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 →
The Chaser (추격자)
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 →
Kim Ki-young’s The Housemaid (하녀) Remastered (1960)
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 →