| Meet Directors in Seoul Theaters (Source) |
2010/01/13 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
This weekend in Seoul, movie buffs can re-watch a handful of contemporary classics of Korean cinema on the big screen and meet directors: Hong Sang-soo and Song Il-gon.
The Korean Film Archive is hosting a retrospective of 10 films by the minimal realist Hong through Jan. 24 at Cinematheque KOFA, Sangam-dong, Seoul, while "The Magicians", by artsy experimentalist Song, will reopen Sunday in Daehango.
Hong has established an international reputation as a unique minimalist with video journal-style movies reminiscent of the late Eric Rohmer. The retrospective lineup includes his 1996 directorial debut piece, "The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well", to his latest works ― "Like You Know It All" and the short "Lost in the Mountains".
Following Sunday's 4:30 p.m. screening of "Night and Day", which competed at the 2008 Berlin Film Festival, Hong will join the audience. He will give a special talk with film critic Huh Moon-young, director of Cinemat... |More
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| 'Know': Hong's Realm of Comic Realism (Source) |
2009/05/14 |
By Lee Hyo-won
Staff Reporter
New in local theaters and currently showing in the out-of-competition section of the Cannes Film Festival is Hong Sang-soo's latest feature "Like You Know It All".
Like Hong's other films, "Know" is told in a live journal-like format that is reminiscent of Eric Rohmer. While it is set in a couple of Korea's top vacation spots, the movie, as typical of its minimalist director, features characterless hotel rooms and drinking spots and showcases more of the mirror-image structures inherent to Hong's stories of frustrated ideals and sexual desires.
Modest, fragmented and meandering it may be, but the low-budget digital franchise stars some of South Korea's most high-profile actors tangled up in mundane yet comic situations and engaged in phony talks about art, philosophy and love.
Like his previous feature "Night and Day", which was shown at last year's Berlinale, "Know" stars another one of the director's archetypal womanizing anti-heroes. Actor... |More
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| Local Films to Shine at Cannes Fest (Source) |
2009/05/10 |
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
A total of 10 Korean movies will be shown at the Cannes International Film Festival from May 13-24, marking the highest number of local films ever to be included in the prestigious event's roster.
The first local film ever to be invited to the event was Lee Doo-yong's "Moul Le Ya Moul Le Ya" for the Un Certain Regard section in 1984, and since then, more than 40 local works have been presented at the southern French port city over the past 20 years.
One of the most anticipated films this year is Park Chan-wook's "Thirst", which is vying for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize given to competing films, as well as the Best Actor and Actress Awards. The movie about the vampire-turned-priest has been captivating audiences here, attracting more than 600,000 fans during the first three days of its release.
The entry to the Palme d'Or is significant, as it was only eight years ago when the first Korean film, "Chunhyang" by veteran director Im Kwon-ta... |More
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| YOO Ji-tae and LEE Yeon-hee in romantic film (Source) |
2008/11/06 |
Director RYOO Jang-ha is adapting the popular internet manwha (Korean equivalent of Japanese manga) Soonjeong Manwha by KANG Pool (real name: KANG Do-young), the English title will be "Hello Schoolgirl". The titular role will be played by LEE Yeon-hee and her love interest is a role by YOO Ji-tae.
The story is about a high school girl (LEE) who every morning sees a shy thirty-year-old businessman (YOO) at the elevator. The girl is not afraid to express her feelings for the man who is the first she feels romantic feelings for.
The young actress LEE is still mostly acting the roles of young women encountering their first love. She is currently also playing a similar assertive young woman in the television drama "East of Eden", and portrayed a headstrong young woman in the teenage drama "A Millionaire's First Love". In her previous film "M" (LEE Myeong-se), her character was a shy young woman whose love defied death.
YOO broke through internationally with his role opposite of ... |More
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| HONG Sang-soo Shoots His Ninth (Source) |
2008/08/13 |
Director HONG Sang-soo is in production on his ninth feature film, tentatively titled "Like You Know It All" ("You Don't Even Know" - Jal al-ji-do mot-ha-myun-seo). The film, HONG's second to be shot in HD following his previous feature "Night and Day", has an ultra-low budget of only US$100,000.
HONG is one of Korea's leading auteur directors, with many of his films screening at international festivals. Several of his films have been released in France and retrospectives of HONG's oeuvre have been organized in Toronto, San Francisco, Irvine, and Montreal, among other cities.
The new project stars HONG regulars, KIM Tae-woo ("Woman is the Future of Man"), EOM Ji-won ("Tale of Cinema"), and KO Hyeon-jeong ("Woman on the Beach"). KIM plays a film director invited to sit on the jury of the Jecheon International Music and Film Festival. There he meets an attractive programmer for the fest, played by EOM. Later he visits Jeju Island to deliver a lecture and meets the wife of ... |More
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