Category Archives: Films

Films, Korean Culture, sex, TV

The Women

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THE ACTRESSES (2009)

Kim Min-hee, Lee Mi-sook, Yoon yo-jeong, Kim Ok-bin, Go Hyun Jeong, Choi Ji Woo

Six actresses, one photo shoot. They are the biggest names in Korean cinema. One is a veteran, with over forty years of experience. two became famous by featuring in beauty contestants and then became huge TV stars, for example, Choi JI-wo got her break in Winter Sonata, the TV program that was ultimately key in getting Korean drama known across most of Asia. The two youngest actresses are still well-known, having worked for independent filmmakers rather than commercial blockbusters.

Starting with a so-so premise – that actresses are demanding, self-obessesed, naricisstic – I was not expecting much. But this docudrama becomes slowly more and more fascinating, as it reveals ever more of the real lives of screen actors.

It’s well known that South Korea has a lot of attractive women but still, you might not be prepared for some of the actresses here. EJ Jong has made a powerfully erotic film about sex Untold Scandal (2003) and he has a way of making these women look absolutely incredible, whatever they are wearing or doing. But never do they reveal much flesh (at one stage an actress worries that her dress shows too much cleavage).

They are beautiful, but are they also interesting too? The elderly actress presents the most intriguing persona, as someone with the most acting experience but the least confidence. Consequently, the younger actresses talk less, perhaps because of the heaily honorific nature of Korean society.

Made a few years ago when such exercises were more frequently explored, the film is an account of a photoshoot which paired six of Korea’s well known actresses for Korean Vogue. A seventh actress – Jeon Do-yeon – was unable to be in the photoshoot due to a pregnancy, leaving us to imagine what the film might have been like with her presence.

Christmas Eve, Korea.

Six of South Korea’s most famous TV and Film actresses have been chosen for a photoshoot for Vogue Korea.It’s the day of the photoshoot. An anxious elderly actress (Yoon Yo-jeong) arrives wearing a heavy fur coat (a reminder of old-style glamour) and apologises for being late. She is both extremely self-possesed and lacking esteem, a contradiction that makes sense when actresses must think about their age and appearance constantly whilst also wanting to be respected for their acting ability. She keeps her fur coat on throughout.

But she needn’t have worried, as she is the first to arrive and must come up with an excuse to why she is so early. Arriving soon after is Choi Ji-woo. Some how some fans from Japan have heard that she is attending the shoot and ask her for autographs in the parking lot. It’s a reminder that no matter where celebrities go, they can never escape fame or be anonymous. Later on, a younger actress remarks that she can no longer go to markets because she is always recongnised; sets are the one place where she can be herself bewcasue she can be around professionals.

Min-hee, looking adorable in her early twenties comes fresh from shooting another film, still jey-lagged but still looking fully made-up, every inch the glamourous movie star.

The other actress who is in her fifties, Lee Mi sook, is similarly concerned with aging. In a reminder of how the industry favours youth, the younger actresses are given better treatment than the women over forty.

Kim Ok Bin, who was barely in her twenties at the time is now more established, has perhaps the most stage presence.When do actresses stop playing the role they have been given and become themselves? It’s something I thought about as I watched the film. As though aware of the need to perform for the camera, they are constantly aware of the need to look their best, with perfect hair and make up.

Yet as the film progresses this mask of fame is stripped away to reveal the women behind the fame. I was engrossed as the film carried on, wondering if the camera crew would be able to keep the increasingly agitated group of women together long enough.

As Christmas eve approaches,  the women are moved by a snowfall, which they watch longingly. Then they start to drink the champagne that has been provided for them. More truths emerge. The two older actresses talk about being divorced, whilst the younger ones look on, unaware of what to say. As they drink more the conversation becomes freer.

“You always pay for it. Nothing’s free”. I wondered about this. we think of actresses as privileged because they seem to have everything they want. I guess it means that even when an actress does well, she suffers in some way Yet when we watch a film or read interviews we are surprised that they are normal people like us. A critic took issue with the fact that the film cannot reveal anything about the actresses because they spend most of the time talking about themselves. Yet the criticism is unfounded. How often in life have we found ourselved unsure of what to say in a particular situation, or only able to speak in clichés? The film is far more realistic as a result of the seemingly humdrum conversations that these women have

The film, which takes place in the most superficial settings, a fashion magazine photoshoot, manages to say more about the human condition than most serious movies twice the length. Whilst a lot must have been left out,  the director has still included some stimulating stuff.

