Busan 2014 Review: HAN RIVER Ponders Urban Malaise in Contemporary Korea

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

With black and white lensing, cheerful yet destitute protagonists and the absence of a clear narrative, the philosophical vagabond film Han River, benefits from a style and focus that sets it apart from the bulk of recent Korean indie fare, yet its offbeat musings and muddled pacing will leave some viewers wanting something a little more concrete.

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Busan 2014 Review: SOCIALPHOBIA Effectively Blends Social Agenda And Genre Tropes

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

The Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) returns to Busan with Socialphobia, a new work that is equal parts social drama and murder mystery. Examining the disruptive effect of communication in the digital era within a society where the slightest bit of gossip can take on a life of its own, this debut film showcases Hong Seok-jae's assiduous combination of genre tropes and subtext.

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Busan 2014 Review: Kim Ki-duk Off His Game With ONE ON ONE

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Enfant terrible Kim Ki-duk returns with his 20th feature One On One, opening the Venice Days sidebar this year with an uncharacteristically plot-and-character-heavy offering. With an overt social agenda and a familiar revenge narrative, the film appears to be primed for a larger audience than much of the divisive cineaste's work. But with a rushed production schedule and comparable lack of poetry (however gritty) and wit than his previous efforts, it proves to be one of the director's least satisfying outings.

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Busan 2014 Review: END OF WINTER Boasts Strong Cast And Subtle Mise-en-scene

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Dankook University scores a New Currents competition slot at the Busan International Film Festival for the second year running with End of Winter, a controlled family drama taking place in the dead of winter. Eschewing histrionics in favour of a slowburning and sustained narrative, this latest student feature boasts a strong cast and an unobtrusive yet elegant mise-en-scene.

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Busan 2014 Review: Epic And Austere, ALIVE Depicts Dark Days For Korean Laborers

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Incessantly grim and pushing the three-hour mark, indie helmer Park Jung-bum's Alive is about as challenging a sophomore work as anyone could have dreamt up. And this from a man who debuted with the ferociously bleak The Journals of Musan (2011), a tale of a socially awkward North Korean defector unable to fit into his new surroundings, and whose sole companion, a stray dog, meets a untimely end, leaving his helpless master to fend for himself. Yet, just as that was a devastatingly effective silent wail, this latest work harnesses Park's boiling anger at the injustices that riddle Korean society to create an imposing and austere call to arms.

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Busan 2014 Review: WILD FLOWERS Wilts After A Bristling Start

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

The lives of aimless youths at the bottom of the social ladder are the focus of Wild Flowers, a bleak look into teenage destitution in the streets and back alleys of Seoul. Uncompromising in its focus and brisk in its introduction to the sordid realities of a gaggle of bristly girls, Park Suk-young’s debut is a kinetic but unfocused snapshot of wayward youth.

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Busan 2014 Review: DAUGHTER Explores The Ills Of Modern Korean Parenting

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Following a pair of indulgent films that awkwardly straddled the balance between fantasy and reality, the multi-hyphenate Ku Hye-sun, a well known actress, singer and artist as well as director, returns with Daughter, her most mature work to date.

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