Re-encounter (혜화,동, Hye-hwa, Dong) 2010

(by refresh_daemon)

Re-encounter is a Korean independent film that managed to garner a number of awards from festivals as well as a couple of high profile nominations, so it has been on my radar for some time. After watching it, I can easily see how its exploration of loss and coming to terms with unresolved hurt in the past, coupled with a subtle, yet memorable performance from lead actress Yu Da-in managed to convince festival juries and audiences. The film's attention to detail when it comes to the title character's behavior wraps its personal drama together well and although the final act is a touch more forced than the rest of the film, by the time the credits roll, the examination of Hyehwa's character has won so much good will that it's hard not to appreciate the film.

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WKR: The Thieves + More Current and Recent Films (08/11-08/17, 2012)

A good selection of write-ups on new and recent films this week.

CURRENT FILMS

Deranged

(Quiet Earth, August 15, 2012)

Horror Stories

(koreanfilm.org, August 2012)

The Thieves

(koreanfilm.org, August 2012)

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Top 10 Korean Films of 2011

All in all 2011 was a bit of a disappointing year for Korean cinema, at least as far as commercial cinema was concerned.  On the other hand, independent films continued to build on their success of the last few years.  However, I'm not overly worried about the state of the industry because at the end of the day it doesn't produce a huge amount of films and is more susceptible to the ebbs and flows of projects than a larger filmmaking centre like Hollywood.  In any case, 2012 looks to be a much stronger year for Korean film.

For a while I was getting very worried about what my top 10 for the year would like, a month ago I'd only seen four of the films listed here.  Thankfully a number of more recent releases became available and things suddenly started to look a lot better.  That being said, I've seen about 45 films from last year but there's a lot that I haven't had a chance to see yet so this list will likely look quite different six month down the line, and if I feel so inclined perhaps I'll change it!

In the below links are my top 10 Korean films for 2011, followed by honourable mentions and my bottom 5.  The only criteria I go by to consider a film from 2011 is if it was released in Korea during that calendar year.

Intro - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 - Best of the Rest

Top 10 Lists

Year  2020 - 2019 - 2018 - 2017 - 2016
2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012 - 2011 - 2010

2010s (Top 50) - All Time (Top 25)

Genre

Gangster - Horror - Revenge

Weekly Review Round-up (01/07-01/13, 2012)

A pair of reviews for last year's breakout debut Bleak Night and a number of writeups for various independent and classic Korean film to boot.

RECENT RELEASES

Bleak Night

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 8, 2012)

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 8, 2012)

Fighting Spirit

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 10, 2012)

Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild

(hancinema.net, January 7, 2012)

Moss

(Flickering Myth, January 9, 2012)

Passerby #3

(Rainy Day Movies, January 9, 2012)

Quick

(Modern Korean Cinema, January 12, 2012)

Re-encounter

(Hangul Celluloid, January 9, 2012)

Sector 7

(Beyond Hollywood, January 10, 2012)

Sunny

(Rainy Day Movies, January 11, 2011)

The Servant

(Asian Movie Web, January 9, 2012)

PAST FILMS

A Brand New Life, 2009

(Rainy Day Movies, January 10, 2012)

A Day Off, 1968

(Init_Scenes, January 11, 2012)

Black Hair, 1964

(Init_Scenes, January 9, 2012)

Memories of Murder, 2003

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, January 11, 2011)

Night and Day, 2008

(DVD Talk, January 8, 2012)

Romantic Warriors, 2003

(New Korean Cinema, January 12, 2012)

Secret Sunshine, 2007

(BloggersBase, January 8, 2012)

The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

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