The Power of Kangwon Province (1998) - 강원도의 힘 (Kang-won-do-eui Him)

DMC Pusan to hold a special screening of filmmaker Hong Sang-soo's films

Source | 2005/06/26 | Permalink |

DMC Pusan ( http://www.diamondcinema.co.kr ) holds a special screening of filmmaker Hong Sang-soo's films in step with his cinema Keuk Jang Jeon (Tale of Cinema)'s release on July 1-14.

During the period of this special screening, the whole films of director Hong Sang-soo are screened such as 'Woman is the Future of Man' (2004), 'The Power of Kangwon Province' (1998) including his debut film 'The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well' (1996).

This special screening of filmmaker Hong Sang-soo films is expected to serve as a momentum to watch for director Hong's film world, who made inroads into the competition of the Cannes International Film Festial one after another this year as well as last year.

Since his debut in 1996, Hong Sang-soo has established himself as one of Asia's most original and talented directorial voices. His films appear ordinary on the surface, but they reveal uncomfortable truths about human relationships in a complex, candid manner.

Both as a screenwriter and...| More

Film director Hong Sang-soo: Depicting unreal reality

Source | 2005/06/01 | Permalink |

At the 58th Cannes festival this year, a total of eight Korean movies competed with their foreign rivals. The Korean films included Hong Sang-soo's "Tale of Cinema", Kim Ji-woon's "A Bittersweet Life", Ryoo Seung-wan's "Crying Fist", Lim Sang-soo's "The President's Last Bang", Kim Ki-duk's "The Bow", Shim Min-young's "A Little Bit More", and Jang Ryul's "Villain". "Crying Fist" took the FIPRESCI Award, while "Villain" won the ACID award, once again demonstrating the strong potential of Korean movies.

Although his work did not receive an award at this year's festival, Hong Sang-soo became the first Korean film director to be invited to the Cannes festival two years in a row. What is the charm of Hong's movies, which have drawn so much attention in Cannes?

Korean film director loved by Cannes

Cannes showed an interest in Hong again this year by inviting his movie "Tale of Cinema" quite unexpectedly one week prior to the festival's opening. So far, four of Hong's six movies have ...| More

Art Films Look for Different Ways to Stay in Theaters

Source | 2005/05/16 | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter


How long a feature film will remain in the theaters is usually decided by its box-office performance in its first week. A weak showing means a film will quickly be pushed out of the theaters by potentially more lucrative movies.

Recently, some art film directors are trying to overcome this rule-of-thumb, looking for a different strategy for their films to be enjoyed by more people in a stable condition.

"The Bow (Hwal)", the latest work by internationally acclaimed local director Kim Ki-duk, is now being shown at two theaters nationwide because the director doesn't want to waste his money unnecessarily to promote it and make copies of it to show at many theaters.

"I realized that outside of feature films with big budgets and famous stars, people in Korea do not go to theaters to watch art films or low budget films", Kim said through an e-mail sent out to the media on May 6. "So if billions of won is spent on promotion and many copies of ...| More

Rolling out the red carpet for Korean films at Cannes

Source | 2005/05/12 | Permalink |

'Korean directors are becoming better known in France'.

May 13, 2005 ㅡ As "Tale of Cinema", a new film by Hong Sang-soo, was hurriedly added to the official competition section at the last minute, the number of Korean films selected for presentation at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, which began Wednesday, set a record for the event.
A total of eight Korean films were chosen, including seven features and one short, directed by familiar names in the local film industry. But, except for Chung Chang-hwa's 1972 classic "Five Fingers of Death" and "Grain in Ear", a chronicle of Korean exiles living in China by Korean-Chinese director Zhang Lu, the Korean feature films at Cannes this year were a rather predictable selection.
"The Bow", a new film by Kim Ki-duk, will have its premiere at Cannes even before it is shown to the Korean press. Kim Ji-woon's "A Bittersweet Life", which styles itself as a modern film noir, is running as a non-competition selection, while ...| More

Symmetry, Morose and Drunk: Cannes Just Loves This Korean

Source | 2005/05/12 | Permalink |

Hong Sang-soo Film in Surprise Cannes Invite
The 58th Cannes International Film Festival on Thursday kicked off 12 days of movie mania in the southern French resort town with Dominik Moll's "Lemming".

Featured prominently once again is Cannes' darling Korean director Hong Sang-soo. The festival continued to show the director love with a surprise invitation just a week ago for the fourth of Hong's films to make its way to the Croisette. "The Power of Kangwon Province" (1998) and "Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors" (2000) were entered in the festival's "Un Certain Regard" section, while the red carpet of the competition section was unrolled for "Woman is the Future of Man" last year and "Tale of Cinema" this year. Hong's sixth movie, it is still two weeks away from its May 27 debut in Korea. It's a comedy done in the style of a movie within a movie telling the story of an aspiring film director (played by Kim Sang-kyeong) who runs into a young woman (Eom Ji-won) as he leaves a ...| More