"Old Partner" director Lee Chung-ryoul (left) and producer Ko Young-jae at the 7th Max Movie Awards on February 9, 2010. [Asia Economic Daily]
Korean documentary "Old Partner" won the trophy for best picture at the 7th Max Movie Awards on Tuesday.
"Partner" also took the prize for best movie poster at the annual event, which hands out its awards based on a survey on movie fans. A total 753,277 people participated in the survey conducted from January 5 through February 2 this year.
The acclaimed indie film -- which attracted over three million viewers in Korea during its limited theatrical release -- is about an old farmer couple and their lifelong friendship with an old partner, a 40-year-old ox....More
The 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" (tentative title)...
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By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
Imagine, being perched above a vertigo-inducing height, swishing down a roller coaster-like slope and then freewheeling through the air ― with only a pair of skis to safeguard the landing.
Ski jumping is a minority within the sports scene here, but onscreen the icy game provides for the hottest summer movie experience. Packed with adrenaline rush, tastefully crafted drama and a rocking soundtrack,
"Take Off" ("Ski Jump") lifts viewers onto a pulsating flight in this story about ski jumpers that dared to dream ― and fly.
Director
Kim Yong-hwa didn't need to adopt the standard formula for sports films. Sure, the movie features conventional elements ― setting hurdles to overcome, overturning team dynamics and lots of sweating ― but truth is sometimes more interesting than fiction, and the filmmaker simply had to tell the amazing story, which he does with finesse.
Inspired by true events, the movie takes viewers to 1997 Muju, North Jeolla Province, which is bidding to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games. A national ski jumping team needs to be whipped together...
MoreGyeongseong is emerging as a popular background for Korean films, reflecting the public's recent penchant for retro style, and filmmakers' newfound interest in the Japanese colonial period -- evidence of their quest for fresh characters and themes.
During the Japanese colonial rule of the early 20th century, today's Seoul was called Gyeongseong. It was the very cultural center where tradition and Western modernity began to fuse.
Four new films exemplify this dipping into the past -- "Once Upon a Time", "
Radio Dayz", "
Modern Boy" and "
The Good, the Bad, the Weird", all of which come with high-profile directors and actors. Production houses are pinning their hopes on the success of this new breed of Gyeongseong films at a time when home-grown movies face an uphill battle against Hollywood blockbusters.
In the past few decades, a host of filmmakers already used Gyeongseong as a historical setting -- but only superficially. In contrast, these upcoming films rely heavily on the cultural diversity of the period to create fantasy or induce retro feelings.
"Once Upon a Time", directed by
Jeong Yong-ki and financed by SK ...
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Director
Jeong Yong-ki tried his hand again at comedy and selected a winning leading duo in
Park Yong-woo and
Lee Bo-yeong, aptly complemented by a number of supporting roles. The film is situated during the final days of the Japanese colonization of Korea.
"Once upon a Time" is a well balanced heist comedy; including fast and dynamic action and fight scenes, glitter and glamour, and plenty of jokes. The humorous scenario is well handled by the director and the actors' fun during filming is apparent for anybody to see.
PARK transforms from the shy guy who never had a girlfriend in his breakthrough film "...
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