Actor Seo Young-ju reflects on growing from child roles into cinema-led work, favouring film over television for deeper character exploration. He discusses Juvenile Offender as a turning point, working with Kim Ki-duk on the dialogue-free Moebius, his attraction to challenging narratives, and ambitions for international acting opportunities. [Read More]
Category: Terracotta Festival
Korean Film at the 2014 Terracotta Festival
I realise I’m a bit late posting this: I see from my traffic statistics that people are googling for this year’s Korean offerings, only to come up with my posts from prior years. So here are the three Korean films at the Terracotta Far East Film Festival this year, all of them very appealing in … [Read More]
The Berlin File – so slick it’s really rather dull
A plot which involves a dodgy international arms deal, a secret multibillion dollar bank account belonging to the extended family of Kim Jong-il and a power struggle in the wake of Kim Jong-un’s succession. A list of characters which includes operatives from the CIA, Mossad, and both North and South Korean security agencies, plus would-be … [Read More]
Ryoo Seung-wan interview: stars, spies and a divided city
Ryoo Seung-wan discusses star power, casting strategy and realism in The Berlin File, explaining Berlin’s symbolism as a divided city, his action-scene preparation, views on foreign markets, writing habits, limited interest in Hollywood, genre influences, and balancing commercial filmmaking with personal priorities. [Read More]
The Berlin File (베를린, 2013) review: a high-octane journey through espionage, loyalty and humanity
‘The Berlin File’ is at once a tale of political intrigue and a dissection of North and South Korean attitudes to humanity, morals and freedom all wrapped up in a high-octane thriller. While the ultimate narrative destination can largely be predicted, in this case the journey is equally as important, if not more so. [Read More]
Young Gun in the Time (영건 탐정사무소, 2012) review: love, loss, laughter, and lo-fi time travel
Young Gun in the Time uses classic Korean cinema genre merging to be at once science fiction, mystery thriller, action, romance and comedy. Though it is low budget through-and-through, that is in fact one of the many charms of this warm, engaging and gently funny film. [Read More]
A look at the 2013 Terracotta Far East Film Festival line-up
Three Korean films including the hit thriller The Berlin File are included in the line-up for this year’s Terracotta Festival. Saharial reviews the schedule. It’s that fantastic time of the year again when the Terracotta Film Festival hits London, and the line up announced last week is really exciting, especially when tied in with the … [Read More]
A Werewolf Boy (늑대소년, 2012) review: tender emotion, predictable path
A Werewolf Boy blends romance, fantasy and Korean melodrama into a warm, gently told story of love and otherness. While beautifully shot and anchored by strong performances, its familiar themes and uneven characterisation prevent it from fully transcending genre conventions, making the film more sweet than truly heartbreaking. [Read More]
Kim Jeong-hoon’s A Petty Romance: a pleasant way to spend two hours
A Petty Romance (쩨쩨한 로맨스, 2010) is one of those gentle romantic comedies which Korea seems to do so well. Charming, easy-going, and despite the story line – the composition of an adult manga – not particularly risqué. Written and directed by first-timer Kim Jeong-hoon it’s nothing to rave about but it’s a very pleasant … [Read More]
Saharial at the Terracotta Festival: Dancing Queen
This second film of the Korean Breakfast Club double bill was a comedy with a little more social punch, dealing with gender roles in Korean society, politics and show business. The story focuses on Jung-Hwa (Uhm Jung Hwa), once known as the Madonna of Shinchon, who once dreamed of being a singer before marrying her … [Read More]
Saharial at the Terracotta Festival: Couples
Couples (Jeong Yong-Ki, S. Korea, 2011) is not an easy storyline to explain, but that is perhaps one of the reasons I enjoyed it so much. A remake of the film Stranger of Mine (Ken Uchida, Japan 2005), the main action takes place during one day as we follow the story of several couples and … [Read More]
Saharial at the Terracotta Festival: Arirang
Finally! I had been hoping to see this along with a Q&A at the London Korean Film Festival last year, but it never materialised much to my disappointment. Kim Ki-duk, despite a rather misogynistic approach on occasion to his female characters on film, is one of the Korean directors whose work I really enjoy. Ever … [Read More]
Saharial at the Terracotta Festival: My Way
My Way, directed by Kang Je-gyu (Taegukgi) and with a pan Asian cast was the selected opening night film for the Terracotta Asian Film Festival. And whilst the top class cast of Jang Dong-gun (Taegukgi, Friend), Joe Odagiri (Azumi, Shinobi) and Fan Bingbing (Shaolin, Flashpoint) sounded very promising, I had heard from some of my … [Read More]
Korean Film at the Terracotta Festival
The Terracotta Far East Film Festival gets more exciting every year. For K-film followers, there are four UK premieres plus two short horror films. And of course there’s plenty of non-Korean stuff as well. For those who come along to watch the double bill at the Korean Breakfast Club on Sunday morning, there will be … [Read More]
Arirang (아리랑, 2011) review: Kim Ki-duk in isolation, anger and self-reckoning
Arirang is a deeply personal search for catharsis from a director frozen by how he feels he’s been treated by the film industry and stands as an utterly unmissable example of his talent. To my mind, at its time of making Arirang was quite simply Kim Ki-duk’s best film to date. [Read More]
Booking is now open for the Terracotta Far East Film Festival
The Terracotta Far East Film Festival gets more exciting every year. For K-film followers, there are four UK premieres plus two short horror films. And of course there’s plenty of non-Korean stuff as well. For those who come along to watch the double bill at the Korean Breakfast Club on Sunday morning, there will be … [Read More]