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Sachiko (Nakagawa Mao), a young woman frustrated with her life of dull routine, and seeking stimulation outside the deadening monotony of housework and catering to her needy husband, befriends Kobayashi (Yûji Tajiri), a neighbor whose wife has been carrying on an affair right under his very nose. Learning of her unfaithfulness, Sachiko’s husband (Takeshi Ito,... Continue Reading →
There hasn’t been much discussion concerning ‘roman porno’ and ‘pink’ films emanating from Japan as of late. I’m curious to know myself exactly what readers think of these types of films - whether they’ve watched any, and what their thoughts are, especially in relation to mainstream and arthouse films. So this post is basically a... Continue Reading →
Synopsis Chosun dynasty, ca. 1504. Two itinerant street performers, Jang-sang and Gong-gil, having fled to Seoul, face an even more onerous fate when a bawdy farce lands them in prison to await certain death. An opportunity to redeem themselves arises, and a rather lackluster show succeeds nonetheless in pleasing the King and purchasing the troupe’s... Continue Reading →
On the occasion of its 10th anniversary, the Jeonju International Film Festival has released a handsomely packaged compilation of 27 shorts by filmmakers from Asia, Africa and Europe. For the past decade, JIFF has been commissioning films from three directors a year, awarding them each 50 million won (USD 38,000) to produce a digital film... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: An adaptation of a short story by Japanese mystery writer Kyotaro Nishimura, The Customer is Always Right is a comic thriller about a timid barber confronted by a stranger demanding blackmail money. At each visit by the blackmailer, the barber is required to double the ante. The attentions bestowed by the stranger on the... Continue Reading →
With the countless stories yet to be committed to film, what is it that draws Korean filmmakers time and time again to the same worn-out formulas and conventions? This and sundry other cosmological reflections are what passed through my mind as I patiently endured the two-hour running time of Na Hong-jin’s The Chaser, the thriller... Continue Reading →
A contemplative, enigmatic arthouse drama with a bit of road movie tossed in, Kim Seong-ho’s ambitious sophomore feature film – about a young director confronting loss and abandonment – benefits from a great choice of locales, fine lensing, and the natural performance of a fresh newcomer, but lapses into excessive melodrama in the final reel.... Continue Reading →
Sha Po Lang is hands-down the best HK action film I’ve ever seen. The movie easlily blows away Election, Breaking News, and One Nite in Mongkok. Yet reviewers are so caught up in debating the types of fighting, the number of opponents, the duration of the encounters, and arguing whether Donnie should or shouldn’t have... Continue Reading →
Masumura’s brilliant adaptation of a novel by Yoriyoshi Arima tells the story of a young nurse (Ayako Wakao) stationed at an army hospital in 1939, at the time of the Sino-Japanese war. Appearing at a time when Japanese studios are producing largely escapist fare; when independent distributors in the UK and in the US are... Continue Reading →
“Why couldn’t the lens capture on the spot the cerebral life, the chemical reactions of the brain, the silver bath of the association of images, the over- or underexposure of the principal idea and the marvels of the surge of the subconscious, revealing all?” “Pourquoi l’objectif ne saisirait-il pas sur le vif la vie cérébrale,... Continue Reading →
Synopsis A timid college lecturer, Dae-woo, who is smart but has never been in love, meets a mysterious but charming woman, Mi-na. With no skills to win a date, he asks her out awkwardly. To his surprise, she accepts. And as a first time lover, he behaves very unnaturally. However, as they fall in love,... Continue Reading →
When I reviewed the digitally restored print of The Housemaid at last year’s Pusan International Film Festival, I asserted that, when Kim Ki-young’s classic was released on video, it would be one of the most cherished DVDs of the year. Having seen the new Korean region-free transfer, I’ve had to temper my enthusiasm somewhat, though... Continue Reading →
This month, Taewon Entertainment, under the auspices of the Korean Film Archive, has released a boxset of four films by legendary director Kim Ki-young. It has been over a decade since the 2nd Pusan International Film Festival hosted the first major retrospective of the director’s work, leading to requests from festivals the world over to... Continue Reading →
Hyperbola of Youth (1956), Han Hyung-mo’s satirical musical comedy, tells the story of two friends, one rich, the other poor, both suffering from digestive disorders, who agree to exchange lifestyles for two weeks on the advice of their physician. Each of them falls in love with the other’s younger sister and by the end of... Continue Reading →
The box office success of films like last year’s The King and the Clown and this year’s The Host can’t conceal the fact that Korean cinema is facing difficult times. Exports of domestic films have dropped dramatically, as have those of television dramas. Industry watchers have pointed out the current under-representation of Korean films at... Continue Reading →
Women in prison films have been with us for ages, and it looks as though they will continue to attract directors for a long time to come. My personal favorite is Female Convict Scorpion Jailhouse 41 (1972). Oddly enough, the most recent incarnation of the genre I’ve seen, Park Chan-Wook’s Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2006),... Continue Reading →
Already screened at half a dozen film festivals worldwide (including Toronto and Rotterdam), with still a few more on the horizon, Daytime Drinking, the ultra low budget road movie by Noh Young-seok, signals the arrival of a fresh new voice in Korean cinema. While Noh—who served as writer, cinematographer, producer, editor and composer on his... Continue Reading →
Straddling an uneasy line between humor and pathos, Between Love & Hate, the tale of an affair between Yeong-hun (Kim Seung-woo), an engaged man working as a waiter in his mother’s restaurant and Yeon-ah (Jang Jin-yeong), a hostess in a karaoke bar, is a singularly frustrating experience. The drama signals the directorial debut of actor/screenwriter... Continue Reading →
Synopsis Muraki, a photographer for a pornographic magazine, develops a morbid infatuation for a young woman while watching her take part in a stag film, in which she is raped by three students. He eventually learns of her whereabouts, and arranges to meet with her in an isolated park. Upon discovering that she was the... Continue Reading →
“You chose depravity instead of your duties as a mother.”– Professor Jang Origins of Madame Freedom Madame Freedom was the most popular as well as the most controversial film of its time. The screenplay was based on a serialized novel by Jung Bee-suk. When it was published, the portrayal of women’s new-found sexual freedom aroused... Continue Reading →
The Daejeon Chronicles 