Too Young To Die (2002) - 죽어도 좋아

[DVD review] 'Voice of Murderer' misses mark

2007/05/28 | Source | Permalink |

It takes a working knowledge of Latin to fully understand the English subtitles of a recent Korean DVD release, "Voice of Murderer", about the tormenting and ultimately unsuccessful attempts of two parents to bring their kidnapped child back home. About halfway through the film, amid the hassles of reading the subtitles while digesting what was happening on the screen, a line magically appeared which read, "Ut sementem feceris ita metes".
This reviewer had to pause the DVD and do some Googling to find out that it was a Cicero quote, meaning, "You reap what you sow". Thank you, DVD producers, for expecting that every single viewer of the film would be knowledgeable enough to read and understand a Latin sentence in less than five seconds.
Other than the Latin part, the film is not especially challenging to understand. It's mostly the howling and blubbering of a father and mother who have lost their precious only son. Based on the true story of a kidnapped child found dead in 1991, the ...| More

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Screen 2007: Return of Master Directors

2007/01/09 | Source | Permalink |

By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter

The number of films produced last year was 108, the most ever in Korean cinematic history, and many of them were feature debut works by emerging directors. But more familiar names will be seen at the box office this year as many renowned directors are preparing to return to the big screen.

After Long Break

After a long break, Im Kwon-taek is back with his 100th movie, "Chonnyonhak" ("Beyond the Years").

With the movie, 61-year-old Im will have made the greatest number of films ever in Korea. It wasn't all smooth sailing, as the film's production was almost cancelled because the original investor and production company suddenly pulled out.

The film is a sequel to the successful 1993 film "Sopyonje", a story about singers of pansori, or Korean traditional music. The new film is a story of the characters 30 years after the story of "Sopyonje" ended.

Another anticipated work is "Secret Sunshine" by director Lee Chang-dong, who is returning ...| More

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Time for boy's killer to repent

2007/01/08 | Source | Permalink |

Director Park Jin-pyo is known for grabbing public attention with his films on issues such as having an HIV-positive patient in your home ― "You are My Sunshine" ― or the sexual desires of elderly singles in their 70s in "Too Young to Die". His next film, "Voice of Murderer", is aimed at making the perpetrator of an actual kidnap-homicide case repent for what he did 16 years ago. The "he", Park stressed, is the man who kidnapped 9-year-old Lee Hyeong-ho in 1991 only to leave the little boy's body in a ditch near his home in Apgujeong-dong. The suspect is still at large.
"You know what, I really hope he gets to watch this film", he said, squinting through horn-rimmed glasses. "We want to tell him that we have not forgotten his wrongdoings. [The film] is not about us deploring that we weren't able to catch him, it's about a ray of hope that we might still catch him".
The closest the police got to a suspect was to issue a vague "profile" based on the kidnapper's voice and ha...| More

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Top Women Filmmakers of 2006 Awarded

2007/01/03 | Source | Permalink |

In Korea's male dominated society, the film industry holds an interesting position as a place where a conservative 'boys on top' mentality stubbornly persists and where emerging, feminist voices have gained a stronghold. Filmmaking is no longer the boys club it was, and each December, the Festival of Women in Film, a year-end annual event, celebrates that fact, while fostering further changes.

Organized by Korean Women in Film, a network of female film professionals, the award show acknowledges outstanding films that take a feminist perspective and awards female figures for their creative efforts, particularly those who have not gained recognition from the mainstream award shows.

The awards ceremony took place Dec. 14th, with a best actress award going to veteran performer NAH Moon-hee in "Cruel Winter Blues". NAH was praised for her intense performance as an old mother tormented by her son, a hoodlum wanted by a rival gang.The documentary award was shared by LEE Hye-ran and ...| More

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Women's film awards suggest that Korean cinema is changing

2006/12/25 | Source | Permalink |

Women are beginning to take key roles in all film genres

The Korean film industry was once a sport for boys only. There was no need to talk about creating a level playing field for women, because they were not even in the game.
Things are slowly changing, and the Festival of Women in Film, an annual event organized by Korean Women in Film, has helped lead the way. A network of female film professionals, Korean Women in Film gives awards each year to films and female film professionals who take a feminist perspective.
The most recent festival, which took place on Dec. 14, introduced figures from within the industry that the mainstream award shows had failed to acknowledge.
The actor's award this year went to Nah Moon-hee, a veteran in the field who produced an outstanding performance in this year's "Cruel Winter Blues", an intense film about an old mother who is tormented by her hoodlum son. The story, which was mis-marketed as a gangster action movie, has now been repackaged and ...| More

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