My Dear Enemy (Movie - 2008)

Summer Action Flicks Are Coming

Source | 2009/06/30 | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Every summer, big budget Hollywood movies flow in, and many worry about the potential threat to homegrown films. Recent trends, however, suggest that competition is healthy.

"The fact that such a comparison (between national and international franchises) is even possible is unique; there aren't so many countries around the world where domestic films can compete with American ones", Han Seung-hee, researcher at the Korean Film Council, told The Korea Times.

After the turn of the new millennium, the Korean film industry enjoyed rapid growth, with blockbusters rewriting box office history each year. But the market plummeted for the first time last year, and investment and production hit an all time low. Moviegoers even criticized films that fared well at the box office as being formulaic.

So far, 2009 looks better. The success of "A Frozen Flower" and "Scandal Makers" ("Speedy Scandal") opened up a promising new year. Although February and March...| More

Korean Master and 12 Features in Hong Kong

Source | 2009/03/06 | Permalink |

One of Korean cinema's early masters and one of the most important directors of the 60s and 70s, YU Hyun-mok, 84, will receive a retrospective at the 33rd Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF). The event, which opens March 22, will feature four of the director's finest films under the title 'The Realist Dao of YU Hyun-mok'.

Included are YU's first masterpiece, "The Aimless Bullet" (1961), voted by Korean critics as the best Korean film of all time; the moving and sensuous "Daughters of the Kim Pharmacy" (1963), based on a classic Korean novel; the cynical, modernist color gem "The Guests on the Last Train" (1967) and the tense, cold war microcosm, "Rainy Days" (1979).

Contemporary Korean films playing at the fest number eight this year. Indie favorite, "Daytime Drinking", was selected to compete in HKIFF's Asia Digital Competition section. The low budget debut feature by NOH Young-seok has drawn notice after winning at the Jeonju Int'l Film Fest and receiving a North...| More

Korean Films Bookend San Francisco IAAFF

Source | 2009/02/25 | Permalink |

Korean films will take center-stage at this year's 27th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival (SFIAAFF). LEE Yoon-ki's latest drama "My Dear Enemy", starring Cannes Best Actress winner JEON Do-yeon ("Secret Sunshine"), will kick off the festival March 12.

The official closing film will be Korean-American director KIM So-yong's second feature, "Treeless Mountain" on March 19, although the festival continues screenings until the 22nd. KIM's sophomore effort is her first shot entirely in Korea and tells the tale of two young sisters shuffled off from mother to aunt to grandparents. It has won numerous prizes including best film at the Dubai Int'l Film Festival.

Opener, "My Dear Enemy" also stars HA Jeong-woo, one of the most visible stars of 2008. It tells the tale of woman (JEON) collecting a debt from her ex-boyfriend (HA) who takes her on an enlightening journey through Seoul as he borrows cash from various friends to pay her off. Actor HA came to SFIA...| More

6 Korean Films to Screen at Berlin Festival

Source | 2009/01/30 | Permalink |

The film "Antique" by Min Gyoo-dong has been invited to this year's 59th Berlin International Film Festival.

Based on a bestselling manga of the same title, the film will be shown out of competition in a themed section named Culinary Cinema.

"My Dear Enemy" by Lee Yoon-ki, "Land of Scarecrows" by Noh Kyeong-tae, "Members of the Funeral" by Baek Seung-bin, "The Day After" by Lee Suk-gyung and "Treeless Mountain" by Kim So-yong have been invited to the festival's Forum section.

"Antique", stars Joo Ji-hoon, Kim Jae-wook, Andy Gillet, Yoo Ah-in, and Choi Ji-ho. ...| More

Berlinale Invites Seven Korean Films

Source | 2009/01/23 | Permalink |

A total of seven Korean films are selected to screen at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival, running February 5 -15 in the German capital. Korean films will dominate this year's Forum section. The sidebar consists of five Korean titles: "Land of Scarecrows", "Members of the Funeral", "My Dear Enemy", and "Treeless Mountain".

Recently announced was the addition of MIN Gyoo-dong's third feature "Antique", which will screen in the Culinary Cinema section. MIN, who debuted with the critically praised horror "Memento Mori" (1999) and the 2005 hit "All for Love" ("My Lovely Week"), studied film in France. His latest feature revolves around four handsome young men and a cake-shop.

"Land of Scarecrows" is NOH Kyeong-tae's second effort after his bold experimental "The Last Dining Table" which was awarded at Pusan International Film Festival and Seoul Independent Film Festival. His early experimental short films "Father and Son", and "Reincarnation" are also multi-awarded fi...| More