Korean Films at Cannes

Intro
Cannes is increasingly becoming a place to promote Korean films to the world market. So many premieres are staged at Cannes and its the idyllic place to launch films to the international press, buyers and so on and so forth. Cannes, too, are keen to invite Korean films and Korean talent. This year there are two Korean directors on the juries (Lee will be one of the jury presidents  for the Cannes Critics' week while Bong is presiding over the jury of the Camera d'Or prize) - both directors have had films shown in Cannes before. Indeed, Lee won the screenplay prize for his film Poetry / 시 last year.  People often talk about how the Korean film bubble has burst and interest for Korean cinema has dwindled over the last couple of years, and while I would accept that the quality of films has declined somewhat, internationally, Korean cinema, is as popular as ever. One only has to look at the amount of blogs and websites dedicated to Korean cinema that have surfaced in the last year or so to see this. So in many ways it is not surprising to see Cannes take such an interest in Korean cinema.
Some have argued that Cannes has lost its edge in recent years as it becomes more commercial, and in some ways they are right as it has become more of a celebrity affair than a film festival. But nevertheless, Cannes is and will remain the world's most prestigious film festival, and it's great to see so many Korean films on show.

The Films
There are three features in the Un Certain Regard section:Kim Ki-duk's (김기덕)  Arirang /아리랑; Hong Sang-soo's (홍상수) The Day he Arrives / 북촌 방향 ; and Na Hong-jin's (나홍진) The Yellow Sea / 황해. Cannes is also screening a number of other short films, which are as follows: Finis Operis directed by Moon Byun-gon ; Ghost directed by Dachi Ma; and Fly by Night by Son Tae-gyum.

Airrang and the surprise return of Kim Ki-duk
The biggest surprise was Kim Ki-duk's Arirang, which is a documentary, not a fictional film. It actually stars Kim Ki-duk, and the synopsis is ambiguous at best. No-one really knew what Kim Ki-duk was up to - in fact, I was talking to a friend a few days before the Cannes line-up was announced, and we were wondering what he was doing. It will be interesting to see how those who see this film in Cannes react to it. The film looks bizarre even by Kim's standards - if you want to have a look at the synopsis, click here.

Hong Sang-soo - has he reached the peak of his form?
As for Hong Sang-soo, he seems to be hitting his prime. He's been around for a while, and I for one is not someone who necessarily understands his work that well, but I have found his more recent films accessible and enjoyable. He seems to be making films more frequently, and following the award he received at Cannes last year for Ha Ha Ha / 하하하 - 夏夏夏 , he is back with The Day He Arrives. Hong likes exploring subjects that have a connection to film in someway, and few that know the work of Hong Sang-soo will be at all surprised that he returns to these characters again. You can read the synopsis here.

Na Hong-jin: a very talented visual artist, but what about his storytelling?
As for Na Hong Jin's The Yellow Sea, this was an expected inclusion in the Cannes line-up. I saw this film when it was released in Korea late last year, and while I think Na is a great visual artist, I think there are serious limitations to his form of storytelling. Both The Chaser (his first film) and The Yellow Sea have a compelling first hour, but tend to run out of steam by the end. The final hour in the Yellow Sea is just a blood bath, and becomes like any other Korean gangster film that has been made. He has reportedly taken a 30 minute chunk out of the second half of the film, which might help things, but in my opinion, he will have to make serious changes to the film, if he wants it to match the first half. The DVD that has been released in Korea has no English subtitles, so I am assuming they are looking to sell it in Cannes at a pretty high price. You can read the synopsis here.

Cannes is not all about the prolific directors, and it also screens a number of shorts this year from a number of directors from Korea.  Finis Operis by Moon Byung-gon, which has an interesting title is being screened in the International Critics' week. You can read the lengthy synopsis here, which includes a bit of analysis. Meanwhile In Front of the House from Lee Tae-ho has also been invited to the International Critics' week. It begins as a romantic film, but turns out to be somewhat different. You can also read a lengthly synopsis and analysis here. And finally Dahci Ma delivers Ghost, which is taking part in the short competition. Take a read at KOFIC's thoughts.

