Busan 2014 Review: HILL OF FREEDOM Proves A Pleasant But Slight Slice From Hong Sangsoo

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

By Pierce Conran

It's easy to accuse Hong Sangsoo of doing the same thing over and over again as each of his films revisit the same themes with similar characters, situations and locations. Such a reading can easily miss the point of his constant repetition, which cleverly lays bare the hypocrisy and narcissism of the characters that populate his output. Yet with his latest work, the particularly laid back jaunt Hill of Freedom, the director seems to have less to say than usual. However, with deliberately simple dialogue (in English) and an uncomplicated narrative, as well as a very brief 67-minute running time, the director also appears to be in a playful mood.

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Busan 2014 Review: The Beauty Of THE FATAL ENCOUNTER Is Only Skin Deep

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

By Pierce Conran

Following a slow few months, commercial Korean cinema returns to the spotlight with The Fatal Encounter, the first of the many period blockbusters that will inundate local theaters through to the end of summer. Following in the footsteps of the 2012 period blockbuster Masquerade (2012), The Fatal Encounter casts a major heartthrob (Hyun Bin) as a king in a tale of royal palace intrigue.

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Busan 2014 Review: LIVE TV Showcases Misogyny And Bad Filmmaking

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

By Pierce Conran

Found footage horror and digital age social themes combine to disastrous effect in the lamentable and stunningly offensive Live TV, a midnight film at Busan that'll make you wish you'd turned in early.

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Busan 2014 Review: The Vengeful Ripples of Bong Joon Ho’s MOTHER

Originally part of MKC's Revenge Week (July 8-14, 2013), this article is reposted in light of its new B&W print being screened at the 19th Busan International Film Festival. Though the new version is not discussed here, I can say that one of my favorite Korean films is now even better!

Outside of a few clear candidates, pinpointing revenge films isn’t quite as easy as it seems. Case in point is Bong Joon-ho’s Mother (2009). When I first considered it, I hesitated, but after watching it again this past weekend, it became clear that this is a film teeming with revenge, yet not for the reasons that I had at first considered.

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Busan 2014 Review: DOES CUCKOO CRY AT NIGHT, A Simple But Well Told Parable

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

By Pierce Conran

Playing alongside the 50-odd new Korean films playing at Busan this year is a retrospective of the work of Jung Jin-woo, a prolific director and producer active from the 1960s to the 80s. Known as a purveyor of social melodramas highlighting separation anxieties after the Korean War, Jung switched gears in later in his career, when he began to look at the plight of women in his country. Kicking off this chapter in his filmography was 1980's Does Cuckoo Cry at Night, a simple parable with a restrained yet evocative style.

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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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