Filming with a hand-held camera allows him to move in close without interfering with the intimate situations. The dialogue – whether entirely scripted or improvised – is full of subtle revelations about the power between men and women. It’s all the more remarkable in Korea to hear these women talk frankly about these subjects. The final scene allows the actresses to reach a feeling of closure, shaking off the rules imposed on them by a male-dominated society and a film industry that measures their worth entirely on their image.

In a nutshell: a seemingly lightweight film is actually a sharp look at the effect of fame and the culture of film acting. When was the last time you watched a film with an all-female cast like this? A must-see for fans of Korean cinema, and cinema in general for that matter.

Films, Korean Culture

Movie Review: Golden Slumber (2017)

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golden_slumber
Dangerous Friend: Gang Dong-won and Han Hyo-Ju in Golden Slumber

When everyone assumes that you’re guilty, how can you prove your innocence?

Delivery worker and all-round nice guy Kim Gun-woo Gang Dong Won achieved fame unintentionally when he saved a pop star from a serious accident, but he wants to be treated the same as everyone else. His happiest memories are of playing in a band when he was in high school, giving the director an excuse to use the song Golden Slumber as much as possible. When he meets up with old school friend, it’s the start of events that see his regular lifestyle turned completely on its head.

There is a presidential election approaching. it’s campaign season in Seoul.His friend calls him to warn him that he is about to be set up in a conspiracy by a secret group who want to kill the president.

With every clue pointing to his guilt, he is forced to go on the run. Which is not easy when everyone already knows who he is, and there are CCTV cameras everywhere. For the first 30 minutes it’s a breathless chase film, but in the second half the film slows down as he meets up with people who help him prove his innocence. He’s forced into some shady places where he must get the help of ordinary people to assist him.

Meanwhile, two of his friends who believe his innocence do everything they can to help him.They are 한효주(SunYoung), a radio reporter; and 김대명, a band-mate who now works as a divorce lawyer.

The flashbacks to the days when the floppy-haired Gun-woo was playing guitar and going on dates with his high school girlfriend are a counterpoint to the action sequences. For me these interfered with the plot and simply made it harder to follow the story. But there’s no denying the excitement provided by this man on the run film.

In a nutshell: an exciting action movie with sentimental moments. The excellent title song by The Beatles really lifts the film above it’s sometimes drab visual backdrops. Gang Don-won is perhaps a little too gentle to convince in the role. Interestingly he plays two characters in the film: he is also a villain who has plastic surgery so that he can look just like the real Gun-woo.

Films, Korean Culture

지금 만나러 갑니다 (Be With You)

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This film is a misguided attempt to make a what if? romance. Starting from the fact that the two main leads are too young and good looking to be believable as the parents of a ten year old boy, the film is poorly directed by a director who wastes no opportunity to drown his cliched visuals in a lachrymose score.

The countryside setting is helpful in grounding the couple’s relationship in a beautiful setting but the actual romance is barely felt as the director cannot convey any sense of the couple’s attraction for each other. The film is also lacking any sexual attraction. Which is strange when you consider the man hasn’t seen his wife in years.

Be_With_You_(2018_film)

Soo-ah (Son Yejin) makes a promise that she will return to her husband one rainy day. One year after her death she magically reappears during monsoon season. But she has no memories of their life together and has to remember how they got together.

Although a film with Son Yejin cannot be considered boring, the film’s lackluster content is a real drag. There’s barely any humour aside from the baker who wears a penguin suit in an attempt to cheer the son up following the loss of his mother.

The boy is cute but the shots of him playing at school, reading from a book and watching his father cook eggs become annoyingly repetitive.

In a nutshell: potentially promising romantic fantasy let down by poor direction and miscast actors.

Films

Fresh off the Boat – TV’s hottest Asian comedy

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fresh

One of the best American comedies is finally being shown in the UK. If you haven’t watched it, here’s what you need to know.

Although it was billed as the first show to feature a predominantly Asian cast, the shoiw would not have lasted very long if that was all it had going for it. Actually, the show is not just a comedy that a particular ethnic group can approeciatae. It’s a great family show which packs a lot into each 20 minute episode.

Series 1 was fine but by Series 2 they had kicked things up a gear and were making classic episodes such as Michael Chang Fever and The Real Santa.

The show fiollows a American Taiwanese family who move from the Asian –friendly Washington neighborhood to all-white Orlando DC.

If the first season focused mainly on the central character of Eddie, the next started to  look more at the marriage of Jessica and Louis. Now I’ve not seen either perform in many other shows much but boy can they do a great back and forth.

