Director Park Chan-Wook 박찬욱 [“Decision to Leave”]

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October 11, 2019

 

PARK Chan-wook Eyes Adaptation of THE AX with Costa-Gavras as Producer

Famed Korean Director Eyes English-Language Adaptation of Donald E. WESTLAKE’s Novel

 

by Pierce Conran KOFIC

 

 

Famed director PARK Chan-wook has revealed that he is preparing to make an English-language version of the 1997 novel ‘The Ax’ by Donald E. WESTLAKE, which was previously adapted in France by the French-Greek auteur Costa-Gavras in 2005. Director PARK explained his intentions during an open talk with Costa-Gavras which took place during the Busan International Film Festival this month.

 

Director PARK explained that he has been working closely with Costa-Gavras and his producer wife Michèle RAY, who own the filming rights to the novel and will serve as producers of PARK’s eventual adaptation, which has been in development for several years.

 

The story of ‘The Ax’ concerns a chemist with a family and a stable life who is suddenly made redundant and resolves to eliminate his competition as he navigates a difficult job market.

 

Known for Old Boy (2003) and The Handmaiden (2016), director PARK most recently helmed the BBC miniseries The Little Drummer Girl, an adaptation of the John LE CARRE novel of the same name starring Florence PUGH, Alexander SKARSGARD and Michael SHANNON.

 

Costa-Gavras is known for his classic political dramas, such as 1969’s Z, 1972’s State of Siege and his Hollywood masterpiece Missing with Sissy SPACEK and Jack LEMMON, released in 1982.

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October 4, 2019

 

16 Best Korean Movies of This Decade

 

by Diksha Sundriyal TheCinemaholic

 

In international cinema, there are a couple of countries that have made their presence felt strongly. While European cinema continues to excel, in the Asian market, Korean filmmakers have taken charge. Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook and Kim Ki-duk are just a couple of directors that have made excellent films while succeeding in breaking into the international market. Their films are commercially successful without compromising with the soul of the story. In the past decade, this trend has been followed by a number of other directors. Here, we have compiled the list of the best Korean movies of this decade, from 2010 to 2019. that you must watch:

16. Train to Busan (2016)
 

15. The Man from Nowhere (2010)

 

14. The Day He Arrives (2011)

 

13. Masquerade (2012)

 

12. The Wailing (2016)

 

11. I Saw the Devil (2010)

 

10. The Handmaiden (2016)

 

Park Chan-wook is one of the best directors working in Korean cinema. His movies often explore the twisted psychology of his characters. The Vengeance Trilogy is one of the best movie trilogies, and in the 2010s, he moved out of its shadow to deliver another story full of complicated characters. The basic premise of ‘The Handmaiden’ has a Japanese heiress, a con man and a maid at its centre. The con man wants to marry the heiress and have all that she has by throwing her into an asylum. In order to accomplish this, he sends a maid who can constantly whisper in the heiress’s ears about him. The plan goes well, for a while. Soon, it becomes clear that every character has an ulterior motive and no one is as innocent as they look.

 

9. House of Hummingbird (2018)

 

8. The Age of Shadows (2016)

 

7. Burning (2018)

 

6. Planet of Snail (2011)

 

5. Poetry (2010)

 

4. The Bacchus Lady (2016)

 

3. Hope (2013)

 

2. Silenced (2011)

 

1. Parasite (2019)

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November 6, 2019

 

Director Park Chan-wook wins honorary award at Geneva film fest

GENEVA, Nov. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korean movie director Park Chan-wook, well known for "Thirst" (2009) and his Vengeance Trilogy, including "Oldboy" (2003), has won an honorary award at the Geneva International Film Festival.

 

Park received the Film and Beyond Award on Tuesday at 25th annual event underway in the Swiss city from Nov. 1-10.

 

The award is bestowed upon a cross-disciplinary artist for his or her whole body of work, according to the festival organizer.

 

Two of Park's full-length films, including "The Handmaiden" (2016), and three short films are being screened at the festival.

 

"This award is given to directors with a lot of experience and (who are) about to retire, but I will appreciate it as a mid-term settlement for my career," