The seventh edition of the New York Korean Film Festival is set to run August 22 – 31. Sponsored by KOFIC and The Korea Society, the event will screen more than 15 recent Korean features, of which 14 have been finalized for the line-up.
Highlights include one of the top-grossing Korean films of 2008, "
Forever the Moment", a sports-redemption-themed film directed by
Lim Soon-rye and starring
Moon So-ri and
Kim Jeong-eun. Other 2008 releases in the line-up are "...
MoreEuropean and Asian buyers closed deals on several Korean films' rights at the Berlin Film festival's market.
Jeon Ji-hyeon's star power in Asia resulted in "
A Man Who Was Superman" being sold to Hong Kong (Golden Scene), Thailand (J-Bics), and Singapore (Festive Films) by CJ Entertainment. The human interest drama was directed by
Jeong Yoon-cheol and stars
Hwang Jeong-min as a traumatised man.
German Splendid pre-bought the rights for "
The Divine Weapon" and ...
More
There is nothing special about the genre of "
Open City", opening nationwide today. It is easily categorized as a crime thriller. But the subject of pickpockets operating in broad daylight is fairly unusual, perhaps the first ever Korean flick devoted entirely to the street-smart thieves.
Doubly unusual -- or strange -- is director
Lee Sang-gi's attempt to incorporate a femme fatale theme into the film in a bid to turn it into an erotic crime thriller. There's no question about the beauty of
Son Ye-jin ("
April Snow",
"The Classic") but it is an open question whether she is really up to the task of a tantalizing seductress.
Son plays Baek Jang-mi, which means "white rose" in Korean. If the name is too tacky, so be it. After all, her role is tackier -- a female boss of a small pickpocket ring keen to expand its territory in Seoul.
Baek Jang-mi draws some attention from authorities in both...
More
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Loaded with action and marked by sexual tension, "
Open City" is yet another urban crime story set in the gritty streets of Seoul. But what sets it apart is that the cat and mouse game involves a network of professional ― and really scary ― pickpockets.
Lee Sang-gi makes a big directorial debut with a high-profile cast and a novel subject matter. He zooms into the world of "corporate" pick pocketing, but the story soon turns sour with some poorly crafted "Basic Instinct" elements and cliched family tragedies that are inherent to Korean dramas.
Son Ye-jin ("
A Moment to Remember", 2004) trades in her innocent image for a dangerous persona, going all out with the hint of sex appeal she showed as a perky playgirl in "
The Art of Seduction" (2005). She's ravishing, but like her character's cheesy name Baek Jang-mi (homonym f...
More
"
Open City" is the feature film directorial debut of
Lee Sang-gi who is also responsible for the scenario. The film stars
Son Ye-jin as the leader of a pick pocketing gang and
Kim Myeong-min plays a police detective working on her case. Unaware of each other's identity, the s...
More