Of course, the writing is extremely sharp and so fresh and funny.  The show pokes fun at the nineties setting. Although it takes place in what is clearly present day America, there are wonderful resferences to things ony people in the nineties can remember (yes, from Pogs to Beanie Babies and the rise of the early internet, it’s all here, lovingly recreated).

Jessica is very clearly the kind of ambitious mother who wants the best for the children (a Tiger Mum before the word was actally used) but the show wiuld not bew enjoyable if she was just a terrible and scolding woman. In fact in episode after episode she comes across as someone who simply loves and cares for her children that she wants the best for them

For example, she gets a position helping at the school play only to realize that the play is an excuse for the children to stand around onstage in fruit and animal costumes (standount epsisode). By the end, she comes round to the idea that the play is harmless fun and goes along with the other parents by clapping at the end (only to mutter, this is all a complete waste of time).

In another episode, she decides that Eddie should join a piccolo club; ‘Do you know how many unclaimed marching band scholarships go unclaimed every year?) And then, when the insufferable goody-two shoes Jewish boy deserts Eddie during a Les Mis performance, she agrees to attend a Beastie Boys concert in his stead.

There are strong messages in each episode. For example, a noted storyline looked at how Jessica felt that she was losing touch with her Chinese roots. Suddenly the family start eating food with chopsticks and the boys are marched off to after-school Chinese lessons.

For a a family show they put some edgy humour in. Eg, when their white neighbor offers to play some records where Frank Sinatra makes racially insensitive remarks about Sammy Davis and Junior.

The couples’ love for each other is never in doubt. If there is a better show on TV I’v not seen it.

Here’s a short list of my favourite episodes:

“Coming from America” (Season 3)

badfakes

The family go to Taiwan so that Louis can patch things up with his brother. After her attempts to prove her Taiwanese heritage go wrong, Jessica realizes that America is now their natural home.

The scene where Jessica ends up buying the ‘bad fakes’ (counterfeit Nike trainers) at a street market is hilarious.

“Jessica Place” (Season 2)

A spoof of the nineties show which gets a lot of references in the series.

Phil's

“Phil’s Phaves” (Season 2)

An episode that looks at the very early days of the internet. When the Huangs read an unfavourable interent review that describes their restaurant as boring, they try to make it more fun.

“So Chineez” (Season 1)

When perpetual slacker Eddie wants to represents Jamaica in the school’s UN preoject, his mum is mad and insists he is given China. When Eddie questions what’s cool about China, she lays it down like a boss: “You know what’s cool about China? A wall you can see from space. Who invented Gunpowder? China? Gunpowder, the compass, gambling… China! China! China!”

sochineez

“Success Perm” Season 1

A really funny show because for many Asian people a perm is a sign of success despite the fact that it makes them

“Dribbling Tiger, Bounce Pass Dragon” (Season 2)

Louis’s attempts to help Eddie’s team win a Basketball game fall falt, so he teaches them how to be the best team at making fouls.

“Success Perm” Season 1

A really funny show because for many Asian people a perm is a sign of success despite the fact that it makes them look ridiculous.

success

Films, Korean Culture

London Korean Film Festival 2017

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Programme Announced for the 12th London Korean Film Festival / 26 October – 19 November 2017

The London Korean Film Festival (LKFF) unveiled the lineup for its 12th edition today running 26 October – 19 November with multiple UK and International premieres, a special focus on Korean Noir and including everything from Indie Firepower and Cinema Now to Women’s Voices, Classics Revisited: Bae Chang-ho Retrospective, Documentaries, Artist Video, Animations, Mise-en-scène Shorts and a roster of very special guests in attendance.

Korea has been in the news more than ever this year with a South Korean presidential impeachment and a change in government, not to mention the current North Korean crisis. Thankfully Korean Cinema has maintained a positive news profile with Bong Joon-ho’s creature feature Okja becoming the most widely seen Korean film ever made. So it’s no better time for the 12th London Korean Film Festival to be back in London and across the UK offering another expansive selection of films from one of the most exciting film industries in the world.

This year’s opening and closing films complement each other as two highly acclaimed dramas presenting unique perspectives on non-traditional romantic relationships – and both star Actress Kim Saebyeok. The UK Premiere of prolific auteur Director Hong Sangsoo’s Cannes acclaimed, The Day After (2017) will kick-off the festival at an Opening Gala with cinematographer and frequent Hong Sangsoo and Bong Joon-ho collaborator, Kim Hyung-ku in conversation on the 26 October. Following bemused characters in matters of the heart, this is “a black & white comedy of missed chances… a Rohmer-esque monochrome comedy of confusion” (Variety). The festival closes on 8 November (in London) with the UK Premiere of emerging director Kim Dae-hwan‘s Indie relationship hit from Locarno, The First Lap (2017) (followed by Director Q&A), which sees a directionless unmarried couple wade through family encounters and a potential pregnancy, in a fresh verité style that is both funny and heartwarming.

