Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Movie - 2005)

PARK Chan-wook Retrospective at Asian Film Fest in Germany

Source | 2009/11/19 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Asia Film Fest which in 2007 held a KIM Ki-duk retrospective is this time focusing on Korean master director PARK Chan-wook. The retrospective will play 4 of his films from "JSA - Joint Security Area" (2000), "Old Boy" (2003), "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" (2005) through to "I'm a Cyborg, but that's OK" (2006). Director PARK's "Thirst" which premiered to rave reviews at Cannes and did good business at the box office in Korea will also play in the Korean section. Other films in the Korean section include current films "Chaw", "The Sword with No Name", "A Frozen Flower" (2008), KIM Ji-woon's "The Good, The Bad, The Weird" (2008) and Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine". Also of note, playing in the Special Presentation section is "Blood: The Last Vampire" staring Korean Gianna Jun (Jeon Ji-hyeon).

The Asia film festival which began in Munich in 2004 has enjoyed a 10% growth rate in audiences every year. It begins this year October 28 through to November 8 and then moves to Be...| More

The Busan Film Festival Visits the U.S.

Source | 2009/11/13 | 0 comments | Permalink |

The Busan Film Festival and the Chapman University Dodge College of Film and Media Arts have formed a partnership to screen Korean films at the U.S. campus. The university, located in Orange California, will screen a select number of contemporary and classic films designed to introduce U.S. audience to Korean culture and its burgeoning repertoire of high quality films. The Dodge College of Film and Media Art, one of the best film schools in the U.S. already has a student exchange relationship with the Seoul Institute of Arts and has just signed a similar agreement with the IM Kwon-taek College of Performing Arts in Busan.

For the inaugural showcase, some of Korea's best known directors will attend. "A Bittersweet Life" director KIM Ji-woon will present the director's cut of the film at the event. PARK Chan-wook, whose film "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" has just made it into Britan's The Times' top 100 list, will be presented with the First, Pusan West Icon award. The director'...| More

Interview: Director Park Chan-wook of 'Thirst'

Source | 2009/11/06 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Director Park Chan-wook, who received the Jury Award at the Cannes Film Festival for his movie "Thirst", says that Korean films can gain global recognition by improving their artistic expression and setting new trends.

In an interview with the Yonhap News ahead of the screening of "Thirst" at the London Barbican Centre as the opening film of the 4th London Korean Film Festival, Park said that Korean movies can be exported overseas not only by producing them in English but also by setting new trends.

The festival will run through November 18 at the London Barbican Centre and the British Film Institute. A total of 29 Korean films will be screened, including "Thirst" as well as "Mother - 2009" by Bong Joon-ho.

Interview with director Park Chan-wook.

-- Did the film face a lot of red tape because it deals with Christianity?

- We had a hard time designing its posters. In Korea, we had to take out the image of the lead actress's legs from the poster because they were said to l...| More

Kim Ok-bin Named Best Actress at Sitges Film Fest

Source | 2009/10/12 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Actress Kim Ok-bin shared the award for Best Actress with Spain's Elena Anaya at the 42nd Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival, Spain.

The 23-year-old won the award, the festival announced Sunday, for her role in Park Chan-wook's "Thirst". Kim shared the award with Anaya for her role in "Hierro", a psychological thriller.

"Thirst", a thriller that won the jury prize at Cannes this year, is about a priest-turned-vampire (Song Kang-ho) struggling with his desire for blood and sex. Kim received critical acclaim for her portraying a femme fatale who seduces the bloodsucking priest.

In 2005, South Korea's Lee Young-ae won the award for "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance", also directed by Park.

Kim debuted through an online beauty contest hosted by Internet portal site Naver in 2004. Her filmography includes the comic period film "The Accidental Gangster and Mistaken Courtesan" and teen sex comedy "Dasepo Naughty Girls" ("Dasepo Girl" - 2006)...| More

'Sunshine' Sheds Light on Dark Themes

Source | 2009/10/08 | 0 comments | Permalink |

By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter

Kim Aaron's noted feature debut "Lala Sunshine" opens Oct. 22 ― just a week after his romantic comedy "Hello My Love". This is the first time that a newcomer's works are being released in theaters back to back.

"Sunshine" toured several film festivals, from Jeonju to Hong Kong and Lyon, France. In short, it showcases Kim's raw style before he got his feet wet in the mainstream cinema pool.

The movie mostly succeeds in creating something highly atmospheric with a meaningful experimental structure. Weighty subject matters such as rape, revenge and redemption spin out through a deliberate sense of disjointedness.

But flaws lie in its very strengths.

Deeply affecting scenes are often diluted by anticlimactic moments that are clearly not intended to reflect the protagonist's fragmented mind. The script's rawness often leads to the realization that the movie is a student project ― albeit bonus points for crafting a very professional-...| More