Hero (Hi-eo-ro) 2010

It wasn’t even a minute after turning on Hero that I realised I was truly scraping the bottom of the barrel.  Frankly, the only reason I watched it was to be thorough with regards to my soon to be published 2010 Korean film project.  In order to really examine the year’s output, I feel obliged to watch some films that I know are going to be bad but I always hope that they may surprise me.  Hero went the other way, it landed severely below my already diminished expectations.  I’m nearly inclined to think that the whole thing is some kind of joke, to say that the film eschews realism is putting it mildly.  It seems to me that there are entire scenes missing as the plot jumps from one place to the next.  For a moment I even thought this may have been some kind of student film but after a little research it seems that director Kim Hong-ik has had over a decade of experience, which means I can’t really cut him any slack.  Hero only sold 1500 tickets in Korea and this makes me wonder what kind of market it was intended for.  With such a poor showing I can’t imagine it was marketed aggressively for its theatre run, maybe it was initially conceived as a TV and straight to DVD release.

Bullied in high school

In any case, Hero is a high school vampire film, clearly trying to milk the global Twilight phenomenon.  Sim-dan (Kim Hyeong-gyoo-I) is a high school student, constantly bullied, and in love with Mi-ah (Lee Da-in), who he has had a bad habit of videotaping surreptitiously.  Yoo-ri (Han Ye-won), a vampire, bits him one night and turns him.  Thereafter, he becomes stronger, meaning he can confront his tormentors, and more confident, so he can make his move on Mi-ah.  You can guess how the rest of it unfolds.

As I frequently mention (and celebrate) on this site, Korean cinema is very adept at blending different genres.  Hero, rather than successfully sampling different generic tropes, simply doesn’t know what it wants to be, as it dabbles in comedy, horror, drama, romance, etc.  More worrisome is the amateurish mise-en-scene.  The editing, camerawork, and especially the sound are poor quality, mistakes are frequent and disruptive.  The soundtrack is also far too prominent, it places too much emphasis on certain pieces of music at varying points. 

Sim-dan and Yoo-ri, the vampire who turned him

While the film starts out very badly, it does balance itself out somewhat after the opening act, though it still leaves much to be desired.  I don’t want to waste your time discussing this film so I’ll keep it brief.  Hero should probably be avoided by all but the least discerning spectators.  Its cocktail of bad acting, shoddy production values, and incoherent plotting is the result of laziness on the part of the filmmakers and if they can’t respect their audience enough to make a real effort, than I daresay you shouldn’t give them your time or money.


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.

Korean Box Office Update (10/28-10/30, 2011)

Weekend of October 28-30, 2011:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	Punch	10/20/11	594,125	1,510,522
2	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	355,383	2,085,158
3	In Time (us)	10/27/11	188,317	220,966
4	Always	10/20/11	173,033	735,159
5	The Client	9/29/11	39,924	2,367,018
6	Friends with Benefits (us)	10/27/11	29,920	46,366
7	The Three Musketeers (uk)	10/12/11	28,755	644,117
8	Silenced	9/22/11	27,994	4,640,739
9	A Reason To Live	10/27/11	27,424	39,162
10	The Tree of Life (us)	10/27/11	19,205	24,663
-	Teacher and the Devils	10/27/11	3,012	6,078
-	You Pet	11/10/11	2,305	2,305
-	HIT	10/13/11	1,538	109,167
-	Couples	11/2/11	1,456	7,994

Another healthy weekend at the box office, although with little discernible difference from last week's.  Admissions totalled 1.53 million, yet another increase over last year.  The market share held steady at 56% which was below last year's weekend (70%) when The Unjust opened.

Punch remained on top after a strong start, not only that but ut managed to increase by nearly 20% in its sophomore frame for a 594,125 three-day and 1,510,522 total.  This will certainly be Kim Yun-seok's fifth straight feature to top 2 million, a remarkable feat.  The question is how far can it go in the coming weeks, word of mouth seems to be strong so I'm betting it will cross 3 million before long.

Real Steel declined a modest 30% to 355,383 and managed to cross 2 million in the process.  A strong performance for a film that has underwhelmed in its homeland.  Justin Timberlake seems to be flavor of the week as his romcom Friends With Benefits, which opened months ago in the west, and his current In Time both opened to middling figures, 29,920 and 188,317 respectively.  Friends With Benefits seemed to fare particularly badly but I don't think romcoms play well in Korea since the homegrown product in that department is so strong.