Two out of the five Korean hits to grace Cannes Film Festival this year were crime and action thrillers typical of the booming Korean Noir genre, illuminating the dark side of society: The Villainness (following a female assassin trained from a young age, screening as a special preview at LKFF press launch 11 Sept) and The Merciless (2017, Studiocanal, premiering at LKFF 2017), the latest feature from Byun Sung-hyun, a Tarantino-esque moody neo-noir thriller following double-crossing gangsters. “South Korea has such a turbulent modern history ridden with violence and political, social upheavals… I think that may be why we are good at making thriller movies like this,” said Jung Byung-Gil, director of The Villainness” (Daily Mail). It’s fitting that the festival shines a light on the killer genre this year with a full range of crime capers both old and new.

The strand begins with an example of Lee Man-hui’s renowned anti-communist filmmaking, with one of his very early films in the genre, Black Hair (1964), which follows the loyal mistress of a gang boss, whose life takes a horrific turn for the worse after a violent rape is exposed. We are thrilled to be screening the newly restored The Last Witness (1980) that recently played in Berlin and Busan film festivals, with director Lee Doo-yong in attendance; the film is based on a crime novel by Kim Seong-jung and follows lone wolf detective Oh Byeong-ho as he goes in search of the murderer of a small time brewer.

Film Noir was thriving in the 1990s, and we’ll celebrate a strong selection from that decade: the darkly humorous Dead End (1993), The Rules of the Game (1994) following small town thugs trying to make it big and Green Fish (1997), the directorial debut by Lee Chang-dong who is now widely regarded as South Korea’s greatest living director.

In America, Director Lee Myung-Se was seen as Seoul’s answer to Hong Kong’s John Woo with his hit, Nowhere to Hide (1999), a highly stylised violent action noir and an influence on The Matrix. Kilimanjaro (2000) is the little seen, but highly accomplished feature from Oh Seung-uk, starring veteran actor Ahn Sung-ki and Park Shin-yang; an engrossing noir following a detective mistaken for his identical twin brother, a gangster. Die Bad (2000) is action maestro Ryoo Seung-wan‘s sensational debut made in 4 parts over 3 years, following two young men (played by Ryoo and Park Sung-bin) whose lives change forever after a deadly student brawl.

A Bittersweet Life (2005) is Kim Jee-woon‘s follow up to A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) a thrilling noir that shows the ultra violent consequences of falling for the wrong girl. A Dirty Carnival (2006) follows a low-level debt collector as he murders his way to the top, played by one of Korea’s leading actors Zo In-sung. New World (2013, UK Home Ent. release by Eureka) is the second directorial feature from Park Hoon-jung, the writer behind The Unjust (Ryoo Seung-wan) and I Saw The Devil (Kim Jee-woon), in which undercover cops and shady policemen plot to gain control of Korea’s biggest crime syndicate. Coin Locker Girl (2015) is a female crime melodrama from first time director Han Jun-Hee starring veteran actress Kim Hye-soo as the psychotic crime boss known as ‘mom’ whose unsavoury trade includes organ trafficking and loan-sharking.

LKFF has pulled together the best Cinema Now, Korean films that are making waves world-wide in cinemas and online. One such masterpiece is the European Premiere of In Between Seasons (2016) by first time director Lee Dong-eun, based on the director’s own comic book, portraying an intimate family drama following two young gay lovers as they grapple with family life. Master (2016) which took 50.5 million dollars at the box office (topping the new Star Wars Rogue One), is a slick new financial action thriller that follows an investigator who pursues the president of a Korean company that’s involved in fraud and corruption. It stars today’s biggest actors Lee Byung-hun, Gang Dong-won and Kim Woo-bin. Come, Together (2017) is Director Shin Dong-il‘s new drama about a family of three whose ranks are collapsing – a rare insight into Korean society’s highly competitive nature. Warriors of the Dawn (2017) is the popular Joseon Era drama filmed almost entirely outdoors, as a guerilla style road movie, following a group of mercenaries tasked with protecting the newly crowned prince. The Mimic (UK release in 2018 date tbc, Arrow Films) directed by Huh Jung is a chilling K-horror that follows a woman, haunted by the disappearance of her son, who is drawn to a local legend of a monstrous tiger that lures people into its cave. Crime City (2017) is an indie crime caper based on a true story, from director Kang Yoon-sung, that follows a detective (Ma Dong-seok), as he hunts down a Korean-Chinese gang headed by Yoon Kye-sang.

