By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
The past year represented hope and revitalization for Korean cinema. While problems such as piracy linger on, the forecast for 2010 cinema appears promising with diverse projects in the making.
Cineastes are finding inspiration from the past and are bringing remakes of Korean classics as well as unique period movies. Big action flicks are gearing up for the 60th anniversary of the Korean War (1950-53) while much-anticipated sequels will cater to fans. Furthermore, a couple of Hollywood projects will head here for shoots.
2009 in Review
Both commercial blockbusters and unique indie films pulled the industry out of a three-year slump and cineastes made their mark near and far.
Kim Choung-ryoul's documentary
"Old Partner" rewrote box-office history for the genre, while
Yang Ik-joon's
"Breathless" made waves by sweeping almost two dozen prizes at international festivals.
Park Chan-ok's low-budget drama
"Paju" was well-received among critics and moviegoers and the micro-budget road movie "
Daytime Drinking" gained popularity near and far.
The positivity peaked in the summer. The success of the sports movie
"Take Off" fed directly into the big-time box office scores set by the tsunami blockbuster
"Haeundae", which drew over 10 million audience members in Korea for the first time in three years since
"The Host" in 2006.
Stars shined strongly through the big screen. Korean actors debuted in foreign works, most notably
Lee Byeong-Heon in "G.I. Joe" and
Rain in "
Ninja Assassin", while
Kim Myeong-min made headlines for shedding 20 kilograms for his role in "
Closer to Heaven".
Celebrity directors also made long-awaited returns.
Park Chan-wook revisited the Cannes Festival with his vampire flick
"Thirst" while
Bong Joon-ho made a splash with the thriller
"Mother - 2009".
On the flip side, illegal online distributions of
"Haeundae", before its release in Chinese theaters, and of
"Thirst", before DVD sales opened in the United States, led to big financial blows and signaled the red light on piracy. The country's top stars, including
Jang Dong-gun and
Kim Tae-hee, stepped up as representatives for the anti-piracy campaign: "Good Downloader".
Meanwhile, imported 3D movies tapped into the local theater market. While the number of theaters catering to the genre remains relatively small, there seems to be growing reception for 3D films. Animations such as "Monster vs. Aliens" and "Up" drew family audiences while "Avatar", new in theaters, has drawn over 1 million audiences in the shortest timeframe among 2009 films.
2010 Forecast
Back to Classics
During Korean cinema's Golden Age of the 1960s, well over 100 films rolled out per year (more than 200 from 1968 to 1969), and cineastes are finding inspiration in films from that time. Classics never go out of style, and next year...
MoreThe film industry is already preparing for next year. Many renowned filmmakers have returned to Korea to produce movies about war and sequels to hit movies.
Director
Im Kwon-taek will produce his 101st movie "
Scooping Up The Moonlight". Directors
Kim Tae-yong and Lm Sang-soo will produce remakes of "Late Autumn" (
"Manchu") by
Lee Man-hee and "The Housemaid" (
"The Housemaid - 2010") of Kim Ki-young, respectively. Films about war will also be introduced to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.
◇The return of maestros
"
Scooping Up The Moonlight", which will be produced under the auspices of the Jeonju City government, is
Im Kwon-taek's first film to be shot with digital cameras. It is a story about seventh-grade public servant Jong-ho, who wants to become a fifth-grade official. To achieve his dream, he takes charge of the traditional Korean paper "hanji" at the municipal government and becomes completely mesmerized by it. Jong-ho is played by actor
Park Joong-hoon, who will appear in a Lim production for the first time. Actress
Kang Soo-yeon will work together with Lim for the first time since her appearance in the 1989 movie "Come Come Come Upward".
Actress
Yoon Jung-hee, who was one of the top three actresses of the 1960s along with Moon Hee and Nam Jung-im, will make a comeback for the first time after her 1994 movie "Two Flags". She will appear in
Lee Chang-dong's new movie
"Poetry". It is a story about a 60-something woman who raises her teenage granddaughter and receives basic living subsidies. One day she signs up for a literature class and begins to write her own poems for the first time. The movie is slated to open in early May.
◇War movies
Four films about war will open next year. They will deal with diverse subjects, including student soldiers and maritime clashes between South and North Korea. The majority of them will be large-scale productions costing more than 10 billion won.
Director
Lee Jae-han's "
Into the Gunfire", which is to open in June, is about a 12-hour battle that was held between 71 student soldiers and the North Korean Army at the end of the Nakdong River battle during the Korean war. Actors
kwon Sang-woo and T.O.P. (
Choi Seung-hyeon) of the music group Big Bang will play student soldiers. Actor Cha Weung-won will appear as a North Korean commander, while actor
Kim Seung-woo will play a South Korean commander. It is a blockbuster production that will cost 15 billion won to produce and market.
Director Lim Yeo-bin, who produced "Terrorist" in 1995, will this time produce "The Red Muffler 2", which will be a sequel to late Shin Sang-ok's movie "The Red Muffler". The grandson from the original production will appear as an Air Force pilot. The production cost have reached 8 billion won, and the movie is scheduled to open in October on National Army Day.
The second Yeonpyeong Clash of 2002 will be reenacted in the 3D film "We Are Beautiful" (tent...
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Veteran master
Im Kwon-taek will begin production on his HD debut next month, a feature drama on the traditional Korean paper art of 'hanji', titled "
Scooping Up The Moonlight". The 75-year-old director's 101st film will be his first venture into digital cinema, prompting him to switch from his longtime cinematographer JUNG Il-sung to work with the young, HD-experienced DOP, HWANG Gi-seok.
The new project was supported by KOFIC's newly launched Masters' Films Production Support Program which aims to elevate Korea's top name directors on the international stage and produce high-quality art films. The Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), known for producing various digital films, will produce the project.
The lead cast includes two of Kore...
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The Korean government is currently intensifying its efforts to promote Korea and its cultural assets overseas, most notably hansik, or Korean food. But less attention has been paid to hanji, the Korean paper made from mulberry trees that is known in Asia for its beauty, flexibility and high quality.
However, a new film by internationally acclaimed Korean director
Im Kwon-taek and produced by the Jeonju International Film Festival could change that. With a budget of 2 billion won ($1.73 million), the film will begin shooting in January. If completed in April as scheduled, it could go on to open the Jeonju film festival, which, true to its name, attracts a global audience.
The city of Jeonju is known for the beauty of its hanji, so it was a natural place for the project to begin. Festival organizers came up with the concept and then approached Im about directing the film.
"While we have carried out various projects to promote hanji, [making a movie about hanji] will be the highlight, particularly because it is with director Im", Song Ha-jin, president of the JIFF committee, said.
Im' s career dates to the early 1960s and his filmography consists of 100 movies, many of which have won critical and popular acclaim.
...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Master director
Im Kwon-taek may have 100 films under his belt, but he considers his upcoming project, "Dalbit Gireo Oligi" ("
Scooping Up The Moonlight"), his "debut piece".
"I hope this will be called my first ― rather than 101st ― film, a debut piece that breaks away from the framework of the 100 Im Kwon-taek-marked films I've made in the past", the 75-year-old cineaste told a crowded press room in Seoul, Tuesday, ahead of the shooting that begins next month.
He even "broke up" with his old working partner, cinematographer Jung Il-sung, in order to venture into the world of digital cinema for the first time. Two years ago at the opening reception of the 1st Cinema Digital Seoul film festival (CinDi), he had said it was a genre that he "must learn".
"I just decided to run headlong into it", he said, "I wanted to contradict expectations and work with something new and contemporary, and I hope to project myself into the medium while learning its advantages". He will work with Hwang Gi-seok, a young cinematographer who is experienced ...
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