Busan 2017 Review: GLASS GARDEN, Spoiled yet Soiled by Ravishing Imagery

By Pierce Conran

One of Korea's foremost indie voices returns with a fable couched in verdant imagery but marred by a sense of deja vu. Shin Su-won's fourth feature Glass Garden, the opening film of this year's Busan International Film Festival, feels like a metaphorical anecdote winged with familiar side plots and stretched out to feature length.

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Top 10 Korean Films of 2015

By Pierce Conran

Sales have been impressive as box office admissions reached a new peak and local films maintained a +50% market share, but looking at the quality of what was on offer, it must be said that 2015 was not the best year for Korean cinema. Big budgeted, maudlin affairs dominated the charts, though there were a few bright spots (such as Veteran), and the year's best commercial films were mostly not rewarded with healthy box office returns (The Exclusive: Beat the Devil's Tattoo comes to mind).

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Cannes 2015 Review: MADONNA - A Riveting Tale of Sorrow and Redemption

By Pierce Conran

Following her accomplished sophomore film, the absorbing high school revenge tale Pluto (2012), Shin Su-won returns in glorious fashion with the searing Madonna. Meticulous, layered and yet seemingly effortless, this rewarding tale of mingled sorrow and redemption should go a long way towards establishing its director as a major talent on the global scene.

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Edinburgh 2013: Pluto (명왕성, 2012)

Part of Connor McMorran's coverage for MKC of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (June 19-30, 2013).

We often claim that mainstream cinema becomes unbelievable in its attempts at spectacle. This is usually the case, but such statements should force us to examine exactly why we watch films in the first place. What function should films ultimately aspire to in society? Entertainment? Art? Isn't the whole thing, as I tend to think, entirely subjective? Regardless of how we feel, it may be beneficial to rethink the role of spectacle and genre cinema and its ties to reality. As humans, we make narratives about ourselves, about our lives and struggles. However, mainstream cinema demands a certain detachment from reality, as it exists in a strange reality where expected narrative resolutions allow characters to overcome almost any kind of obstacle.

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Berlinale 2013: Pluto (명왕성, Myeongwangsong) 2012

One of the ten Korean films screening at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival.

Film festivals can be a great place to catch up with big films from established luminaries of world cinema but for the ardent cinephile, the most exciting thing is to make a fresh discovery. With patience and some discerning selecting, you will almost always come away with a few pleasant surprises but, while it is wonderful to stumble upon an accomplished debut or sophomore films from emerging talents in the field, every so often you will see something that gives you a special feeling. It is an unmistakable sense of being part of something new and exciting, in the presence of an artist with raw talent, effortless ability and an intuitive understanding of film. These spine-tingling moments don’t happen at every festival but when they do it makes all the searching worthwhile.

Shin Su-won’s second feature Pluto gave me this feeling. However, before singing too much of its praises, I should say that it is a flawed work. More than the film itself, it is the potential of the director that gave me goosebumps. Without a doubt, Shin is about to be a major player in Korean cinema and could well become a force on the international scene before long.

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BIFF 2012: Pluto (명왕성, Myeongwangsong) 2012

Part of MKC's coverage of the 17th Busan International Film Festival.

Film festivals can be a great place to catch up with big films from established luminaries of world cinema but for the ardent cinephile, the most exciting thing is to make a fresh discovery. With patience and some discerning selecting, you will almost always come away with a few pleasant surprises but, while it is wonderful to stumble upon an accomplished debut or sophomore films from emerging talents in the field, every so often you will see something that gives you a special feeling. It is an unmistakable sense of being part of something new and exciting, in the presence of an artist with raw talent, effortless ability and an intuitive understanding of film. These spine-tingling moments don’t happen at every festival but when they do it makes all the searching worthwhile.

Shin Su-won’s second feature Pluto gave me this feeling. However, before singing too much of its praises, I should say that it is a flawed work. More than the film itself, it is the potential of the director that gave me goosebumps. Without a doubt, Shin is about to be a major player in Korean cinema and could well become a force on the international scene before long.

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Korean Cinema News (05/24-05/30, 2012)

Aside from a new trailer, poster and the Box Office recap, all of this week's news in Cannes-related.  The big films were sold to the major markets but left high and dry at the awards ceremony, though a short did pick up a prize for Korea!

The big news with MKC this week is that the site and I are relocating to Seoul this Sunday, a very exciting devlopment!  Below is yesterday's post about the move:

MKC to Touch Down in Seoul in 5 Days


KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

IFC Midnight to Give US Viewers a Taste of Money With Im Sang-soo's Latest
Im Sang-soo's new film The Taste of Money, which competed in Cannes last week, has been picked up by IFC Midnight for US distribution.  Im's previous film The Housemaid (2010), which also vied in competition at Cannes, was also distributed in North America by IFC Midnight and benefited from a decent amount of exposure.  I recall being surprised when I noticed its availability on Time Warner's On Demand service when I lived in LA.  I'm not sure if a theatrical release will follow and it must be said that it has not received glowing reviews from the Mediterranean fest but this is not always a good indicator for the greater public.

The Taste of Money, which stars Kim Kang-woo (A Better Tomorrow, 2009), Yoon Yuh-jung (Actresses, 2009), Baek Yoon-shik (Save the Green Planet, 2003) and Kim Hyo-jin (Woochi, 2009), brings us inside the lives of one of the richest families in Korea and their tale of greed, lust and violence.  (Modern Korean Cinema, May 30, 2012/Twitch, May 29, 2012)

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