By Rex Baylon What the hell is it about boarding schools that make it such prime real estate for horror films? I doubt Lee Hae-young is keen on trying to answer that question, but his new picture The Silence, reaching theaters this June, seems to be in no short supply of the requisite scares that this unique sub-genre is well-known for. Starring Park Bo-young, of A Werewolf Boy (2012) fame, as a young girl named Joo-ran who is transferred to an all girls boarding school that is suffering an epidemic of vanishing students. Why are they vanishing? Are they being kidnapped by some demonic force? Or just the typical human villains? I guess you'll have to wait a few more weeks to find out.
Shin Youn-sik is back with a new film in February titled The Avian Kind. Over the last few years, Shin got quite a bit of attention for a pair of films that both premiered at the Busan Film Festival, the contemplative mystery drama The Russian Novel (2012) and the art-meets-life gangster picture Rough Play (2013).
Lee Kwang-kuk returns after a two year hiatus with his sophomore film A Matter of Interpretation. For those who might have forgotten, Lee spent his formative years as assistant director to festival darling Hong Sangsoo before finally debuting as director with 2012's Romance Joe.
First-time director Son Yong-ho will debut his film The Deal in March of this year. The film stars Kim Sang-kyung, Park Sung-woong, Kim Sung-kyun and Yoon Seung-ah in a story that revolves around a detective and a civilian who have had no prior connection to each other except for the fact that both men have lost loved ones at the hands of serial killer Kang-cheon.
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:
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)
This week's Korean Cinema News marks the feature's one-year anniversary! Thank you all so much for visiting the site, I really appreciate your continued support.
Unfortunately this is a rather slow week for Korean cinema news, bar the rumours of big new films premiering at Cannes and a very exciting trailer for Im Sang-soo's latest.
I'm sure there will be much more to chew on next week as the Udine Far East Film Festival (which MKC will be covering on site) lineup is announced and we learn more about these tantalizing Cannes selections.
Thanks again and as always, enjoy!
KOREAN CINEMA NEWS
Son Ye Jin's Next Project is Upcoming Film, Accomplice
After her successful film, Chilling Romance, actress Son Ye Jin has chosen her next project, Accomplice, which will be directed by a rookie director. While Chilling Romance was also shot by a rookie director, Accomplice will be Son Ye Jin's third straight project with a rookie director. People are wondering whether this is mere coincidence or if Son Ye Jin has certain preferences. (soompi, March 28, 2012)
New Hong Sang-soo and Park Chan-wook Films Set For Cannes?
A list has been leaked which purports to be the official selection for the upcoming Cannes Film Festival and features the new oeuvres from both Hong Sang-soo (In Another Country) and Park Chan-wook (Stoker), both Cannes stalwarts. The rest of the picks are equally impressive, all we need now is official confirmation. (cinema-licious, April 2, 2012)
Bollywood Invasion Coming to Seoul
Three Bollywood films are opening in local theaters this month, only about a month after the Indian Film Festival in Seoul, expanding Indian films’ presence in Korea’s movie market. The release of the three films – Stanley’s Tiffin Box, God’s Own Child, and The Robot – comes after a surprisingly successful year for Bollywood pictures in Korea. (The Korea Herald, April 3, 2012)
Hyun Jung Hwa Requested Ha Ji Won to Portray Her for Korea
The table tennis coach and gold medalist, Hyun Jung Hwa (who is being portrayed in the upcoming Korea) revealed that she requested to be portrayed by Ha Ji Won. She joined the actresses Ha Ji Won and Bae Doo Na for a Korea press conference. (soompi, April 3, 2012)
INTERVIEW
Matthew Goode Talks Chan-wook Park’s Stoker
There’s little doubt that Chan-wook Park’s first foray into English-language filmmaking will be of great interest to the many fans the South Korean director has attracted over the years, not least for his brutal and brilliant Vengeance trilogy, and there’s a distinct air of mystery around Stoker. (heyuguys.co.uk, March 6, 2012)
Huh Jong-ho Interview
Last Friday morning, during my coverage of the Fribourg International Film Festival, I had the opportunity to sit down with Huh Jong-ho, the director of Countdown, which was screening in the main competition of the festival. His film was awarded the FIPRESCI award during Saturday's closing ceremony. We covered a range of topics in our long discussion, including film schools, first time directors in Korea, the future of the industry, plans for his next project and much more. (Modern Korean Cinema, April 3, 2012)
Korean Cinema News is a weekly feature which provides wide-ranging news coverage on Korean cinema, including but not limited to: features; festival news; interviews; industry news; trailers; posters; and box office. It appears every Wednesday morning (GMT+1) on Modern Korean Cinema. For other weekly features, take a look at the Korean Box Office Update 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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