Shiny Day (Movie - 2006)

PARK Kwang-soo's "Meet Mr. Daddy" ("Shiny Day") Awarded at Rome

Source | 2007/10/31 | Permalink |

Drama "Meet Mr. Daddy" ("Shiny Day") won the Young Audiences Award at the 2007 Rome Film Festival. Director PARK Kwang-soo's drama revolves around a selfish man – played by PARK Shin-yang – who finds out that he has a young daughter. Because it's financially beneficial, he decides to keep her. Later he finds out that the girl suffers from a serious disease.

PARK Kwang-soo is a veteran writer/director whose credentials includes "Chilsoo and Mansu" (1988), featuring PARK Joong-hoon and AHN Seong-gi. He is also the director of the Asian Film Market (AFM) of the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF).

PARK Shin-yang's numerous roles include "Hi, Dharma" and the sequel "Hi, Dharma 2: Showdown in Seoul". He played a gangster who ends up hiding at a Buddhist temple; the Buddhist monks and the gangsters inevitably clash in the comedies.

Rome Film Festival's second edition was held this year after Pusan International Film Festival. Rome awarded Juno (Ivan Reitman) with the best fil...| More

Movies Reflect on Contemporary Fathers

Source | 2007/04/24 | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

There have been many films that have shed light on motherly love such as "Running Boy" ("Marathon" - 2005), "Herb" (2006) and "Sunflower" (2007), where single mothers raised their children overcoming hardships.

Now it's the fathers' turn. This spring, local filmmakers are paying a particular attention to fathers, as many new films portray the contemporary father.

At the box office, the audience can choose from a range of films that center on fatherly love. These fathers have different jobs according to their social class. But what they share in common is, of course, the devotion and affection they have for their family.

"Meet Mr. Daddy" ("Shiny Day" - at theaters)

Directed by Park Kwang-soo, the film is a story of a man who learns about fatherly love, something he never experienced as a child himself.

Jong-dae is a ruthless and selfish man. One day, after a fight, he is placed in a police cell. He receives a visitor, a former love.

S...| More

Week's Movie Premieres

Source | 2007/04/20 | Permalink |

Time to check on what's new at the movies.
This week, there's an equal mix of local and Hollywood productions.
Here's Son Heekyung.
First up this week is the Korean film, "My Tutor Friend Lesson II", sequel to the 2003 hit romantic comedy.
The theme here doesn't stray that far from the first.
A boy and a girl of the same age meet as student and tutor.
Only this time it's an ethnic Korean woman in Japan, who falls in love with a Korean student on the island.
Later, she comes to Seoul to meet her lover, and confesses her true feelings.
Another notable change are new faces in the lead roles.
Actor Park Ki-woong stars alongside Lee Cheong-ah .

Another new film from Korea is "Meet Mr. Daddy" ("Shiny Day")
The drama is set against the backdrop of the 2002 World Cup.
Park Shin-yang plays a small-time gangster who suddenly finds out he has a young daughter.
What's more stressful is he has to live with the seven-year-old girl.
He only agrees to do so in return for a payoff and a...| More

Fathers take center stage in Korean films

Source | 2007/04/19 | Permalink |

Melodramas, horror flicks, gangster comedies and thrillers have one thing in common for Korean moviegoers: they are not so popular at the box office. To find a breakthrough, filmmakers have been exploring other alternative genres and themes, one of which turns out to be the father.

Not a traditional Korean father who symbolizes the paternal authority, though. The latest cinematic Korean fathers are usually depicted as middle-aged, increasingly powerless, anxious to survive, lonely, and willing to admit their vulnerability.

In-gu, a mid-level mob boss in "The Show Must Go On", is a case in point. The character represents many Korean fathers who feel threatened by the worsening conditions in Korean society.

In-gu, played by veteran actor Song Kang-ho, wants to get a decent house for his family - one of the key issues for most Korean households - but does not make enough money. After all, he's just a gangster-cum-worker stuck on the lower rung of the social ladder.

Unlike trad...| More

KOFIC names recipients of subtitle support fund

Source | 2006/09/05 | Permalink |

The Korean Film Council has announced the recipients of the second round of its 2006 Subtitle Translation and Print Production support program. Seven feature films and three short films were selected out of 18 total submissions (15 feature films, 3 short films).

The program provides funding for the production of a subtitled print, with specific arrangements to be made by the film's producer or international sales agent. This is the final round of support for 2006.

The recipients are:

"The Host" (dir. BONG Joon-ho, 119 min, submitted by Chungeorahm)
"The Last Dining Table" (dir. Noh Kyeong-tae, 91 min, submitted by PARK Kang-mi)
"Short Life" (4302~) (dir. AHN Gyeong-ri, 92 min, submitted by AHN Gyeong-ri)
"Family Ties" - "The Birth of a Family" (dir. KIM Tae-yong, 114 min, submitted by Cineclick Asia)
"The Old Garden" (dir. LIM Sang-soo, 105 min, submitted by Cineclick Asia)
"Woman on the Beach" (dir. HONG Sang-soo, 128 min, submitted by A bom Film Productions)
"Meet Mr. ...| More