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]
People: Kang Dong-won
Movie review: Peninsula. Four years after Train to Busan, the zombies rule the streets…
We’re four years on from the zombie pandemic that ravaged the Korea that we saw in Train to Busan (2016). The port city proved to be no refuge from the rampaging menace, and the zombies took over the country. Some lucky few of the non-infected escaped by sea, but no country wanted to receive the … [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]
Movie review: E J-Yong – My Brilliant Life
A feelgood Korean drama which the main character has a fatal and incurable disease, and who is writing an account for the benefit of loved ones when he is gone? Been there, done that. Well, not exactly: when the director is E J-Yong and the movie is an adaptation of a Kim Aeran novel, you … [Read More]
Review: 1987 – When the Day Comes
1987: When the Day Comes is one of those movies which could not have been made a couple of years ago. It would have got the director and its all-star cast included on the infamous blacklist of suspected lefties who would not get government support in future. And to have the director of this film … [Read More]
Screening: My Brilliant Life + Kim Aeran Q&A
One of my favourite directors, and one of my favourite authors. I’ll be there. My Brilliant Life (두근두근 내 인생) With author Kim Aeran Q&A Director: E J-yong (2014, 117 mins) Cast: Song Hye-kyo, Kim Seung-wook, Gang Dong-won, Baek Il-seob Original novel by Kim Aeran Thursday 28 June 2018, 7pm, KCCUK | Book here My … [Read More]
UK Premiere screening: 1987: When the Day Comes
After Save the Green Planet (2003), one of my own favourites from that decade, director Jang Joon-hwan took a long break. I’m afraid I missed his second feature, Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013), something that I’m going to have to rectify, because his third film, coming to the Picturehouse Central this month, has been getting … [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]