Films That Fill Off-Season Niche
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By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Big-budget films such as "King Kong", "Typhoon" and "Running Wild" hit local theaters, each occupying hundreds of screens nationwide, around Sollal on Jan. 29, New Year's Day on the lunar calendar, one of the most lucrative seasons for the film industry.
As their run finally finishes at theaters one by one, their vacancies are now being filled with many small-budget films, which have stood by waiting for the end of the blockbusters' domination at the box office.
The following are some of local movies in various genres that aim to attract moviegoers with clever ideas and interesting stories.
Ssunday Seoul (In theaters)
Taking a motif from the 1970s popular tabloid magazine, which covered unusual stories and gossip along with sexually explicit photos, the movie is a film version of the magazine.
The omnibus film consists of three episodes in its mixed genres of sci-fi, melodrama, horror and martial arts.
Each episode revolves around three characters _ an ostracized student who suddenly turns into a werewolf; a serial killer who meets a strange family; a girl with talents in martial arts who tragically falls in love with a boy with the same talent.
Way To Go, Rose (In theaters)
The film tells a story of a married couple who feel lassitude in their relationship and try to find a way to bring back the romantic memories to their life.
Nam-dae and Young-mi have been married for two years and have a lovely son, but their hearts stop beating passionately for each other.
They even go back to the inn where they first made love in an effort to revive their romance, but it doesn't have the effect that they had hoped, and they finally decide to get divorced and find other partners.
Oh, My God (On Feb. 16)
Long time supporting actors Choi Sung-kook and Shin Yi, who played wacky characters in their previous films, team up for double fun by playing a couple in this comedy film.
In the film, playboy Jung-hwan (played by Choi) happens to save ugly girl Eun-joo (played by Shin) when she is about to be drowned. Since that time, she starts to develop a secret love for him, and one day shows up with two kids, claiming that they are Jung-hwan's sons.
Forbidden Quest (On Feb. 23)
Set in the Choson Kingdom, the film looks at the sexuality hidden behind the conservative Confucian society and pokes fun at it.
It revolves around Yoon-so (played by Han Suk-kyu), son of a noble family, who finds his life boring as he believes nothing is meaningful until he happens to read a pornographic book.
With his talent in writing, he decides to write a sensational pornographic novel, and even persuades another nobleman to point pornographic images for his book.
The Customer is Always Right (On Feb. 23)
The film has a well-constructed story full of twists and reverses, which turns a barbershop into a dreadful place.
Barber Ahn Chang-jin lives a peaceful yet boring life running a barbershop in a rural area, which has been in the family for three generations, but he finds himself in a big trouble when a strange customer visits his shop.
As the intruder starts to threaten his peaceful life and his young and attractive wife, he hires a hit man to kill him, but things get more complicated.
Staff Reporter
Big-budget films such as "King Kong", "Typhoon" and "Running Wild" hit local theaters, each occupying hundreds of screens nationwide, around Sollal on Jan. 29, New Year's Day on the lunar calendar, one of the most lucrative seasons for the film industry.
As their run finally finishes at theaters one by one, their vacancies are now being filled with many small-budget films, which have stood by waiting for the end of the blockbusters' domination at the box office.
The following are some of local movies in various genres that aim to attract moviegoers with clever ideas and interesting stories.
Ssunday Seoul (In theaters)
Taking a motif from the 1970s popular tabloid magazine, which covered unusual stories and gossip along with sexually explicit photos, the movie is a film version of the magazine.
The omnibus film consists of three episodes in its mixed genres of sci-fi, melodrama, horror and martial arts.
Each episode revolves around three characters _ an ostracized student who suddenly turns into a werewolf; a serial killer who meets a strange family; a girl with talents in martial arts who tragically falls in love with a boy with the same talent.
Way To Go, Rose (In theaters)
The film tells a story of a married couple who feel lassitude in their relationship and try to find a way to bring back the romantic memories to their life.
Nam-dae and Young-mi have been married for two years and have a lovely son, but their hearts stop beating passionately for each other.
They even go back to the inn where they first made love in an effort to revive their romance, but it doesn't have the effect that they had hoped, and they finally decide to get divorced and find other partners.
Oh, My God (On Feb. 16)
Long time supporting actors Choi Sung-kook and Shin Yi, who played wacky characters in their previous films, team up for double fun by playing a couple in this comedy film.
In the film, playboy Jung-hwan (played by Choi) happens to save ugly girl Eun-joo (played by Shin) when she is about to be drowned. Since that time, she starts to develop a secret love for him, and one day shows up with two kids, claiming that they are Jung-hwan's sons.
Forbidden Quest (On Feb. 23)
Set in the Choson Kingdom, the film looks at the sexuality hidden behind the conservative Confucian society and pokes fun at it.
It revolves around Yoon-so (played by Han Suk-kyu), son of a noble family, who finds his life boring as he believes nothing is meaningful until he happens to read a pornographic book.
With his talent in writing, he decides to write a sensational pornographic novel, and even persuades another nobleman to point pornographic images for his book.
The Customer is Always Right (On Feb. 23)
The film has a well-constructed story full of twists and reverses, which turns a barbershop into a dreadful place.
Barber Ahn Chang-jin lives a peaceful yet boring life running a barbershop in a rural area, which has been in the family for three generations, but he finds himself in a big trouble when a strange customer visits his shop.
As the intruder starts to threaten his peaceful life and his young and attractive wife, he hires a hit man to kill him, but things get more complicated.
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