On a rainy night in Busan, So-young (Lee ‘IU’ Ji-eun) leaves her baby Woo-sung outside a ‘baby box’, a safe place set up in Korean churches for new mothers to leave unwanted infants. Instead, he’s picked up by Sang-hyun (Parasite’s Song Kang-ho) who runs an unofficial adoption brokerage and plans to find him a new … [Read More]
Event tag: UK movie releases (page 2)
Hunt: UK theatrical release
Agents of the Korean National Intelligence Service (KNIS), Park Pyung-ho (Lee Jung-jae) and Kim Jung-do (Jung Woo-sung) are both independently hunting a North Korean spy within the agency. When the leaked top secret intel jeopardises national security, they are ordered to investigate each other and slowly start to uncover the shocking truth. HUNT is a … [Read More]
Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave – theatrical release
What happens when an object of suspicion becomes a case of obsession? Winner of Cannes Best Director in 2022, Park Chan-wook (OLDBOY, THE HANDMAIDEN) returns with a seductive romantic thriller that takes his renowned stylistic flair to dizzying new heights. When detective Hae-joon (Park Hae-il) arrives at a murder scene, he begins to suspect the … [Read More]
Free Chol Soo Lee: theatrical release
In 1970s San Francisco, 20-year-old Korean immigrant Chol Soo Lee is racially profiled and convicted of a Chinatown gang murder. After spending years fighting to survive, investigative journalist K.W. Lee takes a special interest in his case, igniting an unprecedented social justice movement. Nearly five decades later, Free Chol Soo Lee excavates this largely unknown yet essential … [Read More]
Escape from Mogadishu – UK Theatrical Release
Escape from Mogadishu is a nail-biting political thriller based on a true story starring Kim Yoon-seok (The Chaser) and Huh Joon-ho (Netflix’s Kingdom). Rival diplomats from North Korea and South Korea become trapped as civil war rages in Mogadishu, Somalia. With no aid from either government, their only shot at survival requires uniting with bitter … [Read More]
SpiritWalker gets limited release in London
For those who (like me) didn’t get to see this at LEAFF this year, SpiritWalker is screening at Odeon Kingston, Wimbledon and Haymarket from tomorrow for a few days. SpiritWalker (유체이탈자) Dir: Yoon Jae-keun (2020, 112 mins) Cast: Yoon Kye-sang, Park Yong-woo, Lim Ji-yeon, Park Ji-hwan Odeon Cinemas | www.odeon.co.uk From the makers of The … [Read More]
Finding Angel released in UK cinemas
Heart-warming Christmas film Finding Angel from director Kim Seong-jun is coming to Cineworld and Odeon cinemas in the UK from 26th November 2021: Finding Angel (천사는 바이러스) Dir Kim Seong-jun (2017, 114mins) Lee Young-a, Park Sung-il, Chon Moo-song Cineworld: Aberdeen Union Sq| Birmingham Broad Street | Bolton| Cardiff | Didsbury | Edinburgh | Enfield | … [Read More]
Hong Sang-soo theatrical release and online season
Over the past couple of days I’ve been noticing posts on social media about screenings of different Hong Sang-soo movies being available on the online platform MUBI. And now I hear the news that his latest movie, The Woman Who Ran, is getting a theatrical release tomorrow courtesy of CMC Pictures – the China / … [Read More]
Peninsula to get UK theatrical release
Well, the BFI London Film Festival wasn’t interested in any Korean films, but all credit to Frightfest for securing the zombie blockbuster Peninsula to open their festival on 22 October. Here’s the press release from the FrightFest website; UPDATE: unfortunately, since the festival has moved online-only as the pandemic situation has worsened, Peninsula will no … [Read More]
Lee Chang-dong’s Burning – Theatrical release
Lee Chang-dong’s Burning (2018) gets a UK theatrical release, from Thunderbird Releasing, in the run-up to the Oscars, for which it is shortlisted in the best foreign film category. In London it has a run at the BFI, among other venues, from 1 February. The evening screening on 5 February is followed by a Critics … [Read More]
Along with the Gods: Last 49 Days gets UK release
The London East Asia Film Festival presents a special screening of the biggest box office hit in Korea, Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days as a UK premiere. The pre-fest screening will be presenting a double bill of Along With The Gods – Part 1 and 2. Along with the Gods: The Last … [Read More]
Battleship Island gets a UK release
Last summer it was Kim Seong-hun’s Tunnel that got a UK release even while the movie was still topping the Korean box office. This year the summer blockbuster Battleship Island, released in Korea on 27 July, gets some London screenings just two weeks later, from 11 August. The film raked in $27 million in box … [Read More]
Kim Jee-woon’s Age of Shadows gets UK release
The official UK release date for Kim Jee-woon’s colonial era spy thriller is 24 March. The Age of Shadows, released in the UK by Soda Pictures, opened last year’s London East Asia Film Festival. At the time of writing no London screenings have been announced, but the movie will be screened in Sheffield, and earlier previews are … [Read More]
Film news: Tunnel gets a lightning-quick UK release
So unusual that a movie that was topping the Korean box office less than a month ago (and still is) gets a theatrical release in the UK. Tunnel (터널) Director: Kim Seong-Hun, 2016, 127 minutes Cast: Ha Jung-Woo, Doona Bae, Oh Dal-Su Based on the novel “Tunnel” by So Jae-Won (2013) Jung-soo, the manager of … [Read More]
Where does “Poetry” rank among Lee Chang-dong’s films?
With Lee Chang-dong’s Poetry getting its UK theatrical release on Friday1, it’s worth taking a moment to think about where it ranks among his filmography. His first film, Green Fish (1997), is also probably his least-known, and tackles Korea’s urbanisation. By contrast, Peppermint Candy (2000), which addresses Korea’s troubled modern history, ranks highly among many … [Read More]
Yang Ik-June’s Breathless gets theatrical release
And an opportunity to meet other Korean film fans. Yang Ik-June’s Breathless was LKL’s film of the year 2009. It had a screening at the Korean Film Festival at the Barbican in November, and it is due for a UK release on 29 January at the Institute for Contemporary Arts in Pall Mall. The release … [Read More]