Showing posts with label perfect partner. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perfect partner. Show all posts

Friday, May 4, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (04/28 - 05/04, 2012)

More review this week for My Way, various films screened at the Udine Far East Film Festival and Song Il-gon features from the KCCUK's retrospective.


FUTURE RELEASES


Dangerously Excited

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Thursday, April 26, 2012

Udine Far East Film Festival Day VI Report


Ongoing reports on the 14th Udine International Film Festival which Modern Korean Cinema will be covering onsite.



One Mile Above
(China, 2011)


A road movie chronicling a young man’s cycling trek in Tibet in the memory of his recently deceased brother, One Mile Above succeeds both in being a heartfelt voyage of discovery and a tribute to perseverance.  Du Jiayi’s  film is a beautiful work that takes tremendous advantage of the Himalayan landscape it takes place in.

Shuhao, the young protagonist, is someone who doesn’t have any direction of his own so when his brother dies he takes it upon himself to complete the trip that he had been working towards.  It is in honour of his sibling but it could also be read as an usurpation of a fixed goal as he lacks any of his own.  Throughout his journey he meets different characters who progressively become further removed from the people he knows form Taiwan.  These encounters, as well as the often difficult circumstances he finds himself confronted with, being to shape him as a character.

His growing endurance and tenacity are borne out of his developing sense of purpose and this, combined with the exceptional photography, lead to a moment of blissful catharsis that honestly gave me chills.  For that feeling and the majestic vistas alone, One Mile Above is worth the price of admission.  Catch it on a big screen if you can!


The Woodsman and the Rain
(Japan, 2011)


I have seen many films about filmmaking this year and a number of them have been standouts, including Cut (Japan, 2011) and This Is Not a Film (Iran, 2011).  Now I have another film to add to that list: The Woodsman and the Rain, from director Okita Shuichi, which is a testament to the thrill of creation.  As some people noted following last night’s screening, it is very ‘Japanese’.  This is mainly in reference to its dry sense of humour, which is full of mordant wit but it is also charming and welcoming, leading to an irresistible mix.

A taciturn woodsman in rural Japan has been a widow for nearly two years and lives with his recalcitrant son.  His fixed routine is shaken with the arrival of a film crew to his town.  The production underway is a zombie film, directed by a hoodie-wearing and diffident 25-year-old who seems to be in over his head.  The film chronicles how these very different characters begin to bond and slowly reawaken dormant pleasures, passions and creativity within them.

The pacing of the film is deliberate and by some accounts a little slow but I felt it suited the temperament well and accented the comedy.  Whereas Cut was a dark love letter to the medium which is framed in the context of the cinema’s greatest works of art, The Woodsman and the Rain is less concerned with artistic mastery than the sheer pleasure of filmmaking and swell of passion that enables it.  Shuichi’s characters do not visit the graves of Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Ozu, instead, they are making a zombie B-movie and they seem all the better for it.


My Secret Partner
(South Korea, 2011)


I had a chance to see this before the festival and I must say that I was surprised to see it programmed.  One of the main qualifying factors for a film’s presentation at the FEFF is it popularity in its domestic market as the festival is a showcase for ‘Popular Asian Cinema’.  My Secret Partner (aka Perfect Partner) does not warrant that distinction.  In fact it was a flop, attracting less than 100,000 viewers at the time of its release.  So one would be forgiven for thinking that, since it was not a commercial hit, it must have been a critical one.  Once again this is not the case as the feature was mostly derided when it hit screens and then promptly forgotten.

I’m sure you can see what I’m hinting at: yes, it’s a bad film.  I had low expectations but was hoping for a surprise and though it gets off to a decent start, it begins to fade rather quickly.  The main problem is that it is a thin premise, furthermore it isn’t mined very well.  Compounding this is the film’s 125 minute running time, which, in the back stretch, feels like an eternity.

