Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (Movie - 2005)

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

'Dae Jang Geum' star marries in U.S.

Source | 2009/08/26 | 0 comments | Permalink |

One of Korea's top actresses has gotten married under tight security in the United States, according to a press release Tuesday.

Lee Young-ae, 38, is said to have tied the knot with a Korean-American businessman 16 years her senior living in the U.S., said a spokesman for Dongin Law Group, the actress's legal consultant. The groom, known only by his last name Jeong, is a graduate of University of Illinois and an entrepreneur in the IT sector.

Only close family members and friends attended the ceremony, according to the release.

The couple reportedly dated for about ten years, but the relationship was kept very low-key. Lee is one of the few actresses in Korea who has not been involved in a relationship scandal.

Lee is a highly influential public figure even though she keeps a low-profile and rarely appears in public or on talk shows. Lee's last major film was "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" in 2005 directed by Park Chan-wook.

Born in 1971, Lee made her debut in 1990 with a...| More

Actress Lee Young-ae Gets Married Secretly

Source | 2009/08/26 | 0 comments | Permalink |

Top actress Lee Young-ae has surprised even the show bisuness world with the news about her secret wedding. Even people close to her learned about her wedding, which she thoroughly kept under covers, from the news.

Actor Oh Jae-hyeong, who is close with Lee, said in a telephone interview with Yonhap News on August 25 that he was very surprised and that he hadn't heard from Lee since last year.

Fashion columnist Shim Woo-chan, who worked with Lee on her photo album, was also surprised to hear the news.

The actress was able to keep her wedding under wraps by holding the ceremony in the U.S. and staying away from the public eye since her last movie "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance". Moreover, she has not been involved in any romance rumors so far.

Lee has kept out of touch with her close friends since last year, apparently because she wanted to prepare for her wedding, and blocked any rumors about her from being circulated. The last public appearance that she made was in May, when...| More