The Last Princess is based on the true life story of Yi Deok-hye (Son Ye-jin), the last princess of Korea’s Joseon Dynasty and daughter of Emperor Gojong (Baek Yoon-sik). At 13 years of age, Deok-hye is sent to Japan to study but soon finds herself being used as a political pawn, her pleas to be … [Read More]
Director: Hur Jin-ho
BFI Film Season: Echoes in Time — Korean Films of the Golden Age and New Cinema
The BFI Southbank programme for late October and November 2024 begins with Echoes in Time: Korean Films of the Golden Age and New Cinema, a major new season running from 28 October to 31 December. Programmed by Young Jin Eric Choi and Goran Topalovic, Echoes in Time will focus on two groundbreaking periods in the … [Read More]
A look back at LEAFF and LKFF 2023
We didn’t get around to writing any detailed reviews of the films that screened at the two big festivals in the autumn of 2023, so it’s time to try to pull some thoughts together before the memories fade entirely, jostled sideways by new ones. There were some sparkly new films which were fun to watch … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2023: the detailed schedule
Here’s one-page listing of all the films at the 2023 London Korean Film Festival. Click on the various links to go to the relevant page on the festival website for plot summaries and ticket details. Time Title Strand BFI = BFI Southbank | ICA = Institute of Contemporary Arts | PHC = Picturehouse Central | … [Read More]
Kim Un-su interviewed in Korea Times
Anna Jiwon Park has a good interview with Kim Un-su (author of The Plotters, among other things) in the Korea Times this week. It’s a nice leisurely two-page read for the Weekender section, clocking in at 3,000 words. Park has an engaging conversation with him, and makes an interesting observation: His books not only have … [Read More]
A quiet look at the LKFF’s 2018 programme
The London Korean Film Festival returns for its 13th edition next month with a slightly quieter tone than in some previous years. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s as if the organisers are saying that, as the festival enters its teenage years, the audience is becoming grown-up enough not to require a diet of … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2018: press release and detailed schedule
The 2018 London Korean Film Festival programme was announced at last night’s final teaser screening. The press release is set out below, and at the bottom of the page is the detailed schedule: The 13th London Korean Film Festival London: 1 – 14 November 2018 UK tour: 15 – 25 November 2018 LONDON, 17 September … [Read More]
Film review: Hur Jin-ho’s Season of Good Rain
How reassuring it is, after the disappointment that was Bong Joon-ho’s Okja, to find that there are still directors out there who can serve up what you expect. Maybe that’s a bad thing: maybe you need to be surprised every now and then. On the other hand, there’s no shame in wanting a dose of … [Read More]
The Last Princess (덕혜옹주, 2016) review: a sumptuous epic of national longing and tragic exile
The Last Princess is as visually sumptuous as it is epic, with an understated emotional depth underlined by an incredible performance from Son Ye-jin which will bring tears to the eyes and a lump to the throat. This story of the last princess of the Joseon Dynasty is one that truly needed to be told. [Read More]
Hur Jin-ho is May’s featured director at the KCC
Christmas in August is one of the first Korean DVDs I bought, when I first got interested in Korean movies rather more years ago than I care to remember, back when the best “start here” was Darcy Paquet’s list of top ten movies of the 1990s. It’s a poignant film, but one of the things … [Read More]
Korean interest at the Asia House Pan-Asia Film Festival
The Asia House Pan Asia Film Festival launches on 26 February. In its sixth year, it has an exciting line-up which includes 7 UK premieres. While a cursory look at the schedule reveals little of Korean interest, scratch the surface and you will see more. The opening gala, a Japanese remake of Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, … [Read More]
Christmas in August, Hur Jin-ho’s classic 1998 debut feature, screens at the Roxy
It was one of the first Korean films I ever saw. Guided by Darcy Paquet’s list of top ten films of the 90, this was in my first ever batch of DVDs from YesAsia. And although you don’t see so much of Han Suk-kyu nowadays (and nothing of Shim Eun-ha) they were among the top … [Read More]
Do we need another Liaisons Dangereuses remake?
Do we need another Liaisons Dangereuses remake? EJ Yong’s was a bit dull. How will Hur Jin-ho fare with Jang Dong-gun? http://t.co/D5t6GM07 [Read More]
April Snow (외출, 2005) review: betrayal, grief and mirrored desire
After discovering their comatose spouses were lovers, two strangers are drawn together by grief, jealousy and damaged self-worth. A melancholy tale of love and betrayal, April Snow may not be as instantly accessible as some of Hur Jin-ho’s other films, but is a worthy addition to his CV, nonetheless. [Read More]
Mini review: Christmas in August
Christmas in August is the classic Korean Wave melodrama starring two of the biggest stars of the day. Or maybe, coming as it did in 1998, you could say it’s just pre-Korean Wave. Han Suk-gyu plays the photographic shop owner who has an incurable disease – that stock plot item in Korean weepies; Shim Eun-ha … [Read More]
Christmas in August (8월의 크리스마스, 1998) review: unspoken love and quiet heartbreak
Hur Jin-ho’s landmark melodrama eschews gushing sentimentality for a delicate, understated exploration of love and mortality. One of his most accessible films, and his most famous, Christmas in August is a heartfelt, poignant and affecting story of love and loss, in which the words “I love you” never need to be said. [Read More]