Jeonju 2013: Experimental Echo of Dragon Explores Myths and Emotion (용문, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

When it comes to what we expect to see on screen, it’s worth considering sometimes just how strict we can be. Though we demand filmmakers to be creative, our definition of originality is actually quite narrow. As the lights dim and projectors roll, we wait for characters to show up and guide us along through their world and regale, sadden or shock us with their stories. Like many others I often lament the lack of ingenuity that plagues much of modern cinema but stick me in front of a film that does away with all standard forms of narrative (as we know them today) and suddenly I’m at a loss to process what’s unspooling before me.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: North Korean Spy To Save South Korean Market (2013 Week 23)

Secretly Greatly

(은밀하게 위대하게)

Ryu-hwan is a North Korean elite spy trained to kill. He was sent two years ago as a sleeper agent in Seoul. He lives in a small apartment owned by an old lady, for whom he also works. He knows everyone in the neighborhood but is only seen as that naive young guy with the mind of a child. Suddenly two other spies arrive in the area: Hae-rang pretends to be a rookie guitar player in a rock band, and Hae-jin a regular student. Ryu-hwan helps them to settle and get used to their new life, until they are ordered to commit suicide after a change of power in North Korea.

Click to read more»

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: North Korea in South Korean Cinema (May 2013)

North Korea has been in the news a lot lately for its latest round of belligerent actions. Many believe that Western media has been exaggerating the danger the communist state poses to South Korea's national security. I can't say that I've noticed any especial alarm among the local populace yet there's no denying that the oppressive regime casts a long shadow over the country. Cinema is just one of the places where this is readily evident, so this month I asked the experts:

Has Korean cinema's representation of North Korea changed over the years?

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Star Trek Leads Hollywood Onslaught (05/31-06/02, 2013)

Local fare continues to be overwhelmed at the Korean box office as it scored a meagre 17% market share compared with a much healthier 54% last year. What's more, despite a number of blockbusters on offer, business was also down with only 1.69 million tickets sold overall, down from 2012's 2.04 million during the same weekend.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: Behold, K-pop Star in Approach! (2013 Week 22)

Rockin' on Heaven's Door 

(뜨거운 안녕)

A K-pop star, Chung-ui, caused a scandal by being involved in a brawl after consuming too much alcohol, and so sees himself condemned to 300 hours of volunteer work in a hospital institute welcoming terminally ill patients. These people do not comply with the regulations, and the institute is threatened with closure. Only Anna still tries to maintain order, and she doesn’t hesitate to yell at Chung-ui as he always tries to do the bare minimum. When he comes upon patients rehearsing in their own band, he decides to personally get invested to help them improve.

Click to read more»

Moving to the City: Urbanization in The Ball Shot by a Midget (난장이가 쏘아올린 작은 공, 1981)

Korean Cinema, especially when at its best, frequently explores pressing themes and social realities to thrilling effect. The deeper I delve into classic Korean cinema, the clearer it becomes that this has always been the case. Throughout Korean film history, the only real difference is that the issues mined by filmmakers have changed over time. One such trait has been encroaching urbanization and among the best examples of its representation on screen is Lee Won-se's The Ball Shot by a Midget (1981).

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: Lee Sang-woo's Thrilling EMERGENCY EXIT is a Poetic Gutpunch (비상구, 2013)

Every year, the Jeonju International Film Festival commissions a pair of omnibus features. The longest-running and most famous of these is the Jeonju Digital Project, which has featured a number of star Asian directors over the years. The other is the Short! Short! Short! series, which focuses on young Korean directors helming experimental works. This year’s edition of the latter featured three shorts and four directors tasked with adapting the works of popular local writer Kim Young-ha. Based on Kim’s idiosyncratic stories, the works, each original in their own right, all featured a strong sense of style. Of course, as with many omnibuses, they didn’t all hit the mark. Lee Sang-woo’s opening segment Emergency Exit was my favorite of the bunch and also the best thing I saw at Jeonju this year.

