| 'Bandhobi' Interweaves Growing Pains, Cultures (Source) |
2009/06/18 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
In "Bandhobi", director Sin Dong-il translates to screen "uncomfortable" issues of illegal immigration, racism and social toadyism through the universal languages of ticklish humor, teenage angst and priceless friendship.
It's a story about growing pains and the meeting point of different cultures _ the title "Bandohbi" roughly means "female friend" in Bengali. It's an indie flick that, while comfortably feigning mainstream superficiality, is inlaid with some gem-like scenes that show why Shim was dubbed "the Korean Woody Allen" (Berlin International Film Festival, "Host and Guest", 2005).
Teenage actress Bae Jin-hee portrays the cheeky 17-year-old Min-seo with sure-fire articulation. One of the thousands of girls who took part in political candlelit vigils, Min-seo relentlessly speaks her mind at home _ "you're just my mom's sex partner", she shouts at her single mother's incompetent boyfriend (Here, the film could have made the man despicable ... |More
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| Jeonju Unveils Korean Competition Films (Source) |
2009/04/09 |
The 10th Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF), one of Korea's three major cinema showcases along with PIFF and PiFan, has revealed a selection of 11 new films for its Korean Feature Competition section that will vie for the JJ Star Award for top film, a cash award of 10 million Won.
Among the films selected are director SIN Dong-il's third feature, "Bandhobi", which tells about the relationship between a Bangladeshi laborer and a Korean high school girl. SIN debuted with the award-winning "Host and Guest" (2005) and followed it up with the critically praised "My Friend and His Wife" (2006).
Other notables include LIM Soon-rye's latest, "Fly, Penguin", a human-rights themed drama starring MOON So-ri; KIM Eung-su's HD feature "The Origin of Water" about a mysterious painting and a man who goes in search of the scenery depicted in it.
Feature debut directors are many, including CHO Kyeong-duk with "Sex Volunteer", SIM Sang-kook with "Where is Ronny... ", KIM Aaron with ... |More
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| My Friend and His Wife Finally Released (Source) |
2008/11/19 |
Two years after premiering at the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF), where it received rave reviews, SIN Dong-il's sophomore feature is finally receiving its local release. "My Friend and His Wife" opens November 27 through producer and distributor Prime Entertainment.
The film stars JANG Hyeon-seong ("Feathers in the Wind") as Ye-jun, the best friend of Jae-moon, played by PARK Hee-soon ("Seven Days"). The latter's wife, Ji-sook, is played by newcomer HONG So-hee. The trio traverse a landscape of ethical and personal challenges during the film's running time.
Amidst the praise it generated at PIFF, Variety film critic, Derek Elley was most exuberant, calling the film, "Superbly honed at every level, with dialogue, performances and direction meshing in a seamless, apparently effortless flow", adding that the director's second film should "put Shin's name on the international map".
Writer-director SIN made his feature debut with "Host and Guest" in 2005, premieri... |More
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| [MOVIE REVIEW] 'My Friend and His Wife' drifts into melodramatic formula (Source) |
2008/11/17 |
"My Friend and His Wife", directed by Sin Dong-il, has been gathering dust in the storage room for about two years. It's finally hitting theaters on Nov. 27.
The unusually long delay suggests the film's box-office odds were fairly low in the eyes of cash-hungry studios and marketers. But this does not necessarily mean its artistic level would meet the lofty standards of local art-house cinema fans.
The film's ostensible theme revolves around the competition between friendship and love. Friendship involves two men; love concerns a woman who gets entangled with the two men - one is her lawful husband and the other his best friend.
But the potentially intriguing alternative theme, which is not explicitly dealt with in the film, is the female character's subservient status - a wife who has to depend on either her husband or his wealthy friend to climb up the social ladder.
In the film, Ye-jun (Jang Hyeon-seong) is a high-flying fund manager who is always willing to help out Jae... |More
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| Pruning the Grapevine in Competition at Karlovy Vary (Source) |
2007/06/22 |
Korean film "Pruning the Grapevine" (2006), by MIN Byeong-hoon, will screen in the Official Selection – Competition section of the 42nd Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. The event which is held each year in the picturesque valley also known as Karlsbad, in the western province of Bohemia, Czech Republic, opens on June 29th for a nine-day run. A total of six Korean features will screen in various sections of the festival.
Grapevine director MIN is known to Karlovy Vary programmers, after his first film, "The Flight of the Bee" (1998, co-directed by Jamshed Usmonov) and his second, "Let's Not Cry", were screened at previous editions of the festival with the latter winning both a FIPRESCI award and a main jury Special Mention in 2002. Grapevine lead SEO Jang-won is also a familiar face at Karlovy Vary after his screen debut "The Unforgiven" was shown at last year's event.
"Pruning the Grapevine" was the recipient of KOFIC's Art Film Production Support program in 2005 a... |More
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