The Last Witness (2001) - 흑수선

Space to breathe in days of heavy censorship

2008/07/24 | Source | Permalink |

The center was small enough that if you came late, all the tickets were sold out. We went so often we became friends with the center's projectionist.

Bae Chang-ho, director of "The Last Witness" and "Road"
"I was a college student and an aspiring film director in the early 1970s when I first visited the French Cultural Center.
The majority of us went because the number of foreign films imported to Korea was limited to 20 or so a year and most were commercial Hollywood films that were heavily edited by the government.
We really didn't have that many choices. The center presented a rare venue for auteurist films from the French New Wave cinema. I remember there was a screening room on the first floor called Salle Renoir. I don't know if the name referred to the French impressionist or his filmmaker son, Jean Renoir.
When you went there, you expected to meet certain people. These people later became noted directors, critics and French experts. It was also one of the few places wher...| More

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

10th PiFan Attempts a New Start

2006/07/12 | Source | Permalink |

The Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) is set to launch its 10th edition July 13th 22nd in Bucheon City, a suburb west of Seoul. The festival is said to be rejuvenating itself after a dispute last year with the local city government resulted in the firing of then festival director KIM Hong-joon, an exodus of staff, an industry boycott, and the near demise of the festival. The 9th PiFan had its lowest turn-out ever, while an alternative once-only protest festival, Real Fanta, ran simultaneously in Seoul to sell-out crowds.

This year's event has a new festival director, veteran filmmaker LEE Jang-ho, who actually helmed the first PiFan. With a new programming team and "Love, Fantasy, and Adventure" as it themes, the 10th PiFan hopes to lure back its loyal fans while also appealing to families and younger audiences. The festival's organizing committee says it will screen 251 films from 35 countries during the 10-day event.

In addition to "Puchon Choice", the usual ...| More

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

'Last Present'

2006/04/17 | Source | Permalink |

Viewers may find this a 'three-hankie' film

Kyu Hyun Kim (internews)

"Last Present" (2001) is a tragic romance so manipulative that you can almost hear its cogwheels and pulleys clicking and whirring like a well-oiled machine. Lee Jeong-jae ("Les Insurges", "The Last Witness") plays a two-bit gagman (as a stand-up comic is known in Korea, although what the gagmen do in this film is closer to vaudeville act, more Laurel and Hardy than Robin Williams) Yong-gi, whose marriage to Jeong-yeon (Lee Young-ae of "JSA - Joint Security Area" and "One Fine Spring Day") is falling apart. A leaf is turned when he accidentally finds out that Jeong-yeon is dying from an unspecified incurable disease.

Yong-gi, initially devastated, makes a resolution to win the TV gag contest at all costs, all the while hiding the fact that he is privy to his wife's secret. Intertwined with this sappy disease-of-the-month narrative are dollops of sepia-toned flashbacks concerning Jeong-yeon's object of chi...| More

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

Angry Vampires

2006/02/10 | Source | Permalink |

by Seung-Jae Lee

Let's get this straight. The movie "Vampire Cop Ricky" is not what you'd expect. It's about 40 degrees off from what you're imagining, with less laughter and more seriousness.

What makes this movie so disconcerting is that there's a disparity between what viewers want Kim Soo-ro to be, and what he himself aspires to be. So it's not that the movie can't make you laugh, it's that it won't.

Here's the gist of the story: Na Do-yeol, played by Kim Soo-ro, transforms into a vampire only when he's angry or aroused. One day, a cop named Kang (Cheon Ho-jin) who's been a brother to Na, is struck down by villain Tak Moon-su (Son Byeong-ho). Tak has been working for Na to stay undercover. Conflicted, Na decides to go for revenge, but is stopped in his tracks by a bounty hunter (Oh Kwang-rok).

Who is Kim Soo-ro? He is an actor who has made people laugh in numerous movies like, "Attack the Gas Station!"; "The Foul King"; "Volcano High"; "S Diary" and "Super Family". He'...| More

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?

Korean Film Archive to Screen Director Lee Du-yong's Films

2006/01/06 | Source | Permalink |

The Classic Film Hall of the Korean Film Archive ( http://www.koreafilm.or.kr ) will screen thriller and action films directed by Lee Doo-yong as the first part of its "weekend films series" in 2006.

The films will be screened at the Classic Film Hall of the Seoul Arts Center in Seocho-dong, Seoul on Saturdays and Sundays in January.

Since he began producing films in 1963, Lee has directed about 60 feature films. He has shown particular interest in producing action films such as "Left Foot of Wrath" and "One-Legged Man of Death", as well as expressing common Korean sentiments in his films based on traditional motifs.

In particular, his film "The Last Witness" (1980) was adapted by director Bae Chang-ho as a remake under the title of "The Last Witness" (2001). When the original film was first released, a 40-minute portion was edited out due to censorship laws of that time. But a complete and uncensored cut of "The Last Witness" will be screened this time around.

The upcoming...| More

To participate to HanCinema, you must sign up or log in. Sign up, Why ?