This is the second year of our Women’s Voices strand, showcasing four dramas and one documentary all from contemporary feminine points of view, films that are at the very heart of feminist politics. An extremely current and relevant documentary, Candle Wave Feminists (2017), deconstructs the misogyny and discrimination that was rife within the revolution that led to Park’s impeachment and her spiritual mentor Choi Soon-Sil’s arrest. The feature debut by writer-director Lee Wanmin, Jamsil (2016) is a rare look at two women’s transformative friendship, following a harrowing long-term breakup. My Turn (2017) focuses on pregnancy within the workplace, after a nurse becomes pregnant and tensions and backlash surface. Mild Fever (2017) captures the subtle rift between husband and wife, following a secret that surfaces from the past. Night Working (2017) follows a friendship between two factory workers, a Korean woman and a Cambodian immigrant.

Asian cinema expert Tony Rayns will introduce the UK to Korea’s Indie Firepower, a selection of films from the country’s most intriguing independent filmmakers, including a special focus welcoming Artist filmmaker Jung Yoon-suk, whose films have focussed on Korean social and political life. The Home of Stars (2010) is a sardonic cage of modern Korean history and Non Fiction Diary (2013) deals with Korea’s first serial murder case in the 1990s. His latest, Bamseom Pirates Seoul Inferno (2017) also screens at the BFI LFF (6 and 7 October), embracing nihilism, protest, politics and rebellion and a strong sense of humour following a young Korean, grindcore punk band. Also on show are two of his shorts, The White House in My Country (2006) and Ho Chi Minh (2007). This strand celebrates two other offbeat indies with Merry Christmas Mr. Mo (2016), an unusual tragi-comedy shot in black & white centered on a relationship between an ageing father (played by veteran actor Gi Ju-bong) and his semi-estranged son, and A Confession Expecting a Rejection (2017) a daring and witty film that follows on and off screen characters as they discuss subjects ranging from failed relationships to dodgy film courses.

Dr. Mark Morris returns this year with another finely curated selection of Classics Revisited, focussing on 1980’s veteran director Bae Chang-Ho, who began his career as assistant director to the great Lee Jang-ho (the focus of our Classics retrospective in 2016). Closely linked with the rising ‘People’s Movement’ which campaigned against the authoritarian government, his first award-winning film People in the Slum (1982) echoes the issues of the people at that time. Adapted from a series of vignettes written by Lee Dong-cheol, Bae Chang-Ho crafted a film echoing life at the bottom of society, and ended up having to adapt the social criticism in the script following hints from government censors, blending the tale of these three main characters into a melodrama. In this short retrospective we’ll see a key selection of his films: Whale Hunting (1984) is a much loved Korean road movie following two misfits and a woman wandering a snowy landscape, and The Dream (1990) Bae’s second period film that follows the affair between a young Buddhist monk and a beautiful young woman. Bae wrote the script for The Dream along with aspiring assistant director Lee Myung-se, who had been his AD since his Whale Hunting days.

Contemporary Korean Documentaries have arguably never been more vital in exposing insights into structural inequalities in South Korea, and advocating community building and political awareness. This year the Documentary strand focuses on the activist work of the feminist collective Pink Skirt whose films deal with LGBT and workers’ rights – including Goodbye My Hero (2016) and the diptych Two Doors (2012) and The Remnants (2016) that show the fall out from a demonstration in 2009 against the redevelopment of Yongsan in Seoul, which left 5 people dead and 3 protesters in prison. We will also screen the long overdue Premiere of multimedia artist Kelvin Kyung Kun Park’s A Dream of Iron (2012), an industrial film symphony, looking at the scale of industrial machines and processes involved in constructing huge ships.

The best selection from the Mise-en-scène International Short Film Festival this year includes: Tombstone Refugee (2017), which looks at alternative burials, Home Without Me (2017), which follows a young girl seeking familial love and friendship, Thirsty (2017), which follows a young man struggling to make ends meet, Between You and Me (2017), which looks at the behind the scenes of the making of a film, Dive (2017) about a boy’s love of water, The Insect Woman (2017) about a girl’s fascination and obsession with insects and 2 Nights 3 Days (2017), following a couple on the eve of their anniversary celebration.