Click to read more»

Bong Joon-ho to Set Sail as Producer with Sea Fog, Song Joong-ki in Talks to Star

We're all eagerly anticipating Bong Joon-ho's post-apocalyptic sci-fi opus Snowpiercer but while we wait for him to put the finishing touches on his summer blockbuster, it seems the ace Korean director has set his sights on a new project. Bong's career as a producer looks to set sail with Sea Fog, a stowaway drama based on a 2007 play that is in turn drawn from real events circa 2001. Enormously popular Korean Idol Song Joong-ki (A Werewolf Boy) is said to be highly considering the lead role.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: Save The Documentaries (2013 Week 21)

Dancing Forest

(춤추는 숲)

At the heart of the temple of globalization and consumerism that is Seoul lies a village created by some irreducible citizens gathered around the mountain Seongmi, who have been sharing during the last 17 years the mad dream of wanting to live in communion with nature. But the hard urban development is threatening in 2010 to raze the mountain to build a school. The community tries to oppose it by all means.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Furious 6 First with Franchise Best Opening (05/24-05/26, 2013)

Summer's heating with yet another Hollywood tentpole platforming. However, business dipped significantly to 1.83 million admissions, down from last year's 2.24 million. The local market share was also down to 30%.

Click to read more»

Channeling the Classics: The Russian Novel (러시안 소설) 2012

Though I scarcely have the time to read these days there are a few classic works of literature I always go back to. On the one hand the French Naturalists taught me morality and on the other the great Russian novels forced me to grapple with existentialism and taught me about love. Tolstoy, Dostoyesky, Pushkin, Lermontov, and more had the ability to tip the balance of life from one extreme to the next, all in the flick of a page. Leafing through ‘Anna Karenina’ was a two-week journey through the human kaleidoscope of love and suffering, while the brief weekend it took to absorb ‘A Hero of our Time’ was like a torrid love affair, which, like its protagonist, shone bright and brief.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Iron Man 3 Makes It 4 During Crowded Weekend (05/17-05/19, 2013)

Business was strong again during the mid-May holiday weekend but local fare still found itself at a loss to match Hollywood's stream of tentpoles. Total business came in at 2.56 million admissions, up from 2.07 last year. Meanwhile the local market share was at 40%, down from 62% a year ago.

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: The Ethereal Dear Dolphin Explores Guilt and Grief (환상속의 그대, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

The most anticipated film of the Jeonju International Film Festival’s Korean Competition this year, Kang Ji-na’s feature Dear Dolphin, was also the most polished. With its themes of love, loss and loneliness, as well as its vibrant colors, strong mise-en-scene and well-judged flights of fancy, its appeal is universal.

Click to read more»

Magicians (마법사들, 2005)

(by refresh_daemon)

Magicians started out as one of three short films in an omnibus produced for the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2005, following writer-director Song Il-gon's international acclaim with his films started with his remarkable debut Flower Island (2001). However, when making his short version for the film festival, director Song also make an extended 95-minute feature version bearing a remarkable restriction that the film be shot in one seamless take. Yet, rather than ending up as a mere gimmick, Magicians gains a stage-like abstraction at times without losing the intimacy of the camera, which turns the strong performances of its cast into an emotionally resonant meditation on grief and living in the aftermath of loss.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: Lotte and N.E.W. Join the Party (2013 Week 20)

Happiness for Sale

(미나문방구)

 

Kang Mi-na is making ​​many envious with her position as a public servant in a municipal district office. But overnight, her father becomes injured after falling in his stationery store, and she is asked to take over the management of the shop. She has Ever since her childhood she has hated the store named after her and hopes to sell it as soon as possible to get to her dream job, but she doesn't count on its loyal customers, some elementary school students, who insist that the shop keeps its doors open

Click to read more»

