In the past few years the UK has benefited from a number of theatrical releases of recent Korean box office movies. Sometimes, the UK release has occurred while the movie is still showing in cinemas back in Korea, indicating a certain amount of confidence on the part of the distributors to invest in a title … [Read More]
People: Jung Woo-sung
12.12 The Day (서울의 봄) Theatrical release
After the assassination of President Park, martial law has been declared. A coup d’état bursts out by Defense Security Commander Chun Doo-gwang and a private band of officers following him. Capital Defense Commander Lee Tae-shin, an obstinate soldier who believes the military should not take political actions, fights against Chun Doo-gwang to stop him. According … [Read More]
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]
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]
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]
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]
Good, bad or weird? A look at Kim Jee-woon’s classic western
Now the festival is over, perhaps it’s time to set down some thoughts on the lead film, Kim Ji-woon’s Manchurian western. This was one of the most hotly anticipated films in recent years, on a par with Lady Vengeance and Secret Sunshine. Kim Ji-woon has built up an enviable track record with his past films. … [Read More]
New Jeon Ji-hyun vehicle crashes
OK, so it’s not a complete box office turkey, but after one week at the top of the charts, it’s now down to number 4 and predicted to head south quickly. The vehicle, a film entitled Daisy, is a blatantly commercial effort to cash in on the marketability of the My Sassy Girl star outside … [Read More]