edition.  CineMart ultimately chose a total of 36 projects from 465 entries.  The finalists will be presented to 850 potential co-financiers, Jan. 29 – Feb 1.  Director Jang Cheol-soo made his feature debut with the much-lauded thriller Bedevilled in 2010 at the Cannes Film Festival’s Critics’ Week.  The film won the Puchon Choice Award at the Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) as well as the Audience Award and the Best Actress Award at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas.  (KOBIZ, December 23, 2011)

INTERVIEW

“Introduce What They Have Missed”: An Interview with Leonardo Cinieri Lombroso

Having recently appeared at several international festivals, Through Korean Cinema will appear on DVD in 2012.  Director Leonardo Cinieri Lombroso was kind enough to answer some questions about his work – to explain how and why he decided to explore this subject and what his future plans are for further examining the work of Korean filmmakers…  (New Korean Cinema, December 21, 2011)

TRAILERS

Jesus Hospital


Love Fiction


Never Ending Story


Tarbosaurus 3D

POSTERS

Jesus Hospital

Tarbosaurus 3D

BOX OFFICE

Tom Cruise's MI4 Scales Over My Way for Surprise Top Spot
(Modern Korean Cinema, December 26, 2011)

Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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