My Secret Partner aspires to be a relevant erotic romance but it’s lacks any real weight and its punchline, is never a mystery and it elicits little more than a shoulder shrug when it finally arrives.  And what does it say?  Not a blessed thing, which, in itself, is telling of the film.  Park Heon-soo’s film seems like it might have a purpose early on but any such hope evaporates by the halfway point.  By that time, it just becomes a chore.




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 Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Preview: 14th Udine Far East Film Festival


This Friday, the 14th Udine Far East Film Festival gets underway presenting one of the best lineups of Asian cinema to be found outside of the continent.  MKC will be onsite covering the event though since I only get there on Sunday night I will have missed the first few days, which sadly include some of the films I was most excited about.  Long have I known about the FEFF and wanted to go so I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to attend this year and sample the many films on offer.

Unlike last month's excellent Fribourg International Film Festivsl, which MKC also covered, the FEFF's programme is much more closely aligned to this site's focus, namely Korean cinema.  In the standard section of the festival, which encompasses the majority of the films, there will be ten Korean films presented.  Outside of this there are an additional ten films selected in the 'Darkest Decade: Korean Filmmakers in the 1970s' sidebar, curated by Darcy Paquet.

Among the remaining 40-odd films there is a lot I'm looking forward to.  One film that jumped out to me was Seediq Bale (2011), the Taiwanese epic but unfortunately that will be playing before I arrive.  There are a few Hiroki Ryuichi (The Egoists, 2010; River, 2012) and Pang Ho-cheung (Love In a Puff, 2010; Love in the Buff, 2012; Vulgaria, 2012) films I will checking out as well as offering from all over Asia like Malaysia (Songlap, 2011), Thailand (It Gets Better, 2011), Philippines (6 Degrees of Separation From Lilia Cuntapay, 2011), Hong Kong (The Bounty, 2012; The Viral Factor, 2012) and Japan (Sukiyaki, 2011; The Woodsman and the Rain, 2011).


New Korean Films


Kicking off the festival will be the popular Korean hit Sunny (2011) which has been winning over audiences the world over.  In attendance will be director Kang Hyeong-cheol and producer Lee Anna.  Also playing will be Dangerously Excited (2012), the only Korean film on the program that has yet to be released in theatres.  I was also dangerously excited for this until I realised that I won't be there for it.

Not to worry though as I will get the chance to see Unbowed (2012) and Punch (2011) on the big screen.  I have seen the other new Korean films and it's a strong selection, particularly with the presence of Moby Dick (2011) and Silenced (2011), though I was surprised to see Perfect Partner (2011) included.  Below are MKC's available reviews for the selection:



Darkest Decade: Korean Filmmakers in the 1970s


The most exciting thing about this year's FEFF for me is without a doubt this retrospective of 1970s Korean cinema.  Heavyweights of classic Korean cinema Im Kwon-taek, Kim Ki-young, Kim Soo-yong and Yu Hyun-mok are all featured twice and make this sidebar a must.

I'll be leaving from Switzerland at 7am by train on Sunday and should arrive about 12 hours later in Udine after a stop in Milan.  I'm dying to get there and if you will also be making your way to the festival, please don't hesitate to contact me (pierceconran [at] modernkoreancinema [dot] com).




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 Review Round-up, which appear weekly on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings (GMT+1).

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Friday, April 6, 2012

Weekly Review Round-up (03/31-04/06, 2012)

Great cross-section of reviews this week including for a number of new releases.

Enjoy!


CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES


(Film Business Asia, April 6, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, April 5, 2012)

(Variety, March 29, 2012 - Paid Subscription)

Stateless Things


RECENT RELEASES


(Film in Asian, April 2, 2012)

(Digital Retribution, April 4, 2012)

(The One One Four, April 1, 2012)

(Hanguk Yeonghwa, April 1, 2012)

(China.org.cn, March 30, 2012)

(Variety, March 30, 2012 - Paid Subscrition)

My Way

(hancinema.net, March 31, 2012)

The Yellow Sea


PAST FILMS


(Init_Scene, March 31, 2012)

(Korean Class Massive, April 2, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, March 30, 2012)

My Love, 2007
(Init_Scenes, April 1, 2012)

(Init_Scenes, April 5, 2012)

(Korean Grindhouse, March 31, 2012)

(Seen in Jeonju, April 1, 2012)


The Weekly Review Round-up is a weekly feature which brings together all available reviews of Korean films in the English language (and sometimes French) that have recently appeared on the internet. It is by no means a comprehensive feature and additions are welcome (email pierceconran [at] gmail [dot] com). It appears every Friday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News, and the Korean Box Office Update. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Monday, November 28, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/25/11/27, 2011)

Weekend of November 25-27:

Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 SIU 11/24/11 346,875 419,042
2 Punch 10/20/11 288,874 4,745,131
3 Arthur Christmas (us) 11/25/11 180,315 187,475
4 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 119,490 3,398,026
5 Moneyball (us) 11/17/11 117,661 501,195
6 Immortals (us) 11/10/11 103,727 1,241,104
7 The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn (us) 11/30/11 88,116 90,650
8 50/50 (us) 11/24/11 43,390 53,378
9 You're My Pet 11/10/11 30,600 519,726
10 Penny Pinchers 11/10/11 24,552 407,914
- Perfect Partner 11/17/11 8,943 82,073
- Chilling Romance 12/1/11 5,867 6,147
- Dancing Cat 11/17/11 2,046 8,057
- Secrets, Objets 11/17/11 1,569 6,808


A new champion was crowned this weekend at the Korean box office and business was up over last weekend and last year.  A total of 1.43 million tickets were sold over the frame and Korean market share was an even 50% which represented gains over last years 1.22 million admissions and 44% share.  Despite only holding 4 of the top 10 spots and facing some tough competition from Hollywood, the Korean films fared impressively.

The new king of the box office is the new Korean film SIU which opened with a strong 346,875.  Besides the very present marketing I have not heard much about the film so it is hard to say where it might go from here.  In any case it will most certainly be a one-trick pony in the top spot as it will do battle with Twilight next weekend.

Punch way have gone down a notch after five No. 1 weekends in a row but it only slowed about 20%, leaving it with a 288,874 weekend and a 4,745,131 total, which was enough for it to surpass Silenced for no. 4 on the yearly chart.  It will cross Detective K and clinch no.3 in the coming day or so but any further climbing of the chart will require an additional 2.6 million tickets to catch up with Sunny.  This probably won't happen, especially given some strong competition ahead, but if this year's Korean box office stories have taught us anything it is that it is certainly possible.

The next 6 slots were all occupied by American fare, starting with the seasonal children's movie Arthur Christmas which had an okay start with 180,315.

At No. 4 Real Steel continued to show very impressive legs as it lost less than 15% of its business for a 119,490 weekend.  The Brad Pitt critical darling Moneyball was off a little under 40% for 117,611 and already has half a million admissions, a good result not doubt due to the star presence of Mr. Pitt and the locally popular baseball theme.  Immortals slowed under 50% for 103,727 as it leaped over the one million mark.  Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part I banked 88,116 during its very strong previews.  Finally 50/50 opened to a low but predictable 43,390.

You're My Pet took the penultimate spot with 30,600, a sizable drop from last weekend but it has amassed a decent 519,726 to date.  Finally Penny Pinchers also took a fall to 24,552 for a reasonable 407,914 total.

Outside the top 10:  Perfect Partner crumpled after its lackluster debut and wound up with 8,943.  Chilling Romance took in 5,867 during its previews ahead of next week's opening.  Documentary Dancing Cat stayed nearly level adding 2,046 to its total.  Secrets, Objects sold 1,569 tickets over the weekend, about level with last weekend.