Always lost half its audience after a midlevel start and wound up with 173,033.  At this point it may or may not cross the 1 million mark.  The Client, which had played strong throughout the month took a big tumble as it prepares to exit theaters. It added 39,924 to an impressive 2,367,018 total.  Silenced performed similarly as it dropped to 27,994 for what will likely to its last weekend in the top 10.  It has sold 4,640,739 tickets to date and sits at number 4 on the yearly chart.

Song Hye-kyo's new movie, A Reason to Live, which premiered at Busan, got off to a very disappointing start with 27,424 admissions.  This will likely be its one and only week in the top 10.

Next week, the anticipated marital arts Thai-Korean co-production The Kick will make its bow in theaters.


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.

Weekly Review Round-up (10/22-10/28, 2011)

A lot of reviews for The Yellow Sea this week, as it was recently released in the UK & Ireland.  Also found out about a new blog with lots of Korean film reviews, Otherwhere.

Enjoy!

CURRENT KOREAN RELEASES

Punch

(Seongyong's Private Place, October 22, 2011)

The Kick

(Film Business Asia, October 27, 2011)

RECENT RELEASES

Ghastly

(Modern Korean Cinema, October 26, 2011)

Haunters

(The Korea Blog, October 24, 2011)

King of Pigs

(Variety, October 24, 2011 - Subscription required)

Late Blossom

(hancinema.net, October 22, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, October 24, 2011)

Poongsan

(Beyond Hollywood, October 19, 2011)

Stateless Things

(Otherwhere, October 16, 2011)

Sunny

(yam, October 23, 2011)

The Front Line

(Variety, October 23, 2011)

The Unjust

(amplify, October 24, 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Cine Vue, October 21, 2011)

(eatsleeplivefilm.com, October 21, 2011)

(herald.ie, October 21, 2011)

(London Evening Standard, October 21, 2011)

(msn entertainment, October 26, 2011)

(The Film Pilgrim, October 24, 2011)

(The Guardian, October 23, 2011)

(The Irish Times, October 21, 2011)

(Total Film, October 25, 2011)

(Trash Cinema Club, October 22, 2011)

White: The Curse of the Melody

(hancinema.net, October 20, 2011)

PAST FILMS

A Bloody Aria, 2006

(cineawesome!, October 22, 2011)

Jenny, Juno, 2005

(Otherwhere, October 22, 2011)

The Sword With No Name, 2009

(The Fandom Post, October 21, 2011)

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.

Ghastly (Gi-saeng-ryeong) 2011

The summer of 2011 produced three major K-horrors.  I’ve already had a chance to see and review the interesting but butchered White: The Curse of the Melody from the indie cineastes behind Anti Gas Skin (2010) and the limp and lethargic The Cat.  Both of those films had a powerful and mercurial factor going for them, potential.  White, with its mix of cult pedigree filmmakers, strong production values, and K-pop setting, was not the sum of its promising parts.  I learnt after writing about it that a first cut was thrown out by the studio and Kim Gok and Kim Sun were forced to reshoot the film, likely lobotomizing it in the process.  I would love to get my hands on that first cut, perhaps it delivered on that potential?  The Cat was a return to supernatural felines for Korean cinema, which have long been a source of great horror.  The buzz was there but the product was severely lacking as the actors and filmmakers seemed to sleepwalk their way through it.

Aftermath of the opening bloodbath

Ghastly, which I’m glad I was able to get my hands on just before Halloween, was the final big K-horror release of the summer.  However, at least in my eyes, it was not saddled with any special expectations.  It seemed pretty by the book but, judging by the trailer and the shower scene that was made available online ahead of its release, it seemed to have a little panache in the production department.  The film has a great opening, a disturbing, macabre sequence that leaves you with a lot of questions.  Sadly, any cautious optimism I had was dashed as the narrative presented itself as a prosaic variation on common horror themes and tropes.

All the usual tricks are out in force in this one: the haunted house; the freaky kid; the terrorised in bed dreams; the crawling, decayed ghost hands on protagonist’s faces; the weird middle-aged neighbour who is hiding something; and the creepy shaman grandmother in a mental institute who knows the truth about the demon.  And that’s pretty much all this is, an excuse to go through the motions but with some very attractive leads and fancy locations.

Sleepy dream scenes

The film begins with a young boy waking up in the middle of the night to find his father’s corpse at the bottom of the stairs and his mother hacking her own feet off with a kitchen knife.  The father’s brother-in-law is given custody of the child.  He, along with his wife and sister-in-law, move into the enormous house.  The child is prone to some bizarre behavior and soon the sisters start having terrible nightmares. Meanwhile, a young detective goes looking for the boy’s grandmother, who disappeared before the murders.

