2. Kim Ki-young's Myeong-ja Films (The Housemaid etc.)
Myeong-ja is a character that has appeared as the lead character in five of Kim Ki-young's films, The Housemaid (1960), its two remakes Woman of Fire (1971) and Woman of Fire '82, The Insect Woman (1972) and its remake Carnivore (1984). I have not yet seen the films from the 80s but the first three (posters above) are among the very best films I have ever seen, let alone from Korea. Kim's fiercely modernist, gloriously stylized and scathing takes on the rising Korean bourgeoisie are pure cinema. In many ways, Kim was well ahead of his peers. His unbridled love of cinema is clearly evident through his array of influences but it was his subversive nature that truly made him stand out.
Myeong-ja is a vengeful character in The Housemaid films but it is very interesting to note that during the film's initial run in 1960, spectators were screaming for her head in theaters, thereby drawing the revenge theme beyond the fourth wall. There's far too much to talk about in these few sentences but I urge you to seek these out. The Housemaid is relatively easy to come these days and you can watch Woman of Fire in HD for free on the Korean Film Archive's Youtube channel. The Insect Woman, however, will require some more thorough sleuthing.
Reviews and features on Korean film appear regularly on Modern Korean Cinema. For film news, external reviews, and box office analysis, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update, Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Korean Reviews, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (Korean Standard Time).
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