The Grand Heist (바람과 함께 사라지다) 2012

The heist film is a unique offshoot of the crime genre. It inhabits a region where the violence is all style, the risks are all calculated, and the group trumps the man. In this postmodern media-drenched world that we live in, the heist genre can probably lay claim to being the first to tear down the fourth wall and poke fun at the artifice of cinema. From Edwin S. Porter’s The Great Train Robbery to the wheeling-dealing hustler Danny Ocean from the Ocean’s Eleven franchise, viewers have been addicted to the hip style of the caper.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Iron Man 3 Threepeats up Top (05/10-05/12, 2013)

Iron Man 3 stood strong for a third week but overall business took a dive as it fell under the two million mark, with only 1.8 million tickets sold. Good weather and a lack of strong new titles were likely to blame for the slow cinema traffic. That said the Korean market share shot up significantly to 33%, still not a great result compared to the past few months but nonetheless a slight increase over last year.

Click to read more»

A Look at Korean Comedy and Mr. XXX-Kisser (아부의 왕, 2012)

Many films passed through Korean theaters last year and a great number of them made their presence felt. But of course for every chart-topping hit there were many projects that failed to make their way to profitability. One such film that came and went during the sweltering summer months was Mr. XXX-Kisser (aka The King of Flattery, and I can’t see why they didn’t stick to that far superior English title), a mid-level comedy with no huge stars and very modest ambitions.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: Local Studios Fight for Second Place (2013 Week 19)

Boomerang Family

(고령화가족)

Following the recent commercial failure of his debut film, a 48 year-old director, In-mo, has no choice but to return to live with his mother. He meets up his older brother, Han-mo, who has never left home and is still not working. But their younger sister, Mi-yeon, was just divorced from her second husband and is coming with her teenage daughter to spend a few weeks with her mother, until the formalities of her upcoming third wedding are settled. All of them will try to coexist as they did during their childhood, but their respective personal comfort has now become much more pervasive than before.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: Korean Horror Comedies and Ghost Sweepers (점쟁이들, 2012)

Korean cinema has proven on many occasions that it can be quite brazen when it comes to generic codes. It can sometimes seem like a kid has been let loose in a well-stocked kitchen as he begins to mix and match the most incongruous ingredients in an oversized pot. While many concoctions have succeeded in offending viewer’s delicate palates, just as many bizarre recipes cooked up in the studios have delighted and surprised film lovers around the world.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: The Thin Line Between Film and Advertisement (2013 Week 18)

Born to Sing

(전국노래자랑)

Bong-nam, a man who lives only on the wages of his wife as one of her employees, dreams of becoming a renowned singer and enrolls in a famous televised song contest, hoping to win first prize. He will meet many opponents, including a energetic grandmother, a young woman and a little girl encouraged by her grandfather.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Iron Man Still Top Dog (05/03-05/05, 2013)

The story at the Korean box office was much the same as last week with Iron Man 3 continuing to reign supreme. Total admissions came in at 2.47 million (a fraction below last year) while the local market share was once again weak at only 14%, about half of last year's figure.

Click to read more»

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: April 2013

How well does Josh Brolin fit in the above picture? With Spike Lee's Oldboy almost upon us and the announcement of possible remakes of Confession of Murder, New World, A Bittersweet Life, Lady Vengeance and more, it seems a good time to ask the experts:

How do you feel about remakes of Korean films?

We would also love to know what you think about remakes of Korean films! Please leave a comment or start a discussion with us on facebook or twitter.

Many to thanks to all the contributors for their time and insightful comments. Responses listed alphabetically, followed by the thoughts of MKC's teammembers.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Iron Man 3 Has Gargantuan Debut (04/26-04/28, 2013)

There was only one game in town this weekend as the blockbuster Iron Man 3 almost set a new opening weekend record (currently held by Transformers 2). It was slim pickings for everything else. Total business powered to 2.63 million (up from 2.09 in 2012) and the local market was all but non-existent, failing to reach 10%, a lot lower than the 27% recorded last year when The Avengers opened.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: A Sexy Nap (2013 Week 17)

(by Fabien Schneider)

Dream Affection 2

(몽정애 2 - 기막힌 상상)

Jae-hoon, a man who recently resigned from his job, runs out of money. He is haunted in his dreams by a mysterious woman. Three women, Yuki, and Yujin Mini, do not feel secure enough in their apartment and are looking for a male roommate to help them. Jae-hoon finds this ad and respond only for the expectation of living with three beautiful women.

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: Lebanon Emotion (레바논 감정, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

In the world of cinema, things aren’t always as they seem. A film presents itself to us in a certain way, its details on screen carefully selected by its director. The new Korean film Lebanon Emotion takes a risky approach with its narrative. It puts forward two main characters, immediately giving us a few details concerning their recent past. Beyond this, however, their backstories remain clouded and it becomes clear early on that the story may largely be allegorical. Mystery and surprise are among the most potent elements of any narrative, but too much (or too early) and they can have an adverse effect.

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: Cheer Up Mr. Lee (힘내세요, 병헌씨, 2012)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

If you watch a lot of films, it’s hard not to get at least a little excited when a new film about filmmaking comes along. While not a golden recipe for surefire success, the subgenre yields a surprisingly strong crop of works, in part due to their self-deprecating nature. The Woodman and the Rain, This Is Not a Film and The Woman in the Septic Tank are among the many recent films to successfully go down this route. Not to mention that the old adage holds, you should write about what you know.

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: Groggy Summer (그로기 썸어, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

As viewers, sometimes we take for granted the decisions made by filmmakers that affect their works. A lot is decided in pre-production and one particularly important element is a film’s shooting style. Outside of a few highly stylized works, the language that a film’s crew uses to tell a story is remarkably similar from film to film. A wide establishing shot opens a scene, mid-shots introduce characters and relationships, and close-ups get down to the nitty gritty of details and emotions. In fact, we’ve become so accustomed to this style of shooting that anything else is jarring.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: How to Use Guys with Secret Tips (남자 사용설명서, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

Being one of the more tired genres to litter the multiplexes, every so often romantic comedies need a little boost to remind us that they can be worthwhile. Out of all of the national industries that regularly churn them out, this seems to happen the most often in Korean cinema. Many western film viewers were introduced to the country’s cinematic output through the contemporary classic My Sassy Girl (2001), which launched the careers of both Jeon Ji-hyun (The Thieves) and Cha Tae-hyun (Speedy Scandal, 2008).

Click to read more»

Jeonju 2013: December (디셈버, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 14th Jeonju International Film Festival.

These days, in a bid to stand out from a crowded field, a lot of young filmmakers experiment with their chronologies. While there’s nothing wrong with experimenting with form, it’s very important to have a strong narrative before playing around with it. Jeonju competition film December follows this trend, but does it get away it?

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: The Thieves (도둑들, 2012)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

The most anticipated Korean film of the year, with its dazzling cast and international locations, opened late last month and has since become the biggest domestic box office behemoth in years. The Thieves, Choi Dong-hoon’s fourth feature, following The Big Swindle (2004), Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and Woochi: The Taoist Wizard (2009), is his most ambitious yet. It is a vibrant and complex heist movie with one of the most high profile casts ever assembled for a local production.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: A Muse (은교, Eungyo, 2012)

“No Muse-poet grows conscious of the Muse except by experience of a woman in whom the Goddess is to some degree resident…A Muse-poet falls in love, absolutely, and his true love is for him the embodiment of the Muse... But the real, perpetually obsessed Muse-poet distinguishes between the Goddess as manifest in the supreme power, glory, wisdom, and love of woman, and the individual woman whom the Goddess may make her instrument... The Goddess abides; and perhaps he will again have knowledge of her through his experience of another woman...”

