Fantastic Parasuicides (2007) - 판타스틱 자살 소동 (Pan-ta-su-tik Ja-sal So-dong)

Hong Sang-soo's Film Vies for Berlin Award

2008/02/11 | Source | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

While Korea celebrated Seollal on Feb. 7, on the far side of the globe, Germany greeted cineaste and cinephiles from all over the world for the 58th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale), which runs through Sunday. This year, Hong Sang-soo's "Night and Day" competes for the Golden Bear award while three other Korean films make their mark at one of the most exciting and large-scale film events.

"Night and Day" is Hong's eighth feature film and it is the first time the acclaimed director competes at the Berlinale. Known as an innovative minimalist, Hong had competed in Cannes with "Woman is the Future of Man" (2004) and "Tale of Cinema" (2005). Before flying to Berlin, he stopped by Geneva earlier this month because "Woman on the Beach" (2006) was invited to the Black Movie Festival.

A recipient of the 2005 Korean Film Council Production Support for Art Films, "Night and Day" was mostly shot in Paris. It is about a successf...| More

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Four Korean films to screen at Berlin Film Fest

2008/01/29 | Source | Permalink |

Acclaimed director HONG Sang-soo will return to the Berlin International Film Festival with his eighth film "Night and Day", which screens in the festival's competition section. This will be the first time that a film by HONG competes at Berlin, after his previous works "Woman is the Future of Man" (2004) and "Tale of Cinema" (2005) competed at Cannes.

The film, recipient of 2005 KOFIC Production Support for Art Films, which was 90% shot in Paris, stars KIM Yeong-ho as an artist who runs off to France and leaves behind his wife played by HWANG Soo-jeong. PARK Eun-hye and LEE Seon-gyoon are cast as art students in Paris.

HONG's film is one of four Korean films that have been invited to various sections of the Berlinale. "Beautiful" by debut director Jeon Jae-hong tells the story of a woman who is persecuted because of her beauty. The film is based on a screenplay by well-known director KIM Ki-duk, who also served as executive producer of the film. Jeon is recognized as an u...| More

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Rotterdam fest to highlight various Korean films

2008/01/18 | Source | Permalink |

The 37th International Film Festival Rotterdam, scheduled to run from January 23 to February 3, will present a broad selection of Korean films in its line-up.

Although no Korean films will compete in the festival's main competition section for first and second films, the short film Waiting will participate in the festival's short film competition. The film, which was commissioned by the Jeonju International Film Festival as part of its Short! Short! Short! project, centers on a woman waiting for a train who encounters a boy who acts in strange ways. This marks the second year in the row that the film's director, KIM Jong-kwan, has had a short film competing at Rotterdam.

Three Korean features will screen in the Sturm und Drang (Cinema of the Future) section. The omnibus "Fantastic Parasuicides" centers on people who undergo surreal experiences at the moment they decide to kill themselves. "Hanging Tough" – directed by PARK Soo-yeong – is about a high school girl who wants to ...| More

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In Cinemas This Weekend

2007/11/09 | Source | Permalink |

And finally tonight let's see what's new at the movies this week.
Looks like it's a good mix of Korean and foreign productions with one for fans of Tom Cruise and Robert Redford and Taiwanese director Ang Lee.
Lee Jeewon has our preview.
We begin with an omnibus film from Korea.
Composed of three episodes, "Fantastic Parasuicides" is a movie from three directors, Park Soo-yeong, Jo Chang-ho and Kim Seong-ho that distributors say takes imagination to the extreme.
The first episode is about something that everyone might have dreamed about in school or rather the absence of it!
The second contains black humor about crime.
And the last story perhaps the quirkiest of all is about a romantic and elderly gay man who on his birthday tries to save a pretty boy.

Next is a Hollywood drama starring Oscar nominee Tom Cruise and Oscar winner Meryl Streep.
They are joined by another Oscar winner Robert Redford, who also directed the film.
The three characters in different parts of the Uni...| More

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'Fantastic Parasuicides' Invited to Sydney Film Festival

2007/11/07 | Source | Permalink |

The Korean omnibus film 'Fantastic Parasuicides' has been invited to the 2008 Sydney International Film Festival in Australia.

Producer and distributor Indiestory said it was unusual for festival organizers to invite a film prior to officially announcing the festival program.

The Fantastic Parasuicides, which was also invited to the Pusan International Film Festival's Wide Angle category, is an omnibus film which consists of three short films that come together under the common theme "suicide". The three short films include 'Three People in the Dark' directed by Park Soo-yeong, 'Fly Chicken!' directed by Jo Chang-ho and 'Happy Birthday' directed by Kim Seong-ho.

The annual Sydney International Film Festival is the largest film festival in the southern hemisphere that screens 300 films from 40 to 50 countries around the world. A number of Korean films have been invited in the past inlcuding 'Untold Scandal' and 'If You Were Me' in 2003, 'Host and Guest' in 2006 and 'Woman on th...| More

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