Santamaria (Movie - 2008)

'Santamaria' overly emotional, mawkish

Source | 2008/06/30 | 0 comments | Permalink |

How many films can a Korean director put out every year? When the industry is booming, the optimal number might be one, maybe more if they are lucky. When business is sluggish, the number is bound to shrink, and so far 2008 has been a bad year for most Korean filmmakers.

Director Jeong Yeong-bae has defied the conventional wisdom dramatically. At a time when releasing even one film is regarded as an admirable feat, he is now set to introduce his second film - "Santamaria" (Jalmot-doen man-nam) - in less than two months after the release of his debut feature, "Cherry Tomato", in May.

It is all the more surprising when you consider that "Santamaria", to be released July 10, is not the best candidate for a box-office jackpot. The movie focuses on how two men cope with an emotionally taxing mixture of mistrust, hatred and resentment, even though they were best friends when they were young.

Il-do, played by Jeong Woong-in ("My Boss, My Hero"), was once an up-and-coming police detec...| More