For its second edition, Artist Video (a collaboration with LUX | Artists’ Moving Image), sees two ‘Artist in Focus’ programmes with two prominent Korean artists working in film: Lim Minouk and Koo Donghee. Drawing their inspiration from political activist cinema from the 1970s (Lim) and contemporary television and internet culture (Koo), their work is representative of the diversity and richness of contemporary Korean artists’ moving image. Six video works from Lim Minouk (2003 – 2010) include political and poetical work that sides with the vulnerable and those that have been displaced. Five video works by Koo Donghee (2003 – 2012) exemplify her highly staged portrayals of the banality of life, interrupted by accidental situations. Koo uses objects, spaces, animals – often aquatic – and actors who respond in real time, to unrehearsed situations.

Younger audiences will delight in the two Animations this year: Lost in the Moonlight (2016) following 13-year-old Hyun Joo-ri as a dreamy, shy girl who gets sucked into a fantasy world and Franky and Friends: Tree of Life (2016) an exciting adventure in the Fairytale Kingdom, as two friends Kwon and Pong create havoc by asking for more food than they can eat, learning a useful lesson about the perils of wastefulness.

Guests confirmed for this year’s festival include:

  • Cinematographer Kim Hyeong-gu – The Day After
  • Director Kim Dae-hwan –The First Lap
  • Director Lee Doo-yong – The Last Witness
  • Director Oh Seung-uk – Kilimanjaro
  • For Noir forum – Eddie Muller (Founder of Film Noir Foundation) and Hur Moon-young (Film Critic & Programmer)
  • Director Bae Changho – People in the Slum, Whale Hunting, The Dream
  • Director Chung Yoon-chul – Warriors of the Dawn
  • Director Jung Yoon-suk – Non-Fiction Diary, Bamseom Pirates Seoul Inferno, Whale Hunting, The Dream
  • Director Kim IIl-rhan – Two Doors and The Remnant
  • Director Lee Wanmin & Actor Kim Saebyeok – Jamsil
  • Director Kang Yoon-sung – Crime City

 

 

London venues include: Picturehouse Central, Regent Street Cinema, ICA, Phoenix, Close-up, LUX, Birkbeck’s Institute of Moving Image, SOAS, Kingston University, National Film & Television School, British Museum and KCCUK

 

The festival tours to: Glasgow Film Theatre, Manchester HOME, Sheffield Showroom, Nottingham Broadway Cinema, Belfast Queen’s Film Theatre until 19 November 2017.

 

Facebook: @theLKFF

Twitter: @koreanfilmfest

Instagram: @london_korean_film_festival

 

To apply for Press Accreditation and for any interview requests and stills please contact: Elizabeth Benjamin Publicist, emebenjamin@yahoo.com

Notes to Editors

About London Korean Film Festival:

The London Korean Film Festival will return to celebrate its twelfth year running 26 October – 19 November 2017, running for two weeks in London before embarking on an ambitious tour around the UK.

The London Korean Film Festival has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the longest running and most respected festivals dedicated to Korean cinema in the world. We’ve built a name upon presenting lineups consisting of everything from the country’s most successful blockbusters to thought-­‐provoking independents from its finest auteurs. Across a variety of finely curated strands we aim to cater for general audiences, committed cinephiles, children, and everyone in between.

The 12th London Korean Film Festival is organised by the Korean Cultural Centre UK with the support of the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports & Tourism, Korean Film Council and Korean Film Archive.

More about the KCCUK:

Since being opened by the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism in January 2008, under the jurisdiction of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, the KCCUK has gone from strength to strength in its role of enhancing friendship, amity and understanding between Korea and the UK through cultural and educational activities.

As well as presenting a diverse range of ongoing monthly events focused on Korean film, drama, education and literature, the KCCUK regularly welcomes Korean luminaries from many cultural fields to discuss their work, organises the annual film festival as well as traditional and contemporary musical performances and holding a number of exhibitions throughout the year, allowing artists to showcase their talent. From the KCCUK’s central London location (just off Trafalgar Square), the institution’s dedicated cultural team work to further develop established cultural projects, introduce new opportunities to expand Korean programmes in the UK and to encourage ongoing cultural exchange.

 

Films

Yourself and Yours (2016)

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Yourself and Yours (2016)

yourslef

You can tell from the opening titles exactly the kind of film this is going to be. Black Korean calligraphy on a white background suggests an intelligent and possibly artistic film and the lively classical music hints at a sophisticated comedy on love and relationships..

Yes, it’s a comedy, but one with brains. The humour is always grounded in realistic situations and believable characters.

