What is it that makes Park Chan-kyong’s biopic of Korea’s national shaman so compelling on so many levels? Right from the start, the narrative grips you. We meet Kim Geum-hwa, the subject of the movie, praying for the success of the film. She also prays for the health of the film crew, and asks the … [Read More]
Event tag: LKFF 2014
Festival Film reviews: we also went to…
We’ve almost finished clearing the London Korean Film Festival backlog, the only major review outstanding now being Park Chan-kyong’s fascinating documentary Manshin. While I’m polishing that, here are a few brief reviews of the films I didn’t feel moved to write dedicated articles about. Han Gong-ju A heavy and depressing story redeemed by the sensitive … [Read More]
Festival Film Review: This Road Called Life
Following on from the success of their feature-length animation Green Days, Studio MWP worked with Korean TV broadcaster EBS to produce a trio of short films which adapt three familiar short stories which are studied by most Koreans in high school: Yi Hyo-seok’s Buckwheat Season, Kim Yu-jeong’s Spring, Spring, and A Lucky Day by Hyun … [Read More]
LKFF 2014: the conversations
The London Korean Film Festival is not just about getting acquainted with the latest in Korean movies. It is also an opportunity to meet some of the people behind those movies – actors, directors and producers. Opportunities for engaging with these film professionals vary: for an ever-growing group of aficionados there is the offer of round-table … [Read More]
Ahn Sung-ki interview: a life in acting
Ahn Sung-ki reflects on Korean cinema’s roots in historical trauma, its role in addressing social issues, and his career choices under censorship and change. He discusses long collaborations with Im Kwon-taek, the importance of scripts and emotional depth, evolving acting freedoms, international productions, and his belief that cinema’s power lies in moving hearts rather than scale or fame. [Read More]
Park Chan-kyong interview: Manshin, Asian Gothic and artistic autonomy
Park Chan-kyong discusses financing Manshin outside the studio system, balancing artistic freedom with commercial pressures, and his recurring focus on shamanism, tradition and “Asian gothic” aesthetics. He reflects on collaboration with his brother Park Chan-wook, the creative value of short films, digital democratisation of filmmaking, and Korea’s layered relationship with its past. [Read More]
Festival Film Review: Hwajang / Revivre
Well, I was right. Ahn Sung-ki confessed in the Q+A which followed the screening of Hwajang that one of his most difficult tasks in portraying Oh Sang-moo, a senior executive in a cosmetics company, was to project certain aspects of being old – of being blocked inside because of the swollen prostate, of being more … [Read More]
Festival film review: Bitter, Sweet, Seoul
Bitter, Sweet, Seoul is an ambitious crowd-sourced project in which people from around the world were invited by the Seoul Metropolitan Government to submit videos which would be made into feature length film. Directors (and brothers) Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong (collectively PARKing CHANce) were commissioned to organise the submissions, attracted to the project by … [Read More]
July Jung interview: loneliness, damage and connection in “A Girl at My Door”
July Jung discusses the obstacles facing female filmmakers in Korea, the precarious path to making A Girl at My Door, and her focus on loneliness, abuse, sexuality and prejudice. She explains the rural setting as a social microcosm, her collaboration with Lee Chang-dong, and her belief that intimate, local stories can achieve universal resonance. [Read More]
LKFF2014 – the reviews
This year there have been more reviewers than ever covering the Korean Film Fest. Here are links to some of the reviews, to which I’ll add as and when I spot new ones. Films are listed in the order in which they screened. Title Director Reviews EK = Eastern Kicks | HC = Hangul Celluloid … [Read More]
Your at-a-glance guide to the LKFF 2014 schedule
Having trouble making decisions about which films to attend? Finding the LKL online calendar too cluttered? Here’s an easy-to-read downloadable chart showing the London screenings (plus, for good measure, the screening from the KCC’s Year of the Film Professionals programme, which competes for your attention on 13 November). The pdf download is best printed in … [Read More]
Bringing Kim Hoon’s Hwajang to the big screen: How to act a swollen prostate?
Im Kwon-taek set himself quite a challenge when he decided to make a movie of Kim Hoon’s Hwajang. It is a dense, concentrated and rich piece of writing – I hesitate to say “short story”, because really there’s not much narrative flow. Instead, there’s well-balanced contrast; there’s inner thoughts and emotions; there are the human … [Read More]
Hong Sang-soo season on Film 4
There are still some Korean film fans out there who haven’t seen any Hong Sang-soo yet. There’s a chance to catch his latest at this years London Korean Film Festival. But you can also see some of his recent back catalogue on TV before then. This must be the first occasion that Hong Sang-soo has … [Read More]
LKL’s latest must-see film of the LKFF 2014: The Road Called Life
It’s taking a while to go through the LKFF 2014 programme to prioritise those films which I simply *have* to go to see. So thanks to Frances Yoo from Studio Meditation with a Pencil for alerting me to the title that instantly has gone from “when I get round to it, I’ll look to see … [Read More]
Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits, at LKFF 2014
This is one of the films that LKL will be looking forward to as part of this year’s Korean Film Festival: Manshin: Ten Thousand Spirits 만신, Dir Park Chan-kyong (박찬경), 2013 Odeon Covent Garden, Monday 10 Nov, 8:30pm | Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Thursday 20 Nov, 5:30pm A documentary spanning a lifetime, Manshin centres on a … [Read More]
London Korean Film Festival 2014: the schedule in detail
Here’s the full schedule of the London Korean Film Festival 2014 for you to optimise your viewing pleasure. Full details will soon be up on the festival’s official website, www.koreanfilm.co.uk. And the tickets will be on sale at the relevant Odeon websites: Odeon West End | Odeon Covent Garden | Odeon Kingston. The 9th London … [Read More]