An epic film in every sense, Blue Swallow bravely tells the controversial story of pioneering Korean female aviator, Park Kyung-won. The narrative of necessity blends fact with fiction but, nonetheless, Blue Swallow boldly states that Park Kyung-won was a woman to be greatly admired, rather than vilified. [Read More]
Category: Film reviews and comment (page 23)
The Front Line (고지전, 2011) review: know what you’re fighting for
While it could be said that the characterisations in The Front Line would have benefitted from having more depth and being slightly less obvious, the film nonetheless remains a far more worthy cinematic offering than any war film about a horse, Oscar nomination or not. [Read More]
Dasepo Naughty Girls: two hours of colourful mayhem
The KCC’s E J-yong month is shaping up nicely. This coming Thursday is your chance to see Dasepo Naughty Girls, one of those films which is so difficult to categorise. It’s a completely different film from E J-yong’s earlier work such as last week’s subdued romance of An Affair and the Joseon dynasty costume drama … [Read More]
Yeosu (려수, 2011) review: shared burdens, broken expectations and the search for self
The beautiful surroundings of Yeosu provide the backdrop to the cathartic journey of a young man and woman who are both searching to understand and come to terms with their lives and choices. Visually stunning; narratively deep, Yeosu infuses its gently gripping story with intelligent, thought-provoking social commentary and critique throughout… [Read More]
Kim Jong-il’s Pulgasari: political metaphor or just a bad monster movie?
LKL reports from the Asian Movie Meetup at the Roxy in Borough High Street on 16 January: Pulgasari (1985). Director: Shin Sang-ok; Producer: Kim Jong-il. The snowy peak of Mount Baekdu in the background and a winged Chollima horse in the foreground is the ident which announces the start of Pulgasari. The two icons of … [Read More]
Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater (삼거리 극장, 2006) review: eccentric spirits, musical mischief, warm-hearted horror
Regardless of your particular preference within Korean Cinema, there are times when we all just want to be warmly entertained, and if that’s what you are hankering for, Jeon Kye-soo’s eccentric tongue-in-cheek gothic musical really is something to make a song and dance about. [Read More]
Peppermint Candy (박하사탕, 2000) review: a heartbreaking reverse-chronology epic
Lee Chang-dong’s reverse-chronology masterpiece links one man’s tragic downfall to twenty years of traumatic Korean history in a compelling film which shows how innocence, hopes and dreams can so easily be lost before the heart even realises what is happening. [Read More]
Petty Romance (쩨쩨한 로맨스, 2010) review: a genuinely funny and inventive adult-comic rom-com
A struggling artist and a fraudulent writer collaborate on an adult comic book. Live action and graphic novel imagery combine within this genuinely funny and warmly romantic tale to ensure that Petty Romance both touches the heart and tickles the funny bone throughout, though not necessarily in that order [Read More]
Remember O Goddess (나를 잊지 말아요, 2011) review: lost in the city
Every now and then, a film comes along that from the very outset resolutely, and effortlessly, reminds you of the reasons you fell in love with Korean Cinema in the first place. Yoon-jung Lee’s short film Remember O Goddess (later remade as feature-length Remember You) is one such film… [Read More]
A class apart: why Im Sang-soo loses to Kim Ki-young in the battle of The Housemaids
What really intrigued me about Kim Ki-young’s original Housemaid (1960) was when I read that the female audience were so incensed by the seducing housemaid’s character, that they stood up in cinema auditoriums and shouted: “Kill the wench!” I can’t help but think that a female watching Im Sang-soo’s 2010 remake would remark: “nice house.” … [Read More]
Sakwa (사과, 2008) review: love, deception and the weight of regret
A relationship drama shaped by small lies that grow into emotional rupture; a constantly twisting plot detailing one woman’s shifting romances, and the intricacies of human deceit, betrayal, social pressure, anger and regret. Sakwa is an astounding film, and there’s no deception whatsoever in that statement… [Read More]
Scars (흉터, 2011) review: trauma, identity, and the quiet struggle for selfhood
A dark, in-depth, nuanced dissection of the wounds that make us who we are and the resultant scars that prevent us from becoming the people we want to be, Scars grippingly details one woman’s journey of self-discovery and is guaranteed to leave viewers with thoughts of the scars that have affected their own lives. [Read More]
The London Korean Links Awards 2011
The sixth of LKL’s annual unscientific and very personal recognition of the best things of last year. And in the field of film, books and CDs what is encouraging is that there is so much to choose from. There were also plenty of good Korean cultural events in London, Edinburgh and elsewhere, but there was … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival round-up and Ryu Seung-wan’s The Unjust
The 2011 London Korean Film Festival gave the London audience a chance to assess, and in my case reassess, the work of Ryu Seung-wan. Ryu has had several of his films released in the UK on DVD, but he is not as well-known to the viewing public as the likes of Park Chan-wook and Bong … [Read More]
A very different portrait of North Korea — Film Review: A State of Mind
On the day that news reaches us of Kim Jong-il’s death, new contributor Hong Nguyen discusses the documentary A State of Mind, directed by Daniel Gordon (VeryMuchSo Productions, 2004) Relatively little is known about the daily lives of North Korean people, exempting the glimpses into a cruel reality of famine and poverty under the late … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Blood, Sweat, Tears and Laughter – ‘Yellow Sea’ has it all
While on a visit to Korea, I once asked a wise, old-looking Korean how he would describe the spirit of the Korean people. My friend who was interpreting answered the question instead, to my initial annoyance, giving the answer ‘Fun’, which I found doubly disappointing given its apparent banality. Several years on, I am beginning … [Read More]