The most tedious problem with the film is that there are no less than seven instances of the sisters dreaming about the child, with a bloodied demon face, doing horrible things to them, including cutting off their feet and stabbing out their eyes, which mostly take place in bed.  Isn’t it obvious to the filmmakers that, aside from how silly and bad for the narrative this repetitious device is, each new version on the theme will dilute the potency of the scares?  My eyeballs were doing loop-the-loops by the third or fourth of these sequences.  Such unimaginative filmmaking, surely they could figure out another way to insert scares and violent imagery.

Freaky kid, yawn

I can never quite understand in these films which feature freaky children, how after so many ominous dreams and examples of plainly demonic behaviour, they are treated like perfectly normal children.  It’s always far too late when the protagonists realise that something is wrong.  I suppose this is how the formula works but I wouldn’t mind seeing a few smart characters going up against these antagonists every once in a while.

For the most part the film is well shot and the production design and locations look great but the real problem seems to be the editing.  A lot is badly or not explained and this could be the result of scenes that didn’t work that were cut out, or it could have been that it did not occur to the filmmakers that certain things needed explanation.  This is why you have reshoots!  Maybe they didn’t have the money, or worse they didn’t care.  The little splices of violent imagery, another staple of the genre, were poorly executed as well.  It’s all about timing and Ghastly is very uneven.

Homicide detective my foot

While things start off okay and continue in a rather innocuous fashion thereafter, the moment new elements start to appear the script begins to unravel.  Why is the husband such an asshole?  How come everyone is acting so normal after such horrific events?  What is the point of the depravity of the school scenes, how does it fit in?  How the hell is this lithe 25-year-old model a homicide detective?

For a film that takes pains in its aesthetics and goes so far as to reference revered horror classics such as Psycho (1960) and The Shining (1980), Ghastly has nothing original to say or show us.  Blood is spilt, some skin is flashed, shamanism is thrown in, even pedophilia is alluded to for good measure, but all we’re left with is a series of discordant elements and disconnected scenes, though at 77 minutes, at least it’s mercifully short.

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.

Korean Cinema News (10/20-10/26, 2011)

Not quite last week's haul but nonetheless a lot of great features and interview (and a comprehensive academic thesis!) this week on a variety of topics.

Enjoy!

KOREAN CINEMA NEWS

Director's Cut of War of the Arrows Hits Theaters
An extended version of Korean action film War of the Arrows was released in Korea last thursday.  The new cut features an additional six minutes of footage, primarily in the action sequences.  (10 asia, October 20, 2011)

Filmmaker Im Kwon-taek: Master of Mirrors
At 75, the filmmaker continues to explore new ground.  “I don’t lie in my movies... I simply try to capture what we feel in our everyday lives.”  (The Korea Times, October 20, 2011)

Punch Pushes Actor Into Next Phase of His Career

The new film Punch does not have an exciting story line, a swirling climax nor a vengeful villain at its center.  But it does have the talents of an engaging young actor named Yoo Ah-in, who appears to have lost a bit of his boyish arrogance and is entering a new, more serious phase of his career.  (Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)

A New Era for Asia’s Biggest Film Festival
When a small film festival opened at an outdoor market in Nampo-dong, Busan, during the mid-90s, few expected it to make a mark in the industry amid more prominent competition in Asia.  Back then, the Asian festival circuit was based mostly on two strongholds – the Tokyo International Film Festival, located in the second-biggest film market on the globe, and the Hong Kong International Film Festival, located in the world’s fastest-growing film market.  (Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)

The Original Murder 2 Director in Town!
South Korean filmmaker Na Hong-Jin isn’t a big talker.  Maybe because he doesn’t speak English, and it was his translator who was doing all the chatting.  But uttering the key words ‘Murder 2’, ‘inspired from’ and ‘your debut film The Chaser (2008)’ immediately got us a response in the form of a visible nod.  (Hindustan Times, October 20, 2011)

New Council to Address Monopoly in Domestic Film Industry
A new council has been launched to resolve the issue of monopoly by large companies in the domestic film industry.  (KBS, October 21, 2011)

Korean Talent Agency Cuts IPO Size After Key Star’s Drug Scandal

Korean talent agency YG Entertainment, which manages the popular boy band Big Bang, has cut the size of its planned initial public offering, citing a drug scandal involving a key star as a risk factor.  (Joong Ang Daily, October 21, 2011)

