Memories of Murder (Movie - 2003)

Korea culture to be on the screen at 4th London Korean Film Festival

Source | 2009/11/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The fourth London Korean Film Festival 2009 runs from Nov. 1 to 18 and already some of the big name directors in Korea have flown to the United Kingdom to promote Korean movies. Prior celebrations and functions aside, the actual first screening was on Thursday (Nov. 5).

This year's film festival, with 25 feature films and four animations from Korea, is organized by the Korean Cultural Center in the United Kingdom and the Korea Creative Content Agency, with the support of the Korean government.

The films will be screened at the BFI (British Film Institute) from Nov. 1 to 14; the London Barbican Centre from Nov. 5 to 12; Manchester Cornerhouse from Nov. 7 to 9; and Nottingham Broadway Cinema from Nov. 16 to 18.

Some award-winning directors from Korea, namely director Park Chan-wook and Bong Joon-ho will visit London with their respective works, "Thirst" (2009) and "Mother - 2009" (2009). The Thirst, which won a Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival this year,...| More

'Mother - 2009' : A Must See

Source | 2009/10/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Howard Shumann rates "Mother - 2009" by Bong Joon-ho an A. Editor's Note

After a night of drinking, Do Joon (Won Bin), an intellectually-challenged young man, encouraged by his reckless buddy Jin-tae (Jin Goo), attempts to pick up a young high school girl Ah-jung walking home alone. Shockingly, the next day, Do Joon is arrested for the girl's murder as his mother looks on helplessly. Seen at the Vancouver Film Festival, Bong Joon-ho's Mother is an intelligent, suspenseful, and darkly comic revelation of the lengths to which an overbearing but deeply loving mother will go to pursue justice for her son who, she believes, has been wrongly convicted of murder.

Though there is an evocative score by Lee Byeong-woo, the film's use of ambient sounds such as the slashing of a herb chopper and the rustling of leaves add to an ominous mood, though it often clashes with the absurdist events seen on screen. Set in a small Korean town, the elderly mother, played by Korean TV star Kim Hye-ja in...| More

'Chaw' and 'Haeundae' Get More International Exposure

Source | 2009/09/18 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Both "Chaw" and "Haeundae" are to be released overseas, respectively to the U.K and Canada.

Optimum Releasing who also handled BONG Joon-ho's "Memories of Murder" (2003) will be releasing wild pig movie "Chaw" to British audiences. The film, which features the aforementioned pig terrorizing a small sleepy village scored 1.8 admissions at the Korean box office. 'Haeundae" did even better at the box office pulling in 1,546,976 viewers alone in its opening weekend. Canada based distributer Cine-Asia will be harnessing the titanic film planning theatrical releases in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver followed by a DVD release. The film was previously sold to a number of territories at the Hong Kong Film Mart and more recently to China on a revenue-sharing basis.

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)...| More

Bong Joon-ho's Latest Challenge in 'Mother - 2009'

Source | 2009/07/04 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Kyu Hyun Kim

Kim Hye-ja marvels in an overwhelming thriller

Small country town, Korea. Do-joon (Won Bin, returning to the screen after four years of military service) is a pretty-faced young man, treated as a village idiot and perpetually causing minor havoc with his ne'er-do-well friend Jin-tae (Jin Goo). Do-joon's devoted mother Hye-ja (Kim Hye-ja) is left to clean up the aftermath.

Then one day everyone is stunned to find Do-joon arrested for the murder of a high school girl Ah-jung (Moon Hee-ra). The evidence seems incontrovertible, but Hye-ja launches her own awkward investigation into the murder case, hoping to nab the real culprit. However, everyone in the town, including Hye-ja and Doo-jun themselves, seems to harbor some dark secret, threatened to be uncovered by her sleuthing.

While the film's plot and set-up superficially resemble Bong's based-on-real-life police procedural "Memories of Murder", "Mother - 2009" is even more emotionally shocking and devilishly ...| More

Korean Movie Screened With English Subtitles

Source | 2009/06/16 | 0 comments | 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