Busan 2014 Review: Strong Effects Play Second Fiddle to Patriotism in ROARING CURRENTS

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

When making films based on significant milestones in a country’s history, nationalism can be a great asset in a filmmaker’s arsenal but it’s also a tool that must be handled carefully, as too much patriotic bombast can mar an otherwise captivating story. Alas, the new period epic Roaring Currents, which chronicles one of Korea’s most famed victorious, falls into that category. Formidable effects and a fascinating historical event, akin to a Korean version of 300 on boats, plays second fiddle to sensationalized heroism in this epic war reenactment.

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Busan 2014 Review: TIMING Mixes Overstuffed Narrative And Plain Animation

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Popular webtoonist Kang Full has become a big name in Korean film over the last few years following the success of features based on his work, such as BA:BO (2008), Late Blossom (2011), Neighbors (2012), and 26 Years (2012). At this year's Busan International Film Festival, Kang's work gets the animated treatment for the very first time with Timing, a film firmly planted in the supernatural and brimming with ideas but undercut by sketchy execution.

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Busan 2014 Review: HAN RIVER Ponders Urban Malaise in Contemporary Korea

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

With black and white lensing, cheerful yet destitute protagonists and the absence of a clear narrative, the philosophical vagabond film Han River, benefits from a style and focus that sets it apart from the bulk of recent Korean indie fare, yet its offbeat musings and muddled pacing will leave some viewers wanting something a little more concrete.

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Busan 2014 Review: SOCIALPHOBIA Effectively Blends Social Agenda And Genre Tropes

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

The Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) returns to Busan with Socialphobia, a new work that is equal parts social drama and murder mystery. Examining the disruptive effect of communication in the digital era within a society where the slightest bit of gossip can take on a life of its own, this debut film showcases Hong Seok-jae's assiduous combination of genre tropes and subtext.

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Busan 2014 Review: Kim Ki-duk Off His Game With ONE ON ONE

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Enfant terrible Kim Ki-duk returns with his 20th feature One On One, opening the Venice Days sidebar this year with an uncharacteristically plot-and-character-heavy offering. With an overt social agenda and a familiar revenge narrative, the film appears to be primed for a larger audience than much of the divisive cineaste's work. But with a rushed production schedule and comparable lack of poetry (however gritty) and wit than his previous efforts, it proves to be one of the director's least satisfying outings.

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Busan 2014 Review: END OF WINTER Boasts Strong Cast And Subtle Mise-en-scene

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Dankook University scores a New Currents competition slot at the Busan International Film Festival for the second year running with End of Winter, a controlled family drama taking place in the dead of winter. Eschewing histrionics in favour of a slowburning and sustained narrative, this latest student feature boasts a strong cast and an unobtrusive yet elegant mise-en-scene.

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Busan 2014 Review: Epic And Austere, ALIVE Depicts Dark Days For Korean Laborers

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Incessantly grim and pushing the three-hour mark, indie helmer Park Jung-bum's Alive is about as challenging a sophomore work as anyone could have dreamt up. And this from a man who debuted with the ferociously bleak The Journals of Musan (2011), a tale of a socially awkward North Korean defector unable to fit into his new surroundings, and whose sole companion, a stray dog, meets a untimely end, leaving his helpless master to fend for himself. Yet, just as that was a devastatingly effective silent wail, this latest work harnesses Park's boiling anger at the injustices that riddle Korean society to create an imposing and austere call to arms.

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Busan 2014 Review: WILD FLOWERS Wilts After A Bristling Start

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

The lives of aimless youths at the bottom of the social ladder are the focus of Wild Flowers, a bleak look into teenage destitution in the streets and back alleys of Seoul. Uncompromising in its focus and brisk in its introduction to the sordid realities of a gaggle of bristly girls, Park Suk-young’s debut is a kinetic but unfocused snapshot of wayward youth.

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Busan 2014 Review: DAUGHTER Explores The Ills Of Modern Korean Parenting

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Following a pair of indulgent films that awkwardly straddled the balance between fantasy and reality, the multi-hyphenate Ku Hye-sun, a well known actress, singer and artist as well as director, returns with Daughter, her most mature work to date.

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Busan 2014 Review: CART, Women's Rights Take Center Stage In Social Drama

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Following hot on the trail of recent Korean dramas seeking to depict the plight of Korea's common class is Cart, a David vs. Goliath, based-on-fact tale detailing the injustices of Korea's labor system and the harsh treatment of women in Korean society. With her latest film, Boo Ji-young returns to the director's chair five years after her indie feature Sisters on the Road, with a bigger cast and a far more pointed social agenda.

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Busan 2014 Review: WE WILL BE OK Hits Its Stride Too Late In The Game

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Writers are told to write about what they know, so it stands to reason that the same rule should apply to filmmakers. As a result, many films take place within the film world and in the Korean industry this proves no exception. Indie debut We Will Be OK highlights the divide between the amateur and professional worlds in Korean film, placing emphasis on the inner anxieties that plague aspiring filmmakers.

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Busan 2014 Review: Mortality And Desire Mingle And Dance in REVIVRE

Part of MKC's coverage of the 19th Busan International Film Festival

By Pierce Conran

Returning for his 102nd feature, the indefatigable Im Kwon-taek continues his move away from period and cultural fare with the melancholic Revivre, pairing up once again with the equally venerable screen legend Ahn Sung-ki. Somberly shot and deliberately paced, Im's latest is a thoughtful and pellucid perlustration of mortality and desire.

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