60 Years of South Korean Cinema in NYC - Week 2 Recommendations

The first week of this wonderful festival is nearly over, and Filmbrain is still reeling over The Housemaid and Aimless Bullet -- phenomenal films that are without a doubt two of the most important in the history of Korean cinema. (Look for Filmbrain's write-up of both in the next few days.) Week 2 promises even more delights, and here are Filmbrain's choice picks. If you can only see one film from the list below, let it be Hong Sang-soo's The Power of Kangwon Province. Cinema on the Road: A Personal Essay on Cinema in Korea (1995) Dir: Jang Sun-woo. This is, as the title indicates, a personal journey through the history of Korean cinema, with particular attention paid to the relationship between film and contemporary Korean history. From the program notes: "[The film ends with an] exorcism to rid Korean cinema of its demons -- the Japanese occupation, military dictatorships, and Hollywood." (Now, if only that last bit can hold true!) Sunday 21 November @ 1:30, Tuesday 23 November @ 6:00 Special Event: Panel Discussion on Contemporary Korean Cinema Kyung Hyun Kim, author of The Remasculinization of Korean Cinema will be speaking, along with Richard Pena, Hyangjin Lee, and Jessica Ko. Kim's book is the best thing Filmbrain has read all year, and it went a long way in aiding his understanding of Korean films. Tickets are free, and it is being held at the Walter Reade Theater. Don't miss it. Sunday 21 November @ 2:30 Flowers in Hell (1958) & The Houseguest and My Mother (1961) Dir: Shin Sang-ok. Director Shin and his wife Choe Eun-hi (who stars in both films) were kidnapped in 1978 on orders of Kim Jong-il. Kim wanted a national director, and nobody in North Korea could fit the bill. Locked up for four years and fed grass, he then went on to direct several films in North Korea, including the bizarre Pulgasari, a sort of socialist Godzilla. The two films being shown at this festival date back to his early South Korea days. Flowers in Hell has been described as a film-noir set in the rough times of post-war Seoul, while The Houseguest and My Mother is considered to be a masterpiece of melodrama. Filmbrain is looking forward to this double helping of Shin. Both films are showing on Tuesday 23 November. Flowers @ 2:00 and 7:15, Houseguest @ 3:45 and 9:00 A Petal (1996) Dir: Jang Sun-woo. This film has been on Filmbrain's dying-to-see list for several years. This is the first Korean film to directly address the Kwangju massacre, in which 200 pro-democracy demonstrators were killed government soldiers. The film tells the story through the eyes of Jang (current Korean pop sensation Lee Jung-hyun, pictured above), a young girl who lost her family in the massacre. As she heads towards Seoul in search of her brother, she meets up with an unemployed laborer. Director Jang is best known in this country for his controversial 1999 film, Lies. Wednesday 24 November 3:10 & 9:30 Green Fish (1997) Dir: Lee Chang-dong. Made three years before Peppermint Candy, director Lee's first film tells the simple but tragic story of Mak-dong, a young man who returns from the army unfit to deal with the rapid changes taking place in Seoul. He falls in with a gangster while at the same time falling for the gangster's moll. Predictably, disastrous results follow. Green Fish is a complex study of characters who are each trapped in their own desperate situations. Friday 26 November @ 1:00 & 7:20 Birdcage Inn (1998) Dir: Kim Ki-duk. In this, his third film, Kim Ki-duk created a story containing themes that he would revisit in later films -- prostitution, human liberation, and the sea (The Isle, Bad Guy, Samaria). Jin-a (Lee Ji-eun) is a prostitute from soul who moves to and continues her trade in the small seaside town of Pohang. Conflict arises when the truth of her livelihood is revealed. Friday 26 November @ 3:10 & 9:30 The Power of Kangwon Province (1998) Dir: Hong Sang-soo. This is Hong Sang-soo's second film. If that's not a convincing enough reason to see it, check out what Filmbrain had to say about it back in June. As mentioned above, this is the must-not-miss film of the week. Saturday 27 November @ 1:00 & 7:20 Complete schedule and ticketing information can be found HERE.

Comments

[phyrephox]

I haven't seen it but it seems to me you should add Im Kwon-taek's The Hidden Hero to this list.

[Michael]

Filmbrain - once again, you've done us a great service, providing a valuable viewer's guide even to those of us who are very far from NYC. Can't wait to read your upcoming comments on The Housemaid and Aimless Bullet.

[Aaron H.]

Filmbrain, have you thought about adding links to where people who can't make the screenings can track down these hard-to-find titles on DVD (when available)?

[Aaron H.]

Filmbrain, have you thought about adding links to where people who can't make the screenings can track down these hard-to-find titles on DVD (when available)?

[FIlmbrain]

Yes, neglecting The Hidden Hero was an oversight on my part.