Plot Summary

Yongsoo goes to meet a friend and they discuss Minjong, his girlfriend with whom he intends to marry. She has been seen drinking heavily in one of the local bars and when Minjong is confronted by Yongsoo she denies it was her, but Yongsoo is unable to ignore the rumours. Feeling hurt that he doesn’t seem to trust her, Minjong leaves him. Devastated, Yongsoo tries to win her back. Meanwhile, Minjong, or someone who looks very similar, is meeting men in bars and having casual relationships with them. Yongsoo eventually reunites with Minjong and they continue their relationship.

Hong Sang-soo, who makes films about relationships, has been called the Woody Allen of Asia and you can see why. His characters are somewhat world weary, and in the case of Yongsoo, given to moments of self –pity and despair. When Yongsoo tells his friends that love is all there is in the world, the rest is just compensation for when you don’t have love, it’s not hard to imagine Woody Allen saying the same thing. Meanwhile, Minjong, sexually available, yet innocent and lacking self-awareness, could be any number of Allen’s heroines. And then consider the loactions (I’d guess this was filmed in Hongdae); from coffee bars to streams and parks: we are miles away from the hectic urban centre of Seoul which is the typical backdrop of most Korean films.

Minjong (Lee You-young) is certainly a complicated character, and one who doesn’t always have the audience’s sympathy. A repeated joke in the film is that she pretends not to recognize men when they approach her and . Is she the real Minjeong, or is she in fact Minjong’s twin? In this case, the hard-drinking and promiscuous Minjong who has been seen by Yongsoo’s friends is not the same as the woman he has been in a relationship with. Or does it matter? In any relationship there must be trust, and that means sometimes ignoring rumours and gossip.

Yongsoo’s friends seem to be the jealous ones here, motivated not by care towards their friend but by wanting to punish Minjong for her perceived immoral behavior. Yongsoo is punished for his lack of faith in Minjong, first when she leaves him, and secondly by breaking his leg in an accident which we do not see. Only when Yongsoo learns to trust again is he able to finally get back together with Minjong. As the character said earlier, the most important thing in life is love, everything else is just is just compensation for when you don’t have it.

 

Films, Korean Culture

Train to Busan “Busanhaeng” film review

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You may think you know all about zombies but have you wondered what it would be like to be on a train with fifty of them all running after you and gnashing at your ankles?

Zombies on a train is the premise of this film, a big hit in South Korea. If you had no idea this film was a horror, or that it featured zombies, it might be quite exciting but I imagine most people will go into this knowing exactly what to expect.

Some kind of catastrophe has led to an outbreak in which dozens of writhing undead are roaming the streets of Seoul looking for their next victims. A group of travellers including main lead Gong Yu are on the train to Busan.  They’ve barely gone twenty minutes before there is clearly something wrong with some of the passengers. Checking the situation on their phones, the passengers see that the country is in a state of emergency.

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They try to leave at the next station but find that the soldiers who are waiting for them have already been bitten. The most exciting and tense scenes are when the group must flee back on to the zombie ridden train, running away from swarms of rabid recruits. Once back on its a long journey for the remainder of the film. Here’s where the film runs out of steam. Once you’ve seen one zombie, you’ve seen them all. The film becomes a very standard struggle for survival and the scenes of characters running down train corridors become very repetitive.

It’s not a bad film.  Its directed in expedient fashion but for a train film its seriously lacking any ambient sound effects such as the clickety-clack sound  you would expect of a train on a track (or do South Korean trains run completely silently?).Fans of zombies will not be disappointed.Otherwise,  it’s more of what we’ve already seen many times over.

My score: 6/10.

Films, Korean Culture

Tunnel film review

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It doesn’t seem long ago when Korean film makers were dazzling the world with prizewinners at International festivals such as Oldboy  and Pieta. As well as these harsh ,violent films there were gentle odes to Buddhism (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter, and Spring) and the magnificent Untold Scandal, which set the story of Dangerous Liaisons in the Joseon Dynasty period.

South Korea  has one of the strongest national film industries of any country, but they haven’t had an international hit for several years. Many of its most acclaimed directors have either gone of the rails (kim Ki Duk) or made films for America (Park Chan Wook and Joon-ho Bong.

I watched Tunnel at Wimbledon cinema (shown there because of the large Korean community in New Malden). Although it was a perfectly decently-made  film I wondered why it was so unusually bland. If it wasn’t for the frequent jabs at the Korean government, or references to recent safety disasters such as the Sewol Ferry sinking, this could have been a Hollywood blockbuster.

