Hong Sang-soo (홍상수) Yourself and Yours (당신 자신과 당신의 것, 2016) Review by Robert Cottingham. You can tell from the opening titles exactly the kind of film this is going to be. Black Korean calligraphy on a white background suggests an intelligent and possibly artistic film and the lively classical music hints at a sophisticated comedy on … [Read More]
Event tag: LKFF 2016
Festival report: Park Hong-min Q+A after the screening of “A Fish”
Park Hong-Min was in London yesterday for a 3-D showing of his first film A Fish (2011). He gave a short Q-and-A after the screening. Transcribed by Robert Cottingham. Tony Rayns: I’ll get things going. I take it this film is not based on your own experience? Park Hong-min: Yes, it’s definitely not based on … [Read More]
Brief festival film review: Eoh Woo Dong
Lee Chang-ho (이장호) Eoh Woo Dong (어우동, 1985, 110 mins). Review by Robert Cottingham. Eoh Woo Dong translates as “entertainer,” a rough approximation of the duties of 14th-century Korean courtesan Eoh Yoon Chang. After a lifetime “in service,” Eoh Yoon Chang retires to a faraway village. Meanwhile, her powerful father, ashamed of his daughter’s lifestyle, … [Read More]
Brief Festival Film Review: Kai
Lee Sung-gang (이성강): Kai (카이, 2016, 96 mins) Review by Robert Cottingham Snow Queen Hattan casts a spell over the peaceful village where Kai lives, and covers everything in ice. The River Spirit who is the protector of the village gives the brave young Kai the only key to fighting off Hattan and asks him … [Read More]
Festival film review: Crush and Blush
Lee Kyoung-mi (이경미): Crush and Blush (미쓰 홍당무, 2008) Review by Robert Cottingham. Right near the beginning of Crush and Blush, the main character Mi-seok stands digging a deep hole in a schoolyard. I thought that it was a punishment used in South Korean schools, but if not it could be a visual metaphor for … [Read More]
Festival film review: The Truth Beneath
Lee Kyoung-mi (이경미): The Truth Beneath (비밀은 없다, 2016) Review by Robert Cottingham Lee Kyoung-mi got her start in films working with Park Chan-wook, and from watching this film it seems she has taken his lead when it comes to violent revenge. When a politician’s daughter goes missing the scandal threatens to upset his ambitions … [Read More]
LKFF report: the opening night and The Truth Beneath
The eleventh of the London Korean Film Festivals organised by the KCCUK opened on Thursday with a little sprinkling of stardust. Jung Woo-sung, who electrified the audience during the 2014 festival where he was the headline attraction, came to the opening night as just a regular guy wanting to watch a movie. But that didn’t … [Read More]
Brief review: Train to Busan
What can you say about Train to Busan that hasn’t already been said? When everyone tells you it’s a fantastic thrill-ride you try to go into the screening with lowered expectations just in case everyone is delusional and you come away disappointed. No need to fear. It’s pretty much non-stop entertainment from start to finish, … [Read More]
Event news: Train to Busan is the final LKFF 2016 Teaser screening
The final LKFF Teaser screening before the official festival in November. It’s sure to be popular: Train to Busan (부산행) Director: Yeon Sang-ho. Starring: Gong Yoo, Kim Soo-an. South Korea 2016. 118 mins. Korean with English subtitles. Picturehouse Central, 6 October 2016, 7pm | Book here Eurostar was never like this. Noted South Korean animation … [Read More]
A look at the 2016 London Korean Film Festival programme
Oooh oooh oooh my favourite film of 2012, and in a shortlist for my film of the decade is being screened again. I thought it would never find its way back into a London theatre and that I’d never have the pleasure of seeing it again, because it’s not the sort of movie that they’re … [Read More]
Brief review: Lee Seok-hoon’s Himalaya
What do Himalaya (Lee Seok-hoon, 2015), Possessed (Lee Yong-ju, 2009) and A Better Tomorrow (Song Hae-seong, 2012) have in common? They are all Korean films which I have gone to a screening room or theatre to watch but couldn’t be bothered to stay to the end. When you pop a DVD into the machine at … [Read More]
Event news: Lee Seok-hoon’s Himalaya screens at Regent Street Cinema
The third of the KCCUK’s teaser screenings for the 2016 London Korean Film Festival is on 4 August at the Regent Street Cinema. Its star Hwang Jung-min told audiences at last year’s film festival that Himalaya had been the most exhausting film he had worked on. Find out why by watching it. The Himalayas (히말라야) … [Read More]
Brief review: The Priests – another excellent LKFF16 teaser
The second of the KCC’s “teaser screenings” for the 2016 London Korean Film Festival, which screened last night at the Picturehouse Central, was another hit. Let’s hope they keep this up. Jang Jae-hyun’s The Priests was a hugely fun (and suspense-filled) exorcism movie, and an impressive full-length debut for the director. It will win new … [Read More]
Event news: Jang Jae-hyun’s The Priests screens at Picturehouse Central
The second of the KCCUK’s teaser screenings for the 2016 London Korean Film Festival is on 2 June at Picturehouse Central. The screening also serves as a curtain-raiser for the annual Korean Screen Culture Conference which this year is held at King’s London. The Priests (검은 사제들) + Intro Director: Jang Jae-hyun, South Korea, 2015 … [Read More]
Lee Joon-ik’s The Throne: a familiar tale made a believable tragedy
The first of the KCCUK’s “Teaser Screenings” for the London Korean Film Festival 2016 took place on Monday in the presence of Director Lee Joon-ik and the recently-arrived Korean ambassador. The chosen film was The Throne (사도) – a movie which was #5 in the 2015 Korean box office and deals with an incident in … [Read More]
Event news: Lee Joon-ik’s The Throne screens at Regent St Cinema
Returning to the period movie genre that made him famous, Lee Joon-ik’s 2014 The Throne explores the life and death of Crown Prince Sado. As homework, you are strongly encouraged to read the memoirs of Sado’s wife, Lady Hyegyong, failing which Margaret Drabble’s The Red Queen, for a version of his life with which to … [Read More]