Crocodile (Movie - 1996)

Film Fests Offer Retrospective, Award to Korean Movie Stars

Source | 2008/10/22 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter

Two film festivals in France and India are paying respect to local actors and directors by holding retrospectives and offering awards.

The 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival will hold a retrospective on Korean movie star Choi Min-sik Nov. 4-9.

Kim Ji-seok, a programmer from the Pusan International Film Festival which ended Oct. 10, announced Tuesday that the renowned film festival will screen five of Choi's movies ― "Our Twisted Hero" (1992), "Failan" (2001), "Strokes of Fire" (2002), "Old Boy" (2003) and "Crying Fist" (2005) ― at the event.

Choi is planning to fly to Lyon, France, to attend the event and also appear for the press and fans.

The 46-year-old veteran actor is one of Korea's favorite movie stars, thanks to his superb acting and down-to-earth image. He has starred in numerous films including hits like "Shiri" and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance". He is currently working on the movie "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells", which...| More

MoMa to screen works of award-winning director Kim Ki-duk

Source | 2008/04/22 | 0 comments | Permalink |

New Yorkers will be able to taste a series of artistic Korean movies made by director Kim Ki-duk from Wednesday (Apr. 23).

The Department of Film at New York's Museum of Modern Art, or MoMa, will hold a screening of the works of award-winning moviemaker Kim Ki-duk, 48, who has directed artistic yet controversial films since 1996.

During the exhibition at MoMa's Theater 1, co-organized by the Korean Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Korean Film Council, and supported by the Korean Film Archive in Seoul, movie lovers will be able to take in a total of 14 movies directed by Kim, which will include several features never before seen in the United States, according to MoMa.

Kim is a self-taught maverick filmmaker whose works have impressed international cinema industry with a focus on symbolism and his strong sense of motifs and intensity.

He was a former factory worker, soldier, seminarian and a street artist in France between 1992 and 1995 where he discovered cinema thro...| More

Book Review : The LEE Chang-dong Edition

Source | 2007/06/18 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Among Korean directors, LEE Chang-dong has maintained an integrity and a seriousness few aspire to. While having completed only four films in ten years, he is perhaps Korea's most consistent and valuable director, continually taking risks and challenging his audiences. In step with the release of his latest film "Secret Sunshine", a 2007 Cannes competitor that brought home a Best Actress Award for JEON Do-yeon, KOFIC/ Seoul Selection have published a welcome addition to the Korean Film Directors series. LEE Chang-dong is one of three retail volumes published this year. The other two in the series are on IM Kwon-taek and KIM Ki-young.

The present volume provides an overview of LEE's work, a biography, a compilation of several interviews, and synopses and analyses of his first three films. For anyone approaching LEE's films for the first time, this book offers valuable context and historical grounding for each of the director's features. It is clear that the book's author, note...| More

Japan to Show Encore Films by Director Kim Ki-duk

Source | 2007/04/18 | 0 comments | Permalink |

To mark the Japanese release of director Kim Ki-duk's 1996 debut film "Crocodile", a special showing under the title of "Continuing Mandala of Ki-duk" will be held in Euro Space in Tokyo on April 28th. It appears that the name Kim Ki-duk has become a brand in and of itself.

The film "Crocodile" will be shown twice a day until May 18th, together with six other works by Kim--"Birdcage Inn", "The Coast Guard", "Address Unknown", "The Isle", "Bad Guy", and "3-Iron".

Separate from this event, Kim's 2006 film "Time" has been playing at a Japanese theater since March 10th under the title of "Love of Absolute".

Another special presentation of director Kim's films titled "Super Ki-duk Mandala" took place between February 24th and March 16th at the same locale. Starting on the 7th of next month, the two most lauded films from "Super Ki-duk Mandala"--"Wild Animals" and "Real Fiction"--will be shown again....| More

Strangely cool and sweet crime story

Source | 2006/10/10 | 0 comments | Permalink |

One of the strengths of genre films often lies not in their originality or realism, but their ability to turn familiar subjects that've been explored many times before into believable tales. In the dictionary of commercial cinema, that's called a well-made movie. It takes a conventional story, sprinkles in some unusual twists and dresses it all in a new narrative style.
"Bloody Tie" follows the formula faithfully, dealing with the familiar subject of drug trafficking, but does so using various techniques ― including raw dialogue and dramatic characters ― to make the story believable.
The film opens with a written sequence, explaining the story is a fictional scenario based on the Korean drug trafficking scene shortly after the country's foreign exchange crisis led to a peak in substance abuse.
As the film begins, voices of newscasters are heard warning of a police crackdown on heroin dealers. This is followed by a voiceover by Sang-do (played by Ryoo Seung-beom), a deale...| More