Movies to Watch in 2010

The film industry is already preparing for next year. Many renowned filmmakers have returned to Korea to produce movies about war and sequels to hit movies.

Director Im Kwon-taek will produce his 101st movie "Hanji". Directors Kim Tae-yong and Lm Sang-soo will produce remakes of "Late Autumn" ("Late Autumn - 2010") by Lee Man-hee and "The Housemaid - 1960" ("The Housemaid - 2010") of Kim Ki-young, respectively. Films about war will also be introduced to mark the 60th anniversary of the Korean War.


◇The return of maestros

"Hanji", which will be produced under the auspices of the Jeonju City government, is Im Kwon-taek's first film to be shot with digital cameras. It is a story about seventh-grade public servant Jong-ho, who wants to become a fifth-grade official. To achieve his dream, he takes charge of the traditional Korean paper hanji at the municipal government and becomes completely mesmerized by it. Jong-ho is played by actor Park Joong-hoon, who will appear in a Lim production for the first time. Actress Kang Soo-yeon will work together with Lim for the first time since her appearance in the 1989 movie "Come Come Come Upward".

Actress Yoon Jung-hee, who was one of the top three actresses of the 1960s along with Moon Hee and Nam Jung-im, will make a comeback for the first time after her 1994 movie "Two Flags". She will appear in Lee Chang-dong's new movie "Poetry". It is a story about a 60-something woman who raises her teenage granddaughter and receives basic living subsidies. One day she signs up for a literature class and begins to write her own poems for the first time. The movie is slated to open in early May.


◇War movies

Four films about war will open next year. They will deal with diverse subjects, including student soldiers and maritime clashes between South and North Korea. The majority of them will be large-scale productions costing more than 10 billion won.

Director Lee Jae-han's "71-Into the Fire", which is to open in June, is about a 12-hour battle that was held between 71 student soldiers and the North Korean Army at the end of the Nakdong River battle during the Korean war. Actors kwon Sang-woo and T.O.P. (Choi Seung-hyeon) of the music group Big Bang will play student soldiers. Actor Cha Weung-won will appear as a North Korean commander, while actor Kim Seung-woo will play a South Korean commander. It is a blockbuster production that will cost 15 billion won to produce and market.

Director Lim Yeo-bin, who produced "Terrorist" in 1995, will this time produce "The Red Muffler 2", which will be a sequel to late Shin Sang-ok's movie "The Red Muffler". The grandson from the original production will appear as an Air Force pilot. The production cost have reached 8 billion won, and the movie is scheduled to open in October on National Army Day.

The second Yeonpyeong Clash of 2002 will be reenacted in the 3D film "We Are Beautiful" (tentative title) and "Yeonpyeong Maritime Clash". The former will be produced by director Kwak Gyeong-taek, who produced "Friend" in 2001. The shoot will begin in March and the movie will open in late 2010. It will cost about 20 billion won to produce.

Director Baek Woon-hak, who produced "Tube" in 2003, will produce "Yeonpyeong Maritime Clash". It will cost 12 billion won and will open in May.


◇The revival of classics

The 1960s hits "The Housemaid - 1960" from director Kim Ki-young and "Late Autumn" from Lee Man-hee will be reproduced as modern films. "The Housemaid - 1960", which starred Kim Jin-kyu, Ju Jung-nyeo, Lee Eun-shim and Uhm Aeng-ran, drew the spotlight for its subtle portrayal of human desires in a two-story house. The modern version "The Housemaid - 2010" of the movie will be directed by Lim Sang-soo and will star actress Jeon Do-yeon, who received the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her role in "Secret Sunshine" in 2007. She will play the housemaid, who in the original version was played by Lee Eun-shim. The movie is slated to open in May, and the shoot begins this month.

The remake of "Late Autumn" will be directed by Kim Tae-yong, who also directed "The Birth of a Family" in 2006. It is a story about a female inmate who obtains parole for good behavior and falls in love with a man who is wanted by police for forgery.

"Late Autumn" continues to inspire many filmmakers even after many years. Director Kim Ki-young introduced his version in 1975 under the title "The Promise Of The Body" while director Kim Soo-yong unveiled his own version in 1981. Actor Hyeon Bin will play the forgery criminal who in the original version was played by actor Shin Seong-il, while the role of the female inmate who was originally played by Moon Jung-sook will be portrayed by Chinese actress Tang Wei. The shoot began last month, and "Late Autumn - 2010" is scheduled to open next year.