Next weekend:  A big test ahead for domestic films as the new Twilight will open wide after it's already successful previews.  I'm expecting a slightly better opening than the previous installments and then a steep drop-off so look for a opening in the region of 850,000, which will be more than enough for first place.


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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Monday, November 21, 2011

Korean Box Office Update (11/18-11/20, 2011)

Weekend of November 18-20:

Title Release Date Weekend Total
1 Punch 10/20/11 361,807 4,126,808
2 Immortals (us) 11/10/11 197,472 952,258
3 Moneyball (us) 11/17/11 186,122 211,097
4 Real Steel (us) 10/12/11 143,526 3,140,901
5 You're My Pet 11/10/11 87,572 411,506
6 Penny Pinchers 11/10/11 62,831 316,878
7 Tower Heist (us) 11/17/11 34,792 40,625
8 Perfect Partner 11/17/11 34,282 46,183
9 Horrible Bosses (us) 11/17/11 20,879 25,029
10 Wu Xia (China) 11/17/11 10,427 12,904
- Couples 11/2/11 8,655 348,907
- A Reason to Live 10/27/11 7,200 130,720
- Merry Christmas, North! 11/17/11 4,098 4,956
- Always 10/20/11 3,065 1,019,595
- Dancing Cat 11/17/11 2,965 4,189


South Korea box office was a little slow this past weekend with total admissions amounting to 1.21 million, which nevertheless was marginally above last year's total for the comparable weekend.  More worrying is that the Korean market share dipped below the 50% mark for the first time in a little over a month, coming in at 45%, last year the figure was 63%.  While not alarming, this slight lull can mostly attributed to a lack of mainstream Korean films in the marketplace, only 4 of the 10 were Korean this week.

Punch stayed at no.1 once again for its fifth consecutive weekend after another small drop (<20%) saw it add 361,807 tickets to its 4,126,808 total.  The vaunted five million mark is all but certain at this point, it may cross it in as little as 10 days and could still go further still.  I don't think it will challenge War of the Arrows or Sunny a the top of the yearly chart but if it continues to play well through Christmas it may well come very close.

Immortals say its take halved to 197,472 this weekend after its strong start and is presently a shade off the 1 million mark, though actuals may well push it above.  Moneyball had a decent debut at no.3 with 186,122 most likely buoyed by star Brad Pitt's first visit to the peninsula.  Real Steel barely dropped at all and added another 143,526 to its coffers as it soared past the 3 million point.

You're My Pet, which had a curious injunction to ban it dismissed last week, made 87,572 this weekend which was a little over half of its opening.  The pic which was designed for and has been performing well with young woman has being doing well and may have benefited from the publicity of the injunction.

Penny Pinchers, which has had some good word of mouth, wound up with 62,831 and seems poised to cross half a million.  As some people have noted, including Darcy Paquet, the romantic comedy focusses on more impoverished leads than is usually the case which is a welcome change from the standard romcoms.

Tower Heist opened with 34,792 and I believe that this was previews so it may challenge for the top spot next weekend, which would be a shame since I despise Brett Ratner.

Perfect Partner made 34,282 this weekend in a limited amount of theaters.  Though this was already its second weekend I imagine it will go wider next week.

Horrible Bosses from the US and Wuxia from China rounded out the top 10 with underwhelming figures, 20,879 and 10,427 respectively.

Outside of the top 10: Couples took another big tumble; A Reason to Live stayed steady with last week and has surprised in the late stages of its run; Documentaries Merry Christmas, North! and Dancing Cat opened; and Always squeaked by the 1 million mark.


The Korean Box Office Update is a weekly feature which provides detailed analysis of film box office sales over the Friday to Sunday period in Korea. It appears every Monday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at Korean Cinema News and the Weekly Review Round-up. Reviews and features on Korean film also appear regularly on the site. 

To keep up with the best in Korean film you can sign up to our RSS Feed, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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