-       Robert Graves

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: Divorce, Korean Style: All About My Wife (내 아내의 모든 것, 2012)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

(by Rex Baylon)

There used to be a time when America was known as a manufacturing giant. In agriculture, electronics, and automobile design America seemed not to have any contenders. With regards to film, Hollywood was the first and last word when it came to cinema. Even as the US began its slow decline, the soft power of American cinema never seemed to waver even through all the social upheaval of the twentieth century; while presidents came and went, one hit wonders rose and fell, and wars were won or lost, Hollywood never lost its luster in the eyes of foreign and domestic audiences.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: An Ambitious Korean Gangster Film: New World (신세계, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

Ever since I discovered Korean cinema, I’ve been a fan of the industry’s frequent experimentations with genre. Almost every film that comes out of the country seems to be an amalgamation of different tropes but there is one genre that has remained for the most part untouched: the gangster film. When Korean filmmakers decide to make a gangster film, they tend to leave experimentation aside and instead look to emulate some of world cinema’s most beloved criminal narratives.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: A Gothic Fantasy: A Werewolf Boy (늑대소년, 2012)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

(by Rex Baylon)

Of all the film cultures in the world that embrace the ideals of romantic love it is only in South Korea where the connection between the ghosts of the past, the shifting of the seasons, and the tragic melodramatic love story can exist and thrive. While the French may have their amour fou, the Italians and Spanish their unbridled passion, and the Americans their once witty rom-coms South Korea has, for over a decade now, been cornering the market on never-can-be romances. If one were to retrace the genesis of this popular genre you wouldn’t need to go further back than 2002 with the broadcast of Winter Sonata on television screens all over the peninsula. Part of the Endless Love quadrilogy of stories that charted the ups and downs of a couple who meet in adolescence, were separated by some uncontrollable force, reunited later in adulthood, and then depending on the whims of nature and the show’s producer would either come back together again or be painfully ripped apart from one another.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: National Security (남영동1985, 2012)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

Corruption, injustice and terror have always been a sad reality of politics. Over the years, many filmmakers have gone to great lengths (sometimes even putting their lives in peril) in a bid to give a voice to the victims of political malfeasance and to shed light on the frequently covered-up truths within the halls of power. Notable examples include Pontecorvo’s The Battle of Algiers (1966) and Costa-Gavras’ Z (1969). Among the pantheon of political works it is true that those that endure are the ones that shock; works that can elicit an audible gasp from audience members. However, a filmmaker must be careful not to go too far and should also pay due consideration to narrative and filmic requirements when presenting a politically charged narrative on screen.

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Just Hanging Around - Holdovers Repeat During Slow Weekend (04/19-04/21, 2013)

With no new releases able to catch fire this week, box office was down significantly. With only 1.2 million admissions, this was the lowest attended weekend of the year to date by a margin. Local films, of which there are a number playing, were just shy of a majority with a 48% market share. With spring finally arriving in Korea after a particularly long winter, locals were keener to go outside and see the cherry blossoms than to venture into a dark theater.

Click to read more»

UDINE 2013: The Berlin File (베를린, 2013)

Part of MKC's coverage of the 15th Udine Far East Film Festival.

From North By Northwest (1959) all the way to Tinker Sailor Soldier Spy (2011), spy thrillers have long captured the imagination of filmgoers. Over time they have become more elaborate and their appeal has led to a number of blockbuster franchises. James Bond recently celebrated his most successful outing with the chart-topping Skyfall while both the Mission Impossible and Bourne series have also stirred up some serious business.

Click to read more»

New Korean Films: Free Way for the Indies (2013 Week 16)

(by Fabien Schneider)

Norigae

(노리개)

Click to read more»

Korean Box Office: Cruise Knocks Out Fists of Legend (04/12-04/14, 2013)

It was a close battle for first place this weekend but it one of the most world's reliable box office properties won out in the end. Admissions stayed flat with both last week and last year at 1.55 million. Despite two Hollywood blockbusters in the top 4, the local market still dominated with 55% of all sales.

Click to read more»