CNN lists "Host", "Mandala" among best Asian films

Two Korean films were included among CNN's list of best Asian films.

Director Bong Joon-ho's "The Host" (2006) and Im Kwon-taek's "Mandala" (1981) were named on a list of the 18 best Asian films of all time on a Sept. 18 story on CNN.com.

"Arguably one of the greatest monster films ever made", wrote the U.S.-based Cable News Network about The Host, noting that "a staggering 20 percent of the population of South Korea have watched this film".

As for Mandala CNN wrote that the movie "is considered to be [Im Kwon-taek's] breakthrough as a cinematic artist", that "takes a contemplative look at the nature of individualism, religious belief and enlightenment" through following the lives and interactions of two Buddhist monks.

Other Asian films that made it to the list include director Jia Zhangke's Still Life (2006), Thai director Apichatpong's Weerasethakul Syndromes and a Century (2006), Hong Kong director Andrew Lau's Infernal Affairs (2002), New Zealand director Niki Caro's Whale Rider (2002), Hong Kong director Wong Kar-wai's In the Mood for Love (2000), Chinese director Yang Zhang's Shower (1999), Japanese director Suo Masayuki's Shall We Dance? (1998), Iranian director Mohsen Makhmalbaf's Gabbeh (1996), Chinese director Zhang Yimou's To Live (1994), Vietnamese director Dang Nhat Minh's When the Tenth Month Comes (1984), New Zealand director Geoff Murphy's Utu (1983) and Filipino director Ishmael Bernal's Himala (1982).

Older films included are Japanese director Kurosawa Akira's Ikiru (1952) and Kinoshita Keisuke's The Ballad of Narayama (1958), Indian director Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) and Hong Kong director King Hu's A Touch of Zen (1969).

By Kim Hee-sung
Korea.net Staff Writer