Finis Operis directed by Moon Byung-gon

In Front of the House directed by Lee Tae-ho

Ghost directed by Dahci Ma

Market Screenings
Cannes is not all about winning competitions; in fact, its status as a venue and festival to seal deals between distributors is equally important, and so, there are a number of Korean films that are being screened in the hope of selling films to some of the world's many distributors. There are a number of market screenings and KOFIC have put a page on their site that outlines what films are being screened and when, both in the competitions, and as part of the market screenings. Here is the link.

Posted May 9th 2010

Terracotta Far East Film Festival: Thursday 5th - Sunday 8th May 2011

Terracotta is back for another year to show audiences in London some of the latest films to come out of the Far East. It's always a terrific film festival that is well-organised, full of parties and screenings, and you will not come away feeling disappointed. What makes Terracotta stand out for me is the atmosphere is generates. So often with festivals, it's a frantic rush to watch the films you need or want to see, and you sometimes come away feeling a bit drained. But Terracotta always provides a sense of fun that becomes infectious, and it's terrific to see Joey Leung (the festival organiser) so passionate about his festival, which is then passed on to the rest of the team, and then the guests.

The festival always has at least one Korean film on show and this year they have got two: Man of Vendetta / 파괴된 사나이 and Petty Romance /쩨쩨한 로맨스. I have reviewed Petty Romance, so if you are wanting to know what it is like, please click here. I haven't seen Man of Vendetta, but it looks interesting as it follows the theme of kidnapping - this has become a common theme in modern Korean cinema - Secret Sunshine / 밀양, Voice of a Murderer / 그놈 목소리 - and it also looks at how someone faced with extremely difficult circumstances following the kidnapping of his daughter loses his Christian faith. The main role played by Kim Myeong-min is actually a Christian himself, or so I heard, so it will be interesting to see how he delivers this performance. This is the first directorial feature of Woo Min-ho who directs this feature. As for Petty Romance, it's a very enjoyable film, and at times, extremely funny. It's not very deep, and as I say in my review, it's a bit of a guilty pleasure, but film after all, is a form of escapism, and Petty Romance will let you do just this...

Guests will also have an opportunity to see Kim Kkobbi / 김꽃비 who will be signing copies of the DVD Breathless / 똥파리 - she plays one of the leading roles. She will be in the Slug and Lettuce following the screening of the Pretty Romance. More details can be found here.

Here are the films' details....

Petty Romance /  쩨쩨한 로맨스

Director:  Kim Jeong-hoon (김정훈)
Starring: Lee Seon-gyoon (이선균), Choi Kang-hee (최강희), Oh Jeong-se (오정세) & Ryoo Hyeon-kyeong(류현경)
Running time: 118 min
Korean Release Date: 01/12/2010
Number of Korean Admissions: 2,081,656 (as of 23/01/2011)                                                                                  Koreanfilm.org.uk review here

TERRACOTTA SCREENING INFO:                                                                                                                                     Date and Time: Saturday 7th May 2011, 1pm.  Book here                                                                                               Location: Prince Charles Cinema, London                                                             

Synopsis

 KOFIC

Trailer (without subs)

Man of Vendetta/  파괴된 사나이

Director:  Woo Min-ho (우민호)
Starring: Kim Myeong-min (김명민), Eom Gi-joon (암기준) & Park Joo-mi (박주미)
Running time: 114 min
Korean Release Date: 01/07/2010
Number of Korean Admissions: 1,022,874 (as of 12/09/2010)

Synopsis

Pastor Ju Young-su is a man of rock solid faith. His life is shattered when his 5-year-old daughter is kidnapped. He seeks God with desperate prayers for her safe return but to no avail. Feeling betrayed and distraught with anguish, Ju renounces his faith and leads a completely secular life. Eight years pass and he receives a call about his daughter- that she is still alive and is living with the kidnapper. Once again, Ju’s resolute attempt to rescue his daughter begins (Source: KOFIC)

Trailer (with English subs)