Art and Culture

It's finally Friday and Michelle Kim is here for our arts and culture segment. Today, she brings us a few movie previews to take us into the weekend.

Hello Michelle

[Reporter : ] Hello Conn-young

So what movies do you have for us today[Reporter : ] Today I have a palette of films from the U.S., Spain and Italy that are now playing in Korea.
It's a diverse group of genres, from thriller to action to animation. Let's take a closer look.

Get ready to fall in love with Colin Farrell, who plays an ex-con fighting against London's most vicious gangsters to keep his family and the woman he loves safe. "London Boulevard" has style, charm and the talents of Keira Knightley, who co-stars in the sexy thriller.

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"The Rum Diary" is the first film by the production company of Johnny Depp. Based on the early novel by Hunter S. Thompson, the movie tells the story of American journalist Paul Kemp's adventure as he takes a job in Puerto Rico for a local newspaper. When he is scouted by a wealthy entrepreneur to write favorably about his latest scheme, Kemp has to decide whether to use his words to benefit a corrupt entrepreneur or use them to bring the corrupt scandal to the surface.

The Italian film "Basilicata Coast to Coast" is about four ex-bandmates who meet for the first time in 10 years at a wedding, where they decide to start the band again. Together, they set off for a music festival, crossing the region of Basilicata on foot to get there. The film was very popular in Italy, where it was in theaters for seven months after it opened in 2,10, for its depiction of the camaraderie bewteen the four friends and the people they encounter along the way.
Remember Indiana Jones Tad,.. or Tadeo Jones in the Spanish title, is a construction worker who follows his dreams of being an archaeologist like Indy by going on an adventure to Paititi, a legendary underground city, to search for ancient Inca gold.

There seems to be a flood of new movies from overseas being released here now.

[Reporter : ] It does, but with the abundance of great Korean films that are also in theaters right now, it might be hard for the foreign films to steal the spotlight. In any case, it's nice to have so many choices.

That's true. I know that for me, my choice in films varies with my mood, so that's another reason to be happy to have so many choices.
And moving on, I heard you went to see a performance last night. What did you see[Reporter : ] I did. I saw the non-verbal musical "Ballerina Who Loves a B-boy". The show is a fun and exciting mix of b-boy dancing and ballet. It's now in an open run at Lotte World's Lotte Art Hall.

It's not difficult to guess the plot of the non-verbal show "Ballerina Who Loves a B-boy". It's all in the title.
The plot follows a ballerina named So-yeon and her first encounter with street dance. Eventually, with the help of one of the b-boys she meets, she transforms herself from ballerina to b-girl and falls in love along the way.
Though the plot is easy to guess, it's the infectious mix of dance styles that keeps people in their seats.
The show starts off with the b-boys showing off their flashy dance moves, gearing the audience up for the excitement to come. Later, this is juxtaposed against the elegance of ballet when So-yeon has her turn in the spotlight.
Hong Hyun-young, who plays So-yeon, talked about how hard it was for her to learn b-boy dancing, especially after spending years studying ballet.

[Interview : Hong Hyun-young, Ballerina] "Ballet is all about lengthening your body to have it look as beautiful as possible. B-boy dancing however, is the exact opposite, which made it very hard for me to get used to".

With its fusion of hip-hop and ballet, the show has wowed Korean audiences since its premiere in December 2005.
Producer Choi Yun-yeop explained the reason why he and the show's creators decided to mix such opposing genres of dance.

[Interview : Choi Yun-yeop, Producer
Showboy Inc.] "Through ballet and b-boy dancing, I wanted to show how the upper class is becoming more familiar with the pop culture of the 21st century through these dance genres. In the end, I wanted to convey a message of unity between the upper class and the general public".

Structured like a ballet with four acts, the musical is flashy, energetic and powerful from start to finish, with non-stop dancing in styles that include hip-hop, ballet and more.
The non-verbal performance is currently in an open-run at the Lotte Art Hall in southern Seoul.

I've actually heard great things about the show. How did you like it[Reporter : ] I enjoyed it a lotit was very nice to see the dancers' amazing moves up close and with the loud, up-beat music blasting from the speakers, it sure was a great way to relieve some stress.
The only thing I would say is that the love story between the ballerina and the b-boy is a bit weak compared to the high quality of the dancing, so if that got tweaked a bit it would be perfect.

Sounds like something that people of all ages can enjoy.
Moving on, what's on the events bulletin for today[Reporter : ] For today's bulletin, there are two concerts in October and a musical called "Sachoom" that's in an open-run. Take a look for more details.

[Reporter : ed: jenny] This bulletin features 3 events

Rock star Park Wan-gyu has been wowing fans with his deep, resonant voice and powerful performances on a concert tour around Korea. The tour's finale will be held in Seoul at Kyung Hee University's Grand Peace Hall on October 13th and will feature vocalists past and present from his rock band Boo-hwal.

Smoe of the top R&B and soul artists in Korea will be performing for two days from October 13th to 14th at Nanji Han River Park. The line-up includes the R&B quartet Brown Eyed Soul, hip-hop duo Lee Ssang and soul singer Jung In, who made her debut in 2002 in a collaboration with Leessang.

"Sachoom" is a musical devoted to dancing that includes a wide range of genres, including hip-hop, modern dance, b-boying, disco and more. The show, which opened in 2004, is in an open run at The Sachoom Theater in Insa-dong.

Thank you for the update

[Reporter : ] My pleasure

SEP 21, 2012

Reporter : dainee@arirang.co.kr