◇ New productions by star filmmakers

Director Kang Woo-seok, who produced the "Public Enemy" series, will be back this time with the film "Moss". It is based on the same-titled web cartoon by Yoon Tae-ho. It is a thriller set in a remote farming village. Park Hae-il and Jeong Jae-yeong play a young resident and the chief of the village, respectively, who want to unravel the secret of the village. The movie is set to open early next year.

Director Na Hong-jin, who produced the 2008 hit "The Chaser", will be back with "Murderer". It is an action thriller about Korean-Chinese Ku-nam (Ha Jeong-woo) who comes to Korea to carry out an assassination, and another assassin, Myeon-ga (Kim Yoo-seok), who is deployed to kill him. Ha and Kim appeared together in "The Chaser" as well. The production cost was set at 11 billion won and the film is slated to open next summer.

Director Lee Joon-ik, who produced "The King and the Clown" in 2005", this time will produce "Blades of Blood". It is an action film based on Park Heung-yong's same-titled cartoon about Lee Mong-hak's revolt. Actor Hwang Jeong-min will play the legendary blind swordsman Hwang Jung-hak, while actor Cha Seung-won will play Lee Mong-hak, whose goal is to stage a revolution.

Director Kim Ji-woon, who produced "A Bittersweet Life" in 2005, will make a comeback with the thriller "Tropical Night" starring actor Choi Min-sik. It is a story about a man whose fiancee is killed by a psychopath and who decides to catch the criminal himself. Director Han Jae-rim, who produced "Rules of Dating" in 2005, will introduce a big-screen version of the same-titled cartoon "Trace".

Director Song Hae-song, who is known for his 2006 movie "Our Happy Time", will unveil his remake of the 1986 Hong Kong noir "A Better Tomorrow, 1986" next year under the title "A Better Tomorrow". It stars Song Seung-heon, Joo Jin-mo and Kim Kang-woo as characters that were originally played by actors Chow Yun Fat, Ti Lung and Leslie Cheung Kwok-Wing.

Director Lee Hyeon-seung, who is famous for the 2000 movie "Il Mare", will produce the action thriller "Night Mist" (tentative title), starring Song Kang-ho and Kim Seung-woo. Director Kim Dae-woo, who produced "Forbidden Quest" in (2006), will make a comeback with "The Servant" the modern interpretation of the "Legend of Chunhyang" that will star Kim Joo-hyeok, Ryoo Seung-beom and Jo Yeo-jeong.


◇ Promising "small" films

Director Hong Sang-soo will present his 10th movie "Ha Ha Ha" early next year. The movie depicts two friends who chat about their recent trips to Tongyeong over drinks. Actor Kim Sang-kyeong plays filmmaker Cho Mun-kyung, who wants to go study in Canada, while actor Yoo Joon-sang plays his friend and film critic Park Jung-shik.

Director Shin Yeon-shick's movie "The Fair Love", which received rave reviews at this year's Pusan International Film festival, is also to open soon. It is about a 50-something single man Hyung-man (Ahn Seong-gi), who runs a small camera repair shop, and a college student played by Lee Ha-na who is his junior of 26 years. Their encounter inspires them to discover the genuine meaning of love.

Other new movies to open next year include "Cafe Noir" from film critic-turned-filmmaker Jeong Seong-il-I, "Escape" from independent film director Lee Song-hee-il, and "Norwegian Woods" from new director Noh Jin-soo.


◇ Drawing visitors with sequels

Movie fans will be treated to the sequels of many popular movies next year. "Attack the Gas Station 2", the sequel of the 1999 hit "Attack the Gas Station!", which drew 2.4 million viewers and featured Yoo Oh-seong, Lee Seong-jae and Yoo Ji-tae, is slated to open early next year. Like the original, the sequel will also be directed by Kim Sang-jin. The cast will include Ji Hyeon-woo, Jo Han-seon and Moon Won-joo. Ji Hyeon-woo will play "One Punch", who streamlines the attack of a gas station to make a fresh start. Jo Han-seon plays the hot-tempered and reckless "High Kick", a former soccer player. Just as in the original, the boss of the gas station will be played by Park Yeong-gyoo. The sequel will also star Kim Soo-ro, whose role as "Iron Bag" in the original made him a star overnight.

The sequel to the movie "Le Grand Chef", which drew 3 million viewers in 2007, will be entitled "Le Grand Chef - Kimchi War" and will open in February. It is about the rivalry between Korean kimchi and Japanese "kimuchi". Actor Jin Goo plays Korean cuisine chef Sung-chan, while actress Kim Jeong-eun plays a Japanese chef.

The sequels to the 2008 hit horror movie "Death Bell", which drew 1.64 million viewers, and "Heart is... 2" starring Seong Dong-il will open next spring.