Driving to work one morning, car salesmen (Jung-soo) finds himself spending longer than he would to like at a gas station when an old man mishears him and puts to much petrol in his car. On they way, he calls his wife Se-hyun  and tells her he has bought a cake for his daughter’s birthday (why is it always the kid’s birthday in these films?) Then, as he enters the tunnel, he is caught in the middle somewhere when a rockslide causes the tunnel to collapse.

Luckily, he can still make communication with the outside world because his film has 82% battery; and even 150 metres underground he always has a perfect mobile phone reception. Calls are made between him and wife Seohyun, as well as the head of the rescue operation Dae-kyoung (O-dal su).

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I’m not sure why anyone would want to make a film about a man stuck in a tunnel. The possibility of doing anything new with it are  so small. There’s little in the way of tension. Although film tries to show the lack of water and how he must carefully ration it to be drunk each hour. The film only really becomes exciting when he learns that the tunnel is to be re-built after the chances of finding him alive are considered to low. Then he has to race against time to find his way out), although why he didn’t think of this before I have no idea.

Bae Doona has little to do in this film and we don’t learn anything about their relationship beside the fact that they have a four-year old daughter. The film contains some humour (usually towards the incompetence of the tunnel builders who couldn’t remember how many ceiling fans they had put in) and there’s even a cute dog who has somehow survived under the fallen rubble.

It looks like this film is one for Koreans only.

Rating: 5/10

Films

The Joy Luck Club

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When Wayne Wang was brought out to direct the film of Amy Tan’s The Joy Luck Club, it must have seemed like a dream come true for fans of Asian cinema. With Oliver Stone as producer and several of the hottest Asian actresses in tow this looked like a surefire hit.

Unfortunately, it really missed the mark. Instead of being the moving epic that they were clearly going for, the film is a terrible and incoherent mess.

Let’s see: there are four daughters of four mothers, who are all members of the titular club. They moved to America it seems at different times and have made a point of bringing up their children as American rather than Chinese.

So the film had my interest but the flashbacks are totally intrusive and serve to prevent any sense of time and place. Now, like most American /Chinese productions, the characters speaking English. Not that this is a problem, as the daughters were brought up to speak English. Would adult Chinese women speak English alone with their friends? No, of course they wouldn’t.

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Now, in the flashbacks, the characters only speak Chinese. This is fine. These scenes are terribly melodramatic though. We are supposed to be shocked by the barbarity of Chinese culture and the way that women were treated. Each mother is given a flashback scene in which some awful event from the past is revealed, I lost interest after a while.

Then, the film takes us back to nineties New York, where their daughters live life of unabashed privilege, complete with yuppie boyfriends. These scenes feel like a Woody Allen film without the wit.

The Joy Luck Club does not deliver any emotional payoff. Each scene unfolds with the predictability of a thousand soap opera cliches.

Director Wang was never given the same budget to work with again. Vivian Wu appeared in Peter Greenaway’s The Pillow book, whilst  Lauren Tom played the role of Ross’s girlfriend in Friends. Fans of American-Chinese films would have to wait until Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon for their next piece of Chinese cinema.

 

Films

Film Review

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The Last Emperor Dir Bernardo Bertolluci

Hong Kong/GB/ 1987

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He was three years old when he ascended the throne and made history. Yet, his life was controlled by others and he was a puppet for the 6 years of his reign.

The Last Emperor is an incredible story. First off, when did any other film attempt, let alone succeed in trying to depict some of the most turbulent years of Chinese history?

As well as being a historical epic, the film is intimate, full of lovely touches and gentle humour. Bertolluci’s direction is masterful. Witness the key scene in the ballroom where the Emperor (newly made the ruler of Japanese state Manchuko) is watched from the sidelines by his embittered wife the second consort Wen Hsui, who in a scene of increasing tension, sits stuffing flower petals into her mouth. As we watch, the camera swoops, glides and moves along with the rhythms of the Emperor Waltz.

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From left: Joan Chen, Vivian Wu, John Lone

As the film moves on to the next phase of Pu Yi’s life, we see him in prison as the country of Manchuria is controlled by Russia after there Second World War. As the film ends, Pu Yi is freed from prison, just as the Red Guards are bringing in a new phase of Chinese rule.

The final scene is full of irony. The Forbidden Palace, where the Emperor spent the first years of his life in splendid isolation is now a tourist site. A small boy frees himself from the group and climbs on to one of the thrones. Pu Yi watches him and hands him a a container. Curious, the young boy opens it. Out climbs a grasshopper, presumably the same that the Emperor was given when he was crowned. Chinese politics will always change, but the soul of the country – as shown by the grasshopper- will endure.