HanCinema's Korean Blog - Korea's Diary, Pictures, Reviews

"December" by Park Jeong-hoon-I

Today I viewed the final set of short films in competition. The first two shorts were overly artistic pieces which I can only barely remember. They were followed by the only two short animated films in competition- which were much more to my liking. Highs and Lows is a rather unsettling story of struggle, where Two Gentleman is the delightful story of a couple of well-to-do gentlemen who are thrust into an unexpected situation while discussing a surrealist piece of artwork. The last two short films were all right, but nothing special. Similar themes had been done better in earlier showcased short films...More

Earlier in the festival I had a chance to attend a Q&A session with Park Hoon-jeong-I the director of "The New World". Audience reaction to the film was very favorable, and it was by far the longest Q&A session I attended, even though the film ended late in the night. Park Hoon-jeong-I discussed a wide variety of topics, including not just this film but the prospects of others in the future using the same characters.

Q: I really liked the way this film used cigarettes.

A: Yes, for the detective Chief Kang (played by Choi Min-sik) they represent his humanity. Even though, as many characters point out, he really should quit.

Q: I liked how, from the beginning Lee Ja-Sung (played by Lee Jeong-jae) is really paranoid about fakes...More

Due to the sheer quantity of artistic and experimental films, I think I may have been pulling punches a bit with my reviews. Now, to be perfectly clear, My Place and Dancing Woman are both absolutely brilliant and unlike anything I've ever seen before- but as I come more and more to the end, I see clearly that the Jeonju International Film Festival has had as many hits as misses.

My first film today, "Total Messed Family", typifies a lot of that. It's a comedy about the reactions a family has when their son, a runaway, returns home with his pregnant girlfriend...More

Earlier this in the festival I attended a press conference featuring the members of the Korean Film Competition's jury. French filmmaker Laurent Cantet, Italian film critic Carlos Chatrian, and Korean novelist Kim Young-Ha were all available to answer questions about their experiences evaluating the films of the festival.

Q: How do you feel about the Korean film selection here?

Kim Young-Ha: The sheer variety of films on display here are excellent. There's a large number of documentary and experimental films here with a strong introspective focus. And even though they are Korean films, they transcend cultural boundaries...More

The festival has started to wind down- guest visits are becoming more infrequent, and many directors, actors and jury members who were here for the first few days have already left. There are far fewer musical performances, and even the press atmosphere has diminished a fair amount. Aside from that, today's films were not, I would say, of a high interest...More

Below is a paraphrase of the press conference held for the directors of the 2013 Jeonju Digital Project- directors Masahiro Kobayashi, Zhang Lu, and Edwin were all on hand to answer questions.

Q: How do you feel about the film you produced for this project:

Zhang Lu: Because "Over There" was commissioned only last year, I was really worried about the time constraints. Luckily, we were able to save a lot of time by filming an alternate scenario that really more on the thoughts of the migrant workers, a topic that's always interested me...More

As the excitement of a new film festival wears off and bears into more of a grind, my feelings about the films turn into more of a rollercoaster. I wouldn't really call this my best day at JIFF so far, but it has certainly aroused the strongest emotions.

I started out with "Lebanon Emotion". Inspired, in theme only, by a verse of Korean poetry, it tells the story of depressed people trying to cope with grief. Tempting as it is to describe this film as being about love, the emotions on display here are very disconcerting in their key motivation, and the story somehow manages to be both cynical and hopeful at the same time. The cinematography is excellent- though maybe I'm just a sucker for snow-filled landscapes...More