Review: THE VILLAINESS Shoots and Chops Her Way to Bloody Revenge

By Pierce Conran

Korean action cinema bursts through to new horizons in the hyperkinetic pulp blade and bullet ballet The Villainess. Equal parts Kill Bill, Nikita, John Wick, Hardcore Henry and HK-era John Woo, the second film from Confession of Murder director Jung Byung-gil is an inspired but exhausting entry into this year's Midnight Screenings lineup at the Cannes Film Festival.

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BiFan 2017 Review: RYEOHAENG Casts Abstract Light on NK Refugees

By Pierce Conran

Director Im Heung-soon returns for his third feature, casting his artistic light on another under-served segment of the population with the documentary Ryeohaeng. Focusing on the lives of several female North Korean defectors in Korea, Im contrasts talking heads positioned in some unusual locations with dreamy reveries and musical sequences.

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Review: THE FIRST LAP, Stellar Cast Warms Up Strong, Low-Key Drama

By Pierce Conran

Director Kim Dae-hwan builds on the strengths of his debut End of Winter with another character-driven drama dominated by family gatherings, long takes and strong performances. One of this year's Jeonju Cinema Projects, The First Lap debuted in Jeonju this past spring and is having its international premiere in the Filmmaker of the Present competition in Locarno.

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Review: MIDNIGHT RUNNERS Reaches Finish Line with Gags, Brawls and Thrills

By Pierce Conran

Koala director Kim Joo-hwan graduates to commercial cinema in fine form with the entertaining youth cop comedy-thriller Midnight Runners. Featuring heartthrobs Park Seo-joon (Chronicles of Evil) and Kang Ha-neul (Dongju: The Portrait of a Poet) in roles that are equal parts cute and heroic, this slick bromance should prove particularly popular with young women at home.

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BiFan 2017 Review: SUDDENLY IN DARK NIGHT Goes Bump in All the Right Places

By Pierce Conran

From Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid in 1961 all the way to Park Chan-wook’s The Handmaiden last year, Korean cinema has delighted in torrid tales of disruptive house servants. Whether as a way to contrast social classes or explore illicit sexuality, it has remained a compelling source for bold filmmakers. Ko Young-nam’s 1981 erotic psychodrama Suddenly in Dark Night, though less complex than the aforementioned, is another fine example of the sub-genre.

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Review: THE MERCILESS Punches Up Familiar Gangster Tale

By Pierce Conran

After helming a low-key music drama (The Beat Goes On) and a romantic comedy (Whatcha Wearin'?), director Byun Sung-hyun finally shows off what may be his true colors in the brash and confident half gangster thriller, half prison drama The Merciless, the second Korean film to be featured as a midnight screening in Cannes this year.

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BiFan 2017 Review: COFFEE NOIR: BLACK BROWN Brews Fresh Prohibition Drama with a Bitter Kick

By Pierce Conran

An intriguing concept can be enough to pull you into a film but what keeps you there is a sense of purpose and steadfast execution. Korean indie Coffee Noir: Black Brown, the third film from emerging talent Jang Hyun-sang, which premiered last month in competition at Bucheon, delivers on all three counts. This delightful and odd prohibition drama is grounded by Jo Soo-hyang, whose performance remains unwavering, even when some of the story threads around her don’t quite mesh.

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