Real-life Poongsan Dogs Deliver Items to Separated Families
The protagonist of Poongsan, a South Korean film released last summer and named after a breed of hunting dog from North Korea, is a person who goes between the two Koreas via China to transport things or people.  (The Dong-a Ilbo, October 21, 2011)

The Yellow Sea Playing at Philadelphia Film Festival
The Yellow Sea: South Korean director Hong-jin Na follows up his explosive debut, The Chaser (2008), with a crime drama about a cabbie who is forced to become a hit man to pay off his wife's debts.  An action film to match any of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters, The Yellow Sea "is a true epic," says Lerman. "It has huge set pieces, huge car chases, and amazing plot twists."  (philly.con, Ocotber 21, 2011)

Song Hye-kyo Returns with New Movie

After vanishing from the public's view for the last three years, actress Song Hye-kyo has returned to the silver screen with A Reason to Live, a story about a woman who forgives a boy for killing her fiancé.  (The Chosun Ilbo, October 22, 2011)

Rooney Mara Says No to Oldboy
Variety's Justin Kroll tweeted yesterday that Mara has passed on the part, so producers will have to keep making their way down the wishlist to land someone opposite Josh Brolin.  (Twitch, October 20, 2011)

Planet of Snail to Compete at Amsterdam Doc Fest
Korea-Japan-Finland documentary Planet of Snail, directed by Yi Seung-Jun, will be in the prestigious International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) Competition for Feature-Length Documentary.  (KOBIZ, October 23, 2011)

Lee Man-hee classic A Day Off + Mark Morris talk at KCC
Lee Man-hee’s classic film A Day Off (1969) will be screening as part of the London Korean Film Festival this year, with a talk by Dr Mark Morris.  A Day Off is part of the Lee Man-hee DVD box set which might be in your to-watch pile.  This is your opportunity to see it.  The screening and talk is on 11 November at the KCC at 7:30pm. Book your place via [email protected].  (London Korea Links, October 22, 2011)

Lee Seung-gi And Ha Ji-won Receive National Merit Awards
The multi-faceted entertainer Lee Seung-gi along with top actress Ha Ji-won both received national merit recognition at the 48th Savings Day event.  (KBS, October 25, 2011)

Political Ideology and Culture in Film
Movies are one of the most effective media for disseminating and propagating political ideologies to people.  In communist countries where propaganda is imperative, the government controls the movie industry in order to produce and promote movies filled with propaganda.  (The Korea Herald, October 25, 2011)

Museum of Fine Arts Houston to Host Series of Korean Films
The Museum of Fine Art Houston will screen a series of Korean films from Nov. 4 to Nov. 6 at the museum, located at 1001 Bissonnet.  The screenings are part of the museum's Spotlight on World Cinema program, which looks at films from different parts of the world.  The focus of the upcoming program is South Korea and will include The Housemaid, The Day He Arrives, Finding Mr. Destiny, and Secret Sunshine (2007). (ultimatewestu.com, October 24, 2011)

Well Go Takes Korean Oscar Contender, The Front Line
North American rights to South Korea’s entry for Best Foreign Language Oscar consideration, The Front Line have been picked up by Well Go USA Entertainment.  Directed by Jang Hun (Secret Reunion), Well Go plans a January release in major markets.  (indieWIRE, October 25, 2011)

Who's Afraid of Lady Vengeance?
This Halloween, take a break from your chainsaw massacres and nightmares on Elm Street and try some horror with an Asian flavour.  Horror movies from East Asia have a lot going for them.  Aside from offering a glimpse into unique cultural mythologies and traditions, you'll find a greater emphasis on supernatural forces in the real world, compared to western horror, and more fatalism where individual agency is concerned.  (The Vancouver Sun, October 25, 2011)

ACADEMIC ESSAY

Globalization and Hybridity of Korean Cinema: Critical Analysis of Korean Blockbuster Films

In this study, See He Han analyzes how recent Korean cinema has responded to the forces of globalization by appropriating these influences both on and off screen. (University of Texas, 2011)

INTERVIEWS

BIFF - Q&A With Director Kang Hyung-Chul & Cast of Sunny

Q&A for Sunny took place after a screening of the movie at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival on October 7, 2011.  Appearing as speakers are (listed in order of picture above) director Kang Hyung-Chul and actresses Kang So-Ra, Jin Hee-Kyung, Yoo Ho-Jeong, Park Jin-Joo, Min Hyo-Rin, Kim Min-Young.  AsianMediaWiki editor Ki Mun was there and transcribed/translated the session.  (Asian Media Wiki, October 7, 2011)

