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Directed by Park Chan-wook (박찬욱)
Screenplay by Hwang Jo-yoon (황조윤), Park Chan-wook (박찬욱)
120min | Release date in South Korea : 2003/11/21One day in 1988, an ordinary man named OH Dae-su, who lives with his wife and adorable daughter, is kidnapped and later wakes up to find himself in a private makeshift prison. Dae-su makes numerous attempts to escape and to commit suicide, but they all end up in failure. All the while Dae-su asks himself what made a man hate him so much enough to i... More
The 2009 Cannes Film Festival closed its curtains on May 24th.
A total of 10 Korean films were invited to screen at Cannes. Director Bong Joon-ho's "Mother - 2009" was invited to compete for the "Un Certain Regard" prize, receiving great praise in the process. Park Chan-wook's "Thirst" took home the Jury Prize. And once again, Cannes provided an opportunity to show the world what Korean films are all about. Recently, Korean films have been showing their best side at the world's top film festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Venice. Behind their success is what some might call "cinema diplomacy". Since the launch of the Pusan Film Festival in 1996, a host of international festivals are introducing Korean films to viewers around the world every year. This led to "Strokes of Fire", by Im Kwon-taek winning Best Director in 2002, and Park Chan-wook winning the Grand Prix at Cannes two years later with "Old Boy". The same year "3-Iron" was awarded Best Director at Venice. Why can'...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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 By Lee Hyo-wonStaff Reporters Director Jeon Soo-il can be grouped among "the Kim Ki-duk clan" of artists who are better appreciated in the international film festival circuit than in local theaters. His latest film "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells" is slated to compete in July _ when he turns 50 _ at the 44th Karlovivary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic. This means that all six of Jeon's features will have been invited to major cinema events. But as much as the film, now showing in theaters, marked the comeback of "Old Boy" star Choi Min-sik, its press preview attracted a mad crowd of reporters (Some 20 people had turned up for his previous multiple award-winning "With a Girl of Black Soil"). The aforementioned Kim is known to provoke onscreen, and Jeon also does not hesitate to depict shocking characters that take performance art to an extreme degree and commit suicide on stage ("I Have the Right to Destroy Myself"). "I had Choi Min-sik in mind when ...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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| A stranger's death is the beginning of a journey to the middle of nowhere. A simple yet profound independent film has opened at Korean box offices amidst a flood of speedy, sensual blockbusters. Let me invite you to a sanctuary for tired souls, "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells". Choi has spent his whole life trying to get ahead. He has sent his family abroad while working in Korea. Unfortunately, he is fired due to a corporate restructuring. Then one day, Choi emerges from his misery to take the ashes of a Nepalese laborer to his family. [Interview : Jeon Soo-il Director of "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells" ] "It's the story of a man setting out to return the remains of a stranger to his home. But the journey turns out to be a soul search, and the man reflects upon his own identity". A man who escapes from the world and finds himself in nature. The part of Choi is played by Choi Min-sik. Choi Min-sik is an actor already receiving worldwide recognition. In "Old Boy" he ...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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| By Lee Hyo-won Staff Reporter Actor Choi Min-sik has returned to local screens to take the audience on a faraway journey to "Himalaya, Where the Wind Dwells", which opens in theaters June 11. The actor is virtually synonymous with contemporary Korean cinema, with the so-called "first" domestic blockbuster "Shiri" (Swiri) (1998) to Im Kwon-taek's award-winning "Chihwaseon" ("Strokes of Fire", 2002) and Park Chan-wook's international breakthrough "Old Boy" (2003). He was also accused of upping guarantees for high-profile actors, though Kang Woo-suk later rescinded the statement and apologized. The 47-year-old may have been absent from the silver screen for four years, but his presence remained strong ― in 2007, he showed off his theatrical streak in the play "Pillow Man" while last year the 14th Lyon Asian Film Festival held a retrospective on Choi. "Expression (acting) itself is important, but the process of absorbing things before taking part in a project is vital. ...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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 By Lee Hyo-wonStaff Reporter Director Park Chan-wook, who won the Jury Prize at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival for "Thirst" Sunday, said he had secretly anticipated a win, he told reporters in Seoul Thursday. "The audience's response was so heated. I wouldn't be able to win if the jury didn't like it, but it was the first time I ever received such a heartfelt ovation, so I began to hope for the chance", he said. This is his second Jury Prize ― which he shared with Andrea Arnold's "Fish Tank" ― from the prestigious French event after "Old Boy" in 2004. "Thirst" is a bloody thriller about a priest who turns into a vampire and agonizes over his newfound desire for blood and sex. The film received critical acclaim, but the response among regular moviegoers is often split. It was the first time a vampire film entered the competition pool at Cannes. "I heard it was the first vampire film entered the competition pool in the history of Cannes. In Kore...| More | |||||||||||||||||
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| Patrick Frater / Screendaily... | 2003/12/14 |
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| 120 min •35mm •Cinemascope (2.35) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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www.oldboy2003.co.kr... (  English )
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