New Korean Films: US Companies Rush In (2013 Week 14)

(by Fabien Schneider)

Running Man

(런닝맨)

The one and only dream of Cha Jong-woo is to raise enough money to live under the same roof with his 17-year old son, who resulted from a youthful indiscretion. This is why he works in a garage by day and spends his nights as a taxi driver. One day, he suddenly realizes that that the rich client he was driving to his destination has been murdered, not understanding how this could have happen. By bad intuition, he decides to flee, and thus the next day becomes the prime suspect. Meanwhile, his son, not believing the news, is trying to find out what really happened.

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Korean Box Office: G.I. Joe 2 Wipes Out the Competition (03/29-03/31, 2013)

G.I. Joe 2 Wipes out the Competition

Spring is in the air following a long winter and as a result Korea's multiplexes saw a dip in admissions. Hollywood took back the top spot during the weakest frame in quite some time as only 1.64 million tickets were sold. Moreover, due to the new foreign number 1, only 42% of admissions were occupied by local releases. Following a huge winter for the Korean film industry the outlook for local productions is a bit weaker for the coming months as people will enjoy the great weather before the sweltering summer will force them back into the theaters.

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MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: March 2013

This month, the experts chime in on what various things they're noticing in the current Korean film industry. This month's question:

Are you noticing any trends in Korean films these days?

Many to thanks to all the contributors for their time and insightful comments. Responses listed alphabetically, followed by the thoughts of MKC's teammembers.

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Lee Man-hee's The Road to Sampo (삼포 가는길, Samo Ganeungil) 1975

Korea is not known for road movies and given that the country is smaller than many US states, this hardly comes as a surprise. Nevertheless, some of its most celebrated films take place on the road. Displaced characters have trudged along Korea's weather-beaten paths in search of a home in many a Korean film. Examples include Im Kwon-taek's Sopyeonje (1993), a mournful paean to the Pansori tradition (a style of sung folk narrative featuring a vocalist and a percussionist), and Lee Man-hee's ebullient swan song, The Road to Sampo (1975).

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New Korean Films: The Shifting Sands of Indie Films (2013 Week 13)

(by Fabien Schneider)

This week is the calm before the storm: I have only two independent films to introduce to you, and both will only have limited distribution. But this is not a reason not to be interested in them, because they are two quite original projects.

Following Sand River

(모래가 흐르는 강)

 

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14th Jeonju Film Fest Reveals Lineup!

The Jeonju International Film Festival (JIFF) will be returning for its 14^th edition next month when it gets underway on April 25^th with its opening film Foxfire, the new film from Laurent Canet, who was behind the 2008 Palme d’Or winner The Class and will also serve as the president of this year’s international jury. JIFF will come to a close on May 3 with a screening of Haifaa Al Mansour’s Wadjda, the first Saudi Arabian film to be directed by a woman.

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Korean Box Office: Strong Start for Very Ordinary Couple (03/22-03/24, 2013)

Strong Start for Very Ordinary Couple

March is generally not a busy period for movies and South Korea is no exception. After a rocket-fueled start which saw records fall as local films dominated (Miracle in Cell No.7, The Berlin File, New World, etc.) and almost completely shut out Hollywood, things have settled down considerably as the industry lies in wait for what is likely to be a gargantuan summer season. That said, at 1.69 million admissions, business was up slightly and the market share occupied by domestic films was still very strong at 67%. 

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