03 Sep 2010

Lee Chang-dong's Cannes winner, Poetry, has just been announced for the 37th Telluride Film Festival in Colorado USA.  This is a reasonably small festival that has received more and more notoriety over the years with being the festival where many Oscar winning films, Slumdog Millionaire, Juno and Up In The Air, have started their campaigns before the bigger Toronto Film Festival.  Known for keeping it's line up a secret till the very last moment, it starts today, Poetry finds itself shoulder to shoulder with many highly anticipated films such as Never Let Me Go, Mike Leigh's Another Year and Biutiful which will all, undoubtedly, be vying for a best foreign film next year.

27 Aug 2010

Korean Remake A Better Tomorrow invited to Venice

Korea’s remake of John Woo's quintessential gangster drama ‘A Better Tomorow’ has been invited for a special out-of-competition screening at the 2010 Venice Film Festival. Directed by SONG Hae-sung (Failan, Maundy Thursday) and starring four major male stars, the film will be released in Korea on September 16.

The original 1986 production set the bench mark for Hong Kong noir style films and helped break Hong Kong films into the international arena.  In addition, Hong Kong films are thought to have directly inspired Korean films such as Shiri (1999) the North Korean spy gangster thriller which itself spawned a whole succession of films.  Remaking A Better Tomorow then takes the Korean film industry in a full circle.  There is so much confidence in the project that even the director of the original Hong Kong film, John Woo, is a producer on the Korean remake. 

It has been said of the original A Better Tomorow that it changed the Hong Kong film industry forever.  Part of the reason for this may have been the casting of iconic Hong Kong actors Leslie Cheung and Chow Yun Fat.  Taking the lead roles in the Korean production are KIM Kang-woo (Ha Ha Ha 2010, Marine Boy 2009), JOO Jin-mo (A Frozen Flower 2008, 200 Pounds Beauty 2006), JO Han-seon (Attack the Gas Station 2 2009, Cruel Winter Blues 2006) and SONG Seung-heon (Fate 2008).  The film has secured a coup in casting these four ‘it’ actors already creating a substantial buzz around the production of the remake.  JOO plays the boss of the gang involved in shady deals who has lost contact with his young brother Cheol, played by KIM who has now become a police officer.  Cheol of course thinking he was originally abandoned by his brother is out for blood, which all leads to the familiar themes of betrayal and honor, and a tragic climax.

Source: Kofic

21 Aug 2010

The line-up of the 2010 New York Film Festival has been released and features two of the most acclaimed and anticipated Korean films of this year, Hong Sang-soo's new, ultra low budget Oki's Movie and the Cannes winner Poetry from Lee Change-dong.

18 Aug 2010

Mother Nationwide release

Bong Joon-ho's excellent film is nearing it's theatrical release with a selected number of cinemas screening the film from 20th Aug.  Originally only thought to be a DVD and Blueray release the good folks at Optimum Releasing decided on showing it at the cinema as well.  The film will be screening in London at the ICA Mall, the Rio Cinema and a number of others in London and around the country

 "Bold, unpredictable and quietly devastating, ‘Mother’ is Bong’s first masterpiece." Time Out

The director of contemporary Korean classics Memories of Murder andThe Host returns with a wickedly twisted tale about what can happen when a mother’s love for her son goes too far.

Part detective story, part melodrama but still a totally original construct with its own shape and style. This darkly comic film from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho has quickly acquired cult status. Maternal love comes into its own as a mother turns super-sleuth to seek justice for her son.

Dir Bong Joon-ho, 2009, South Korea, 129 mins, cert 15.

(ICA Mall)

6 Aug 2010

I Saw the Devil release delayed

KIM Ji-woon’s latest noir-thriller I Saw the Devil has seen just that in the form of the Korea Media Rating Board, having received a “restricted” rating, effectively banning the film, following a wrangle over problematic scenes.

The film’s production company Peppermint and Co. resubmitted the film recently after a month of re-editing in the hopes of receiving an 18+ rating.  The Rating Board’s decision to re-apply the “restricted” rating resulted in the cancellation of the film’s press screening last Thursday.  The thriller was originally slated for a wide release August 11.  

KIM Hyun-woo, the film’s producer, defended the artistic integrity of the movie, saying it portrayed revenge from the eyes of the victim and was deliberately realistic.  The Board argued that the scenes in question “severely damaged the dignity of human values.” 

A “restricted” rating in Korea means the film is only eligible for limited screenings in special theaters which exclusively program adult films.  As no such theaters exist in Korea, the film is effectively banned.  Advertising and marketing “restricted” films are also banned.  

The commercial thriller, distributed by Showbox, will have no choice but to compromise and make further cuts.  The film stars top Korean actor LEE Byung-hun as a secret agent who hunts down and exacts gruesome revenge on the psychopath (played by veteran thesp CHOI Min-shik) who killed his fiancé.  

Nigel D’Sa (KOFIC)

Two Korean film win at Fantasia

Korean films captured 2 prizes in the main competition section of the Fantasia International Film Festival which took place July 8 – 28, 2010 in Montreal, Canada.  Winning the second-place Special Jury Prize was LEE Hae-jun’s comedy Castaway on the Moon.  The Best Director prize went to noted helmer LEE Joon-ik for his Chosun period swashbuckler Blades of Blood. The top award for Best Feature went to Sawako Decides by Japan’s ISHII Yuya.

Castaway on the Moon also picked up a third place Bronze prize under the Audience Awards: Best Asian Film category.  Another South Korean film, The Executioner, directed by CHOI Jin-ho, was given an honorable mention by the jury of the AQCC Prize, with first place going to Japanese director KORE-EDA Hirokazu for Air Doll, starring Korean actress BAE Doo-na.

Fantasia is a genre-oriented film festival which highlights fantasy and horror films worldwide and has a special devotion to Asian cinema. The festival runs at various venues throughout Montreal. 

Nigel D’Sa (KOFIC)

18 Sep 2009

Chaw and Haeundae Get More International Exposure

Both Chaw and Haeundae are to be released overseas, respectively to the U.K and Canada.

Optimum Releasing who also handled BONG Joon-ho’s Memories of Murder (2003) will be releasing wild pig movie Chaw to British audiences.  The film, which features the aforementioned pig terrorizing a small sleepy village scored 1.8 admissions at the Korean box office.  Haeundae did even better at the box office pulling in 1,546,976 viewers alone in its opening weekend.  Canada based distributer Cine-Asia will be harnessing the titanic film planning theatrical releases in Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver followed by a DVD release.  The film was previously sold to a number of territories at the Hong Kong Film Mart and more recently to China on a revenue-sharing basis.

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)