Memories of Murder (Movie - 2003)

Korean Movie Screened With English Subtitles

Source | 2009/06/16 | Permalink |

By John Redmond
Contributing Writer

For lovers of good cinema, Korea has a wealth of local releases. Some are of the finest quality, showing innovation and moving cinema in a new direction as applauded by Chris Berry on a recent Discovery Channel program.

What had been a major problem for film lovers of all Korean cinema who do not speak Korean has been the frustrating wait until the films are released on DVD to watch them with subtitles. This scenario is now one of the past.

CINUS in Gangnam and Myeong-dong are to screen latest release Korean films with English subtitles.

One movie of note is "Mother - 2009", directed by Bong Joon-ho.

Bong is a South Korean film director and screenwriter who had a huge hit at the box office in 2003, with "Memories of Murder", a film loosly based on the true story of Koreas first recorded serial killings.

In "Mother - 2009", Hye-ja is a single mom to 27-year-old Do-joon. Her son is her raison d'etre. Though an adult in years, Do-joon...| More

HONG Sang-soo casts MOON So-ri

Source | 2009/06/12 | Permalink |

2002 Venice Film Festival's Best actress winner MOON So-ri will challenge herself this time with a leading role in director HONG Sang-soo's next project. Details about HONG's film are sparse. The celebrated indie director is known for improvisation, writing and rewriting while filming.
 
KIM Sang-kyeong has been cast in the male leading role. It will be KIM's third film with HONG after "On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate" in 2002, and "Tale of Cinema" in 2005. KIM also worked with directors like BONG Joon-ho ("Memories of Murder") and KIM Ji-hoon ("May 18").
 
HONG's latest feature film "Like You Know it All" was invited by Festival de Cannes. HONG's films are conveted by film festivals around the world. He garnered acclaim from his first films "The Day a Pig Fell into a Well" and "The Power of Kangwon Province" on.
 
MOON So-ri is well known for her acting skills which attracted LIM Soon-rye ("Forever the Moment") and KIM Tae-yong ("Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Fa...| More

"Mother - 2009" Triumphs over Competition

Source | 2009/06/05 | Permalink |

The Korean weekend box-office saw peak traffic with BONG Joon-ho's latest thriller "Mother - 2009" facing off against Hollywood's Terminator Salvation. "Mother - 2009" emerged the winner, claiming over 1.4 million admissions in its first four days. BONG's fourth feature was highly anticipated by audiences after the director's previous hits "Memories of Murder" (2003) and "The Host" (2006) won him a broad domestic fan-base.

"Mother - 2009" topped the chart, an impressive feat considering competition from Hollywood heavy-hitters, Terminator and Angels & Demons, which took second and third place. BONG's small town thriller dominated theaters nationwide, playing on 765 screens, with Terminator a close second on 716 screens, together accounting for over 70% of the nations screens.

After premiering at the Cannes Film Festival earlier in May where it drew rave reviews from critics and ovations from audiences, "Mother - 2009" became one of the most talked about and eagerly anticip...| More

Beyond a look at the average ajumma

Source | 2009/06/04 | Permalink |

Bong Joon-ho does not need to compromise. As director of the acclaimed "Memories of Murder" and the record-shattering box office hit "The Host", he has earned the right to do whatever he wants.

Yet "Mother - 2009", which he wrote and directed and is now showing in Korean theaters with English subtitles (see box), was reportedly specifically designed around star Kim Hye-ja. And Kim is no blushing ingenue, either - now 67, for a decade she has played the role of aging matron in cheesy TV melodramas.

That makes Mother, a sympathetic yet blunt and disturbing examination of family life, all the more a revelation. Kim's performance is unexpected, complex and shockingly brilliant, at times recalling Helen Mirren's similar career-capping turn in "The Queen".

Yet this mother is no royal. In a poorer provincial city (the movie was filmed in South Jeolla), Kim's character, known only as "Mother - 2009", lives with her son Do-joon (Won Bin) above the oriental pharmacy she runs. Do-joon su...| More

Highly acclaimed film 'Mother - 2009' screened with English subtitles

Source | 2009/05/29 | Permalink |

A highly anticipated Korean film directed by acclaimed Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho is now playing in local theaters and it is available with English subtitles at several theaters.

"Mother - 2009", the story of a mother setting out on a lonely fight to clear her son of a murder charge and featuring veteran actress Kim Hye-ja as the mother, received a standing ovation after premiering at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival this month.

Hallyu (Korean Wave) star Won Bin plays the 28-year-old son Do-joon who has limited mental capacity and who happens to get caught up in a murder case.

"Mother" is being screened with English subtitles at seven local theaters: five in Seoul and two in Busan.

The five in Seoul are CGV Yongsan, CGV Apgujeong, two Cinus theaters in Myeong-dong and Gangnam and at Lotte Cinema Avenuel in Myeong-dong.

The two theaters in Busan are Lotte Cinema Ansan and Seomyeon.

Director Bong began to earn fame with his 2003 serial-killer mystery "Memo...| More