kwak Jae-Yong (곽재용)

Bucheon Welcomes Asia's Largest Genre Film Fest

2008/07/06 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, Bucheon, the small city sandwiched between Seoul and Incheon, turns into Asia's ultimate paradise for fantastic cinema. From July 18 to 27, the 12th Puchon (Bucheon) International Fantastic Film Festival (PiFan) invites 205 fantasy flicks from 35 countries. Film buffs, get ready to taste the brilliance ― and eerie, fascinating shadows ― of the human imagination.

PiFan will "Waltz with Bashir" for its opening ceremony. The sensitive autobiographical animation by Israelian director Ari Folman appeared at Cannes in May. Sci-fi romance "Cyborg She", a Korea-Japan co-production by "My Sassy Girl" helmsman Kwak Jae-yong, will wrap up the festival.

The main program, Puchon Choice, lists 12 titles including Na Hong-jin's hit thriller "The Chaser" and "Blair Witch Project" director Daniel Myrick's "The Objective". "Death Bell" by Chang, a high school horror story about a bloody college entrance exam, makes its world premiere.

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'Princess' Flies High, Dips Low

2008/06/26 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

The higher you climb, the more it hurts if you fall. After much time and anticipation ― two years since its completion ― "My Mighty Princess" opens across theaters. Director Kwak Jae-yong, reaches for the sky by adding martial arts moves to a love story in the tradition of "My Sassy Girl" (1999). But he falls flat on his face in this contrived, cliched drama about a love struck martial artist.

So-hwi (Sin Min-ah) is a martial arts child prodigy-turned-college student, and in tune with her rainbow-hued outfits and pigtails, she bounces over rooftops when she's late for class. She's literally a "mighty princess" who makes use of her superhuman strength to dress up as Snow White to pull stunts in a freak martial arts gig.

One day, she realizes that openly displaying her monster stamina will never get her a boyfriend, let alone catch the attention of the handsome hockey jock Jun-mo (Yoo Geon). To the dismay of her father and the rest of ...| More

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Romance missing from Korean films

2008/06/25 | Source | Permalink |

Two genres - the melodrama and the romantic comedy - used to do very well at the box office.

"200 Pounds Beauty" is a case in point. It deals with plastic surgery, but it is deeply rooted in the romantic comedy tradition in which love ultimately conquers all.

But Korean theaters in recent months have had few, if any, offerings that stir people to talk about the triumph of romance. The summer lineup continues the paucity of romantic flicks.

What happened?

Last week, "Public Enemy Returns", directed by Kang Woo-seok, rose to the No. 1 slot, offering a much-anticipated reprieve to the protracted slump in the local film industry. But the film, starring Seol Kyeong-gu and Jeong Jin-yeong, does not have any elements that can be categorized as romantic.

"Crossing", a film about North Korean defectors which is also getting a lot of attention, is about to hit theaters this week, but there is no room in that story for romance.

"The Good, The Bad, The Weird", a big-budget Korean...| More

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Puchon Fantastic Film fest to stick with what works

2008/06/25 | Source | Permalink |

This year's Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival touts a surprisingly broad and mainstream theme: "Love, fantasy, and adventure".

The theme signals the festival's decision to take a bold leap forward in trying to lure mainstream audiences to its variety of genre films such as horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and animation, organizers said in a press conference on Tuesday.

The 12th annual Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival will run from July 18 to July 27, showcasing 25 films from 39 countries. Last year, films were gathered from 33 countries.

"Waltz with Bashir", an autobiographical documentary animation set in Israel by Ari Folman, will open the 12th annual Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival, which runs July 18 to 27.

Festival programmer Kwon Yong-min sees the rise in participating countries as a positive sign. "This increase means that genre films are gathering more international acclaim, and finding a greater place in world cinema", he said. A total o...| More

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'My Mighty Princess' is bland, cliche

2008/06/18 | Source | Permalink |

"My Mighty Princess", directed by Kwak Jae-yong, revolves around a mighty female character who can beat up powerful martial art professionals -- if she wants to. The problem is that she does not bother to show off her awesome power even though the fate of the secret marital art community in Korea hangs in the balance. After all, she's a college student and she's busy chasing after handsome guys.

Director Kwak's new romantic comedy, which relies heavily on the visual effects of wire actions, starts from a cartoonistic assumption that a host of ancient martial art practitioners are living in the city of Seoul without revealing their true identity.

The movie's heroine So-hui (played y Sin Min-ah) not only belongs to this secret community but also comes with a special privilege. Her father was one of the four masters who once flexed their martial muscles in the secret community and her mother, who died when So-hui was young, was a top-rated swordswoman.

Despite the glorious herita...| More

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