London’s annual East Asian film festival returns for its fourth year at the end of October. The 2019 programme includes cinematic offerings from 11 countries, including two movies from North Korea. The festival opens with a South Korean disaster comedy movie and closes with a film by celebrated East Asian actor Aaron Kwok. Here is … [Read More]
Director: Won Shin-yeon
London East Asia Film Festival 2019 – detailed programme
Here are the films due to be screened at this year’s London East Asia Film Festival. The post will be updated with screening times when they become available. Check the festival website, www.leaff.org.uk, for updates. The official press release can be found here. London East Asia Film Festival 24 October – 3 November 2019 www.leaff.org.uk … [Read More]
LKFF 2018 Teaser Screening #2: Memoir of a Murderer
The second LKFF2018 Teaser screening is Won Shin-yeon’s adaptation of Kim Young-ha’s Memoir of a Murderer: Memoir of a Murderer (살인자의 기억법) Dir Won Shin-yeon (2017, 118min) With Sol Kyung-gu, Kim Nam-gil, Kim Seol-hyun Monday 21 May 2018, 7pm | Regent Street Cinema | Book tickets Serial killers are popular figures in South Korean cinema, … [Read More]
A look back at some of the films of 2017
A review of some of the films that screened in London during the 2017 – another busy year. For me the undoubted highlight of the London film year was the Bae Chang-ho retrospective at the London Korean Film Festival: a chance to see a couple of his movies – including the classic Whale Hunting (1984) – … [Read More]
Film review: Memoir of a Murderer
Memoir of a Murderer asks us to step inside the mind of someone who is losing his memory, a sufferer of Alzheimer’s disease. The movie opens with a scene focusing on the face of a gaunt and aged-looking Sol Kyung-gu as single dad Kim Byung-soo. As we watch, his face begins to twitch. At first … [Read More]
Korean films at the 2017 BFI London Film Fest
As far as I can see there are four Korean movies at the 2017 BFI London Film Festival: two very contrasting documentaries; the movie from festival favourite Hong Sang-soo that won Kim Min-hee the Silver Bear for best actress in Berlin this year; and an adaptation of a novel by Kim Young-ha by Won Shin-yeon, … [Read More]
You’ve seen the film, now read the book
The Korean Film Council recently publicised on its website the new “Book to Film” initiative aimed at bringing together the film and the publishing industries. Of course, the practice adapting a book for the big screen is almost as old as the movie industry itself, and some of South Korea’s most successful movies have been … [Read More]
Seven Days screens at the KCC
Everyone’s favourite castaway Kim Yun-jin (above) stars in Seven Days directed by Won Shin-yeon, next week’s screening at the KCC (12 March) Jiyeon (Kim Yun-jin) is a hard working, hot shot lawyer and single mother of a seven-year-old girl. During a school sports day, her daughter disappears. Jiyeon receives an anonymous phone call: the caller … [Read More]
Korean films in Times 2008 chamber of horrors
Two years after its Korean release, Won Shin-yeon’s A Bloody Aria received a limited theatrical release in the UK. It came to the Institute for Contemporary Arts in October, and the ICA will be releasing it on Region 2 DVD in February next year. Shot in grimy HD video with just a handful of cast … [Read More]
The London Korean Film Festival 2008
The programme for the 2008 London Korean Film Festival has been announced. A great line-up with something for everyone. From the latest releases, there’s the biggest film of 2008 (The Good, the Bad and the Weird), plus one or two I’d forgotten about, but which with a bit of thought are obvious choices: last year’s … [Read More]
Korean film – a review of 2007
Jason Bechervaise, founder of koreanfilm.org.uk, gives his perspective on the ups and downs of the Korean film industry in 2007 By all accounts 2007 was a year that has been difficult one for the Korean film industry where it seems that the golden years of the Korean film industry has passed. Rising costs have meant … [Read More]