Actress Jeon Do-youn - Part 1

Jeon plays Cha Ha-yeon, a femme fatale con artist who sneers at the world with her beauty and brains until she gets taught her lesson, in movie Countdown.  However, Jeon herself does not live her life so moderately.  Below is a record of her life, in no way moderate, where she pours the energy she will use to feel regret about her past or worry about her future, into what is most current.  (asiae.co.kr, October 21, 2011)

Q&A With Director Lee Han

Q&A for Punch took place after a screening of the movie at the 2011 Busan International Film Festival on October 10, 2011.  Appearing as speaker is the movie's director Lee Han.  AsianMediaWiki editor Ki Mun was there and transcribed/translated the session.  (Asian Media Wiki, October 10, 2011)

Heo Jong-ho, director of Countdown
He has a mere 10 days. Ruthless debt collector Tae Geon-ho (Jung Jae-young) can only survive if he can get a liver transplant from compulsive scam artist Cha Ha-yeon (Jeon Do-youn).  This is the set-up of newcomer Heo Jong-ho’s crime thriller Countdown, a film that made its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.  (KOBIZ, October 24, 2011)

TRAILERS

Perfect Game

Perfect Partner

Spellbound - ENGLISH

POSTERS

Chilling Romance

Perfect Partner

Too Many Villains

BOX OFFICE

Korean Box Office Update (10/21-10/23, 2011)

(Modern Korean Cinema, October 24, 2011)

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.

Late Blossom (Geu-dae-leul Sa-rang-hab-ni-da) 2011

It’s easy to forget sometimes how rigid the rules can be concerning the technical aspects behind the making of a film.  When done right, everything you see on screen (or hear) is exactly so for a reason.  The rich tapestry of mise-en-scene (basically everything but the dialogue) captures our attention by cleverly drawing us to certain pieces of information.  Through cinematography, sound, production design, costumes, and editing it seeks to tell us a story.  It is the difference between a novel, in which we must imagine all these details, and a film, which seeks to show us a world conceived by its filmmakers.

Beautiful, intimate framing

If you take the time to consider what shots are used in a film, you can see (most of the time) a reason behind their selection.  These little parcels of visual information tell part of the narrative.  There are many choices a director or cinematographer can make when framing a shot and each of these decisions will affect how the story is told.  An example of this is from what angle to frame a character: you can shoot from above, from below, or straight on.  In Late Blossom, which features some exceptional photography, this choice is an important one.  It says a lot about how the film views its characters, the majority of which are senior citizens. 

Shooting from high up makes a person look smaller and can infer that he or she is timid, lacking in confidence, or occupying a lower social strata.  Conversely, low-angle shots make characters look dominant, authoritative, or heroic.  Late Blossom’s principal protagonists are frequently filmed from low angles.  In this instance, the choice is a mark of respect, as the films seeks to venerate its elderly characters.  Here, the formal structure of the film and its choices echoes the rigid framework of a hierarchical society, although perhaps one that steadily shying away from its outmoded confucian values.

Man-suk (Lee Soon-jae) shot from below

At a time for Korea when things are rapidly changing and its film industry manifests the latest trends and embraces the newest fads, Late Blossom is something of an anomaly.  Its focus is on a way of life that is being passed over for  globalized cosmopolitanism.  It is fixated on the present but only because it has allowed the past to be forgottten.  The characters who we follow live in the world’s second largest metropolis, yet they seem alone and abandonned.  The rapidly-evolving society which they inhabit no longer has any space for them, but still they live on, foraging in the modern urban landscape.

Late Blossom follows the lives of four elderly people in a rundown neighbourhood in Seoul.  Kim Man-suk (Lee Soon-jae) delivers milk and crosses Ms. Song (Yoon So-jeong), who scrapes by by selling scrap paper.  They feel something towards one another and gradually seek respite from the loneliness of their lives.  Meanwhile, Jang Kun-bong (Sung Jae-ho) takes care of wife (Kim Soo-mi) who suffers from dementia.

Snow adds depth to some scenes

Rather than follow a plot-based path, the narrative invites us into the lives of its four protagonists as they struggle to live in modern Seoul.  The film is meditative, sweet, and enormously rewarding.  It is also deceptively simple.  One of those examples of something that seems perfectly effortless while in actuality demonstrating an enormous amount of skill, attention to detail, and artistry.

Aside from visual metaphors (such as pathetic fallacy) and social awareness, Late Blossom succeeds in the technical department. It features some of the most wonderful camerawork I’ve seen all year.  While the lensing is clearly beautiful, it is also intelligent, each shot has a purpose and advance our integration into the story.  One particularly pleasing element of the cinematography were the scenes with snow.  As the snowflakes drift across the urban landscape, those that come closest to camera float by as large out-of-focus white dots.  It’s very engrossing and adds a huge amount of depth to the world we are invited to discover.  You may also notice how some of the younger characters are framed looking down on the elders from a high vantage point, as if peering quizzically on those that have laid the foundation for their progress.

Younger characters look down on elders

The film begins as we follow Man-suk on his scooter doing his early morning routine.  The first time we see his face is from behind a gate.  In effect we are spying on him.  Their is a tacit acknowledgment, on the part of the filmmakers, of the scopophilia that we the audience must naturally engage in as we invade the private lives of the protagonists.  Rather than immediately launch into close-ups, for a long time we see everything that unfolds from a distance.  The effect of peering in is reinforced by the landscape of the neighbourhood.  The composition of the shots reflects the sinuous roads and paths as they wind their way up and down hills.  This style of shooting becomes very intimate when we follow the characters through the ordered chaos of their local society. The location is very much a part of the story, it is omnipresent as Man-suk and Ms. Song make their living traveling its streets.

Many themes are explored during the film, mostly examing how society ha changed in its treatment of elders.  In one sequence, Song visits the civic office where Man-suk’s daughter works to register for an identity.  She is excessively grateful and obsequious in towards its young employees, a reminder of a bygone era when an autocratic administration ruled with an iron fist.  Conversely, the youthful staff are pleasantly surprised to be treated so respectfully and reciprocate by expediting her needs.  While this may be a sign of positive change, representing the evolution of authority in modern Korea, it also alludes to the fact that people are often less than gracious when dealing with civil matters in modern society.  You may also notice certain compositions in the film which place younger characters looking down on the elder protagonists from higher vantage points.  They have moved forward, or up, with time and peer down almost quizzically at those who paved the way for them.  What is the difference between respecting authority and respecting your elders?

Kun-bong and his wife, Man-suk and Ms. Song look on

The anchor of the film is its great lead performers.  Lee Soon-jae, Yoon So-jeong, Sung Jae-ho, and Kim Soo-mi are all fantastic.  It is impossible not to feel all their joy, disappointment, and heartache.  It is as if it were your own.  I was completely taken in by Late Blossom, especially by it’s fantastic leads, involving mise-en-scene, and infectious sweetness.  All but the coldest hearts will be melted by it.


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.

Korean Box Office Update (10/21-10/23, 2011)

Weekend of October 21-23, 2011:

	Title	Release Date	Weekend	Total
1	Punch	10/20/11	461,290	584,528
2	Real Steel (us)	10/12/11	453,322	1,485,699
3	Always	10/20/11	268,422	372,552
4	The Client	9/29/11	115,135	2,256,985
5	The Three Musketeers (uk)	10/12/11	99,595	564,313
6	Silenced	9/22/11	80,528	4,544,968
7	Paranormal Activity 3 (us)	10/20/11	49,321	56,590
8	Hit	10/13/11	14,372	84,142
9	Major: Yujo No Winning Shot (jp)	10/20/11	7,085	8,251
10	War of the Arrows Director's Cut		5,256	6,290
-	Couples	11/3/11	4,430	6,126
-	War of the Arrows	8/10/11	3,810	7,451,344
-	Fighting Spirit	10/6/11	2,558	209,104
-	Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild	7/27/11	1,359	2,197,866

A Korean film reclaimed the top spot this weekend, but only by a very slim margin.  Once again business gained over last year's comparable frame, going up 50% to 1.59 million admissions.  The Korean market share also saw a healthy increase over last weekend, topping 60%, last year it was 50%.

The number one movie was Punch, which after getting good notices at the Busan International Film Festival and performing well in previews last weekend, opened to a solid 461,290.  Word of mouth will likely be strong, which means it could play well through November.  In recent years, Kim Yun-seok has turned into a massive force at the box office.  One of the few bankable stars remaining in Korea, his most recent features have all gone way past 2 million viewers: The Yellow Sea (2.42 million), Woochi (6.1 million), Running Turtle (3.05 million), and The Chaser (5.07 million). If Punch continues this trend, which it likely will, his streak is not likely to an end any time soon with the release of the much anticipated The Thieves just around the corner.

Coming a very close second this weekend was Real Steel in its sophomore frame with 453,322, down only 25%.  As around the rest of the world, the film seems to be playing well with families.  The Three Musketeers fell 64% for 99,595, it will likely fall far down the chart next weekend.  The only major Hollywood release was Paranormal Activity 3, which despite posting a franchise best opening in the US, opened to a small 49,321, about 30% of what the previous installment.  Major: Yujo No Winning Shot from Japan also opened low on the chart with 7,085.

Always seemed poised for a decent opening considering all the attention it received as BIFF's opening gala presentation and its promising previews last weekend but the negative buzz and critical savaging of the picture as already caught up to it.  It opened to a disappointing 268,422 and will likely exit the Top 10 swiftly.

The Client, which had been holding on to the number 2 spot for three weeks fell to number 4 with a 60% drop.  Its weekend haul of 115, 135 was enough for it clinch the last spot in the yearly top 10.  It may still have enough left in the tank to crawl up two more rungs and unseat Marrying the Mafia IV.

Silenced (aka The Crucible) took another big fall this weekend (67%) as the media attention it had been receiving has died down, it added 80, 528 to its total.  I wonder whether it could still move up to number 3 for the year by topping Detective K's total.

Hit came in at number 8 with 14,372 after seeing two thirds of its theater count slashed. Rounding out the top 10 was the director's cut of War of the Arrows which opened in select locations to 5,256.  The new cut may play wider depending on its performance but I think it is more likely to tour around different locations.


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.

Weekly Review Round-up (10/15-10/21, 2011)

This week we have a section dedicated to reviews from the recently wrapped Festival franco-coréen du film in Paris.  All of these are in French (my second language) and special thanks to Kim-Bong-Park, Made in Asie and asiafilm.fr for their hard work!  Also a number of The Yellow Sea reviews as it opens in the UK & Ireland.

Enjoy!

FFCF (Festival franco-coréen du film)

Anti Gas Skin

(asiafilm.fr, October 16, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 16, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 17, 2011)

Bleak Night

(asiafilm.fr, October 16, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 13, 2011)

Café Noir

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 18, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 19, 2011)

Castaway on the Moon, 2009

(asiafilm.fr, October 14, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 13, 2011)

Cheonggyecheon Medley

(asiafilm.fr, October 15, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 16, 2011)

Come, Closer

(asiafilm.fr, October 14, 2011)

End of Animal

(asiafilm.fr, October 13, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 15, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 15, 2011)

Grandmother's Flower

(asiafilm.fr, October 13, 2011)

Hello Ghost

(Made in Asie, October 17, 2011)

Invasion of Alien Bikini

(asiafilm.fr, October 18, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 17, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 17, 2011)

Late Autumn

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 17, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 18, 2011)

Late Autumn, 1981

(Made in Asie, October 18, 2011)

Leafie, A Hen Into the Wild

(asiafilm.fr, October 19, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 20, 2011)

Miracle on Jongno Street

(Made in Asie, October 13, 2011)

Possessed

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 14, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 19, 2011)

Sunny

(asiafilm.fr, October 19, 2011)

(Kim-Bong-Park, October 12, 2011)

The Code of a Duel

(asiafilm.fr, October 17, 2011)

(Made in Asie, October 17, 2011)

The Day He Arrives

(asiafilm.fr, October 15, 2011)

RECENT RELEASES

Countdown

(Film Business Asia, October 19, 2011)

From Seoul to Varanasi

(Twitch, October 16, 2011)

(Variety, October 16, 2011 - Subscription Required)

Head

(Modern Korean Cinema, October 20, 2011)

Hindsight

(Variety, October 17, 2011 - Subscription Required)

Little Black Dress

(Modern Korean Cinema, October 18, 2011)

Memories of Murder

(subtitledonline, October 20, 2011)

Pink

(The Korea Times, October 20, 2011)

(Twitch, October 16, 2011)

Poetry

(straight.com, October 20, 2011)

Poongsan

(Film Business Asia, October 18, 2011)

Red Vacance, Black Wedding

(Twitch, October 16, 2011)

Silenced

(Film Business Asia, October 120 2011)

The Yellow Sea

(Empire, October 2011)

(entertainment.ie, October 17, 2011)

(Hangul Celluloid, October 17, 2011)

(metro.co.uk, October 21, 2011)

(Mini Mini Movie, October 13, 2011)

PAST FILMS

Possessed, 2009

(Kim Bong Park, October 14, 2011)

Treeless Montain, 2008

(Mmegionline, October 18, 2011)

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.

Head (He-deu) 2011

One of my favorite Korean films is Save the Green Planet (2003).  More than any other, it blithely disregarded generic compatibility and spliced every conceivable idea, trope, and storyline so effectively that it became a veritable cornucopia of emotion.  It was at times horror, torture porn, thriller, action, romance etc.  But it lead with comedy and  was completely ridiculous but also enormously infectious.  Head follows pretty much the same recipe, it even features Baek Yoon-sik, although this time as the torturer rather than the tortured.  Unfortunately, the elements here do not come together as a whole.  It is a slapdash mishmash of filmic devices, aiming far but often landing wide of the mark.

Baek Yoon-sik in second-rate Save the Green Planet

From what I can piece together, the story revolves around a messenger (Ryoo Deok-hwan) who is delivering cargo, which turns out to be the missing head of a famed scientist (Oh Dal-su) who has committed suicide.  He discovers the head and is soon tracked down and apprehended by Baek Jeong (Baek Yoon-shik), but not before he manages to hide it.  The messenger’s sister is an ambitious reporter stuck doing entertainment news, Baek calls her, tells her he will kill her brother unless she hands over the head.  To relay any more information would be pointless, as I’m really not quite sure what transpired after that point.

This is main problem, it is extremely difficult to fathom what’s going on.  The main thrust of the action, simple as it is, shouldn’t be difficult to follow, alas it is mired by a backstory that is indulgently complicated and not nearly well-enough explained.  At certain points the plot begins to focus before breaking off into new threads and barreling sideways through them.  It is only near the third act when the film starts to take shape.  There are still massive holes in the story but at least it’s made clear by this point that the plot is a mere front and excuse for some offbeat setpieces.

Oh Dal-su vs. Oh Dal-su

A lot of the cast will be recognizable to fans of Korean cinema.  I’ve already mentioned Baek Yoon-sik who, aside from Save the Green Planet, has portrayed some of the industry’s most memorable and odd characters such as his roles in The President’s Last Bang (2005), Tazza: The High Rollers (2006), and the wrestling coach in Like a Virgin (2006).  Oh Dal-su appears as two live characters and a corpse’s head, but only very briefly, understandable considering that he’s appeared in ten films in the last two years, including this year’s Hindsight, Late Blossom, and Detective K, and last year’s Troubleshooter, Foxy Festival, and The Servant.  He seems to relish in the brief time he has on screen, especially in the scene featuring both of his characters.  Joo Jin-mo-I plays the corrupt detective (as he always seems to do) and this is one of his six roles this year, the others being Heartbeat, Children…, The Apprehenders, Quick, and the soon-to-be released Mr. Idol.

The reporter is played by Park Ye-jin who I haven’t seen on screen since 1999’s excellent Memento Mori.  Unlike the seasoned veterans that populate the rest of the film, she does not show a great aptitude for comic timing and she has difficulty conveying her character’s emotions effectively.  Ultimately she just doesn’t seem right for the part.  Playing her brother is the young Ryoo Deok-hwan, previously scene in My Little Bride (2004), Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005), Like a Virgin, and The Quiz Show Scandal (2010).  He does well in his role, despite the fact that he is strapped to a chair for the majority of it.

Park Ye-jin's perplexing performance

The filmmakers seem to be indicating that it is not imperative to follow the minutiae of the story.  However, while the set pieces are each more ridiculous and outrageous than the last and do display some original thought, they lack the cohesion and technical skill necessary to successfully pull them off.  On the whole, the mise-en-scene is not particularly imaginative.  Strangest of all, unlike Save the Green Planet, which it tries so hard to emulate, it forgoes playing with a colourful palate, instead opting for a grey, and rather dull colour scheme.

Director Cho Un was part of the editing team behind Save the Green Planet, which makes a whole lot of sense.  It is also clear that he is an editor, as a lot of tricks are used throughout, often to cover up mistakes in the production.  Being involved in film production myself, I can attest to a prevalent trend among first-time directors and editors turned directors.  Frequently a cinematographer, an assistant director, or sometimes even a producer will express concern over what has been shot: “Is it okay, should we do another?”; “Do we have enough coverage?”; etc.  Invariably the answer is “Don’t worry, we’ll fix it in editing.”  This is never a good idea, as primarily it limits your options but can also force your hand in the editing suite if something is amiss.  In Head, ellipsis, jump cuts, split-screen, and flashy transitions abound.  They are all there to string the incongruous elements together and to patch over what the director was not careful enough to adequately film during principal photography.

Some spirited senior citizens!

Head has its moments, including the old-folks home sequence and the delightfully macabre imagery in the mortuary (like the butcher’s display case of human body parts), but it is best seen as a collection of such moments, rather than a film which aptly integrates them into an engaging story, the way Save the Green Planet did.


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.