Though largely predictable and unevenly paced, Kim Sung-hong’s slasher thriller Missing still manages to be unsettling and even moving at times, and while it may not be the best example of its genre, it stands its ground fairly well, all the same. Moon Sung-Keun performs well as the bad guy. [Read More]
Hangul Celluloid Korean film reviews (page 11)
Metamorphoses (변신 이야기, 2011) review: a menacing, humorous, shape-shifting cautionary tale
Initially appearing as a gently humorous story of one man’s unrequited love for a beautiful woman, Metamorphoses mirrors its theme of “nothing is as it first appears”, to ultimately become a brutal, menacing, bloody, and extremely funny, “careful what you wish for” cautionary tale. [Read More]
Re-encounter (혜화, 동, 2011) review: an adoption kept in shadow
Re-encounter explores the emotional aftermath of a couple reunited by the discovery that their supposedly deceased child was secretly adopted. A dark and beautifully bleak affair, Re-encounter is a dissection of grief, guilt and regret that ultimately asks if it really is darkest before the dawn. [Read More]
Daytime Drinking (낮술, 2008) review: a road movie of self-inflicted misadventure
Daytime Drinking is a low-budget independent film about Hyuk-jin, whose low self-esteem and alcohol overindulgence lead to a series of self-inflicted predicaments. It’s such a gently paced, deeply eccentric and genuinely funny road movie that once you’ve had even a tiny taste of it, you’ll want to drink it to the very last drop. [Read More]
Woochi: The Demon Slayer (전우치, 2009) review — witty wizardry across time
Numerous film genres blending seamlessly with top notch action, well-realised special effects and genuinely likeable characters add up to Woochi: The Demon Slayer being out and out spectacular entertainment from beginning to end. [Read More]
I’m A Cyborg, but that’s OK (싸이보그지만 괜찮아, 2006) review: warm-hearted whimsy from Park Chan-wook
Set in a psychiatric hospital, I’m a Cyborg is a warm-hearted film that blends surreal fantasy, romance and dark humour to explore belief, love and acceptance. If you were to cross One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest with Amelie and add a healthy dose of Terminator you would come pretty close to getting I’m A Cyborg. [Read More]
The Crucible aka Silenced (도가니, 2011) review: silenced voices and the struggle for justice
Based on the true story of innocent children physically and sexually abused at a school for the deaf, The Crucible is a brutal, visceral and ultimately heartbreaking tale serving as proof (if proof were needed) that real life can be far more cruel than fiction. [Read More]
Moss (이끼, 2010) review: power, corruption and secrets in a closed community
Based on an internet comic of the same name, Moss’s underlying references to power, corruption, revenge and guilt, as well as sin and redemption, create a veritable labyrinth of elements within the narrative, ultimately allowing the film to be far more worthy than one might initially imagine. [Read More]
Night Fishing (파란만장, 2011) review: PARKing CHANce’s haunting iPhone short
Ignore the fact that Night Fishing was made using the iPhone4. Even if you took all the best elements from Park Chan-wook’s previous films, wrapped them up within a gripping narrative and added the beyond exemplary cast performances seen here, you still wouldn’t come even close to creating a film as astounding as this. [Read More]
Invasion of Alien Bikini (에일리언 비키니, 2010) review: a flawed sci-fi B-movie genre mashup
Sci-fi B-movie pits a chaste vigilante against a sexually assertive alien seeking pregnancy using gender-role reversals to satirise tradition versus modernity. Starting out as genuinely funny and stylishly brutal, Invasion of Alien Bikini is sadly marred by one rather misogynistic, mean-spirited scene and, to my mind, never fully manages to recover its early promise. [Read More]
The Vegetarian (채식주의자, 2010) review: a dark, haunting exploration of desire, mental illness and art
The Vegetarian is a brooding, unsettling drama that follows Yeong-hye, a woman whose refusal to eat meat spirals into profound mental and emotional transformation. Anchored by Chae Min-seo’s astounding performance, the film navigates themes of desire, family pressure and artistic obsession, delivering a slow-burning, psychologically intense story that adapts Han Kang’s prize-winning novel [Read More]
Blue Swallow (청연, 2005) review: a sympathetic treatment of a contested story
An epic film in every sense, Blue Swallow bravely tells the controversial story of pioneering Korean female aviator, Park Kyung-won. The narrative of necessity blends fact with fiction but, nonetheless, Blue Swallow boldly states that Park Kyung-won was a woman to be greatly admired, rather than vilified. [Read More]
The Front Line (고지전, 2011) review: know what you’re fighting for
While it could be said that the characterisations in The Front Line would have benefitted from having more depth and being slightly less obvious, the film nonetheless remains a far more worthy cinematic offering than any war film about a horse, Oscar nomination or not. [Read More]
Yeosu (려수, 2011) review: shared burdens, broken expectations and the search for self
The beautiful surroundings of Yeosu provide the backdrop to the cathartic journey of a young man and woman who are both searching to understand and come to terms with their lives and choices. Visually stunning; narratively deep, Yeosu infuses its gently gripping story with intelligent, thought-provoking social commentary and critique throughout… [Read More]
Midnight Ballad for Ghost Theater (삼거리 극장, 2006) review: eccentric spirits, musical mischief, warm-hearted horror
Regardless of your particular preference within Korean Cinema, there are times when we all just want to be warmly entertained, and if that’s what you are hankering for, Jeon Kye-soo’s eccentric tongue-in-cheek gothic musical really is something to make a song and dance about. [Read More]
Peppermint Candy (박하사탕, 2000) review: a heartbreaking reverse-chronology epic
Lee Chang-dong’s reverse-chronology masterpiece links one man’s tragic downfall to twenty years of traumatic Korean history in a compelling film which shows how innocence, hopes and dreams can so easily be lost before the heart even realises what is happening. [Read More]