Magicians (마법사들, 2005)

(by refresh_daemon)

Magicians started out as one of three short films in an omnibus produced for the Jeonju International Film Festival in 2005, following writer-director Song Il-gon's international acclaim with his films started with his remarkable debut Flower Island (2001). However, when making his short version for the film festival, director Song also make an extended 95-minute feature version bearing a remarkable restriction that the film be shot in one seamless take. Yet, rather than ending up as a mere gimmick, Magicians gains a stage-like abstraction at times without losing the intimacy of the camera, which turns the strong performances of its cast into an emotionally resonant meditation on grief and living in the aftermath of loss.

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Weekly Review Round-up (05/05-05/11, 2012)

Many reviews for a wide variety of films this week and I've rejigged the subsections to reflect films that have already been released in Korea and those that have played at international festivals but have, as of yet, not secured a Korean release date.

Over on the VCinema Show website, which I am a contributor for, Adam Hartzell has embarked on a week-long consideration of Hong Sang-soo's The Day He Arrives as he posts his thoughts after seeing it every day during its week long engagement in San Francisco.  Below are the links to his special feature with only the final day outstanding, which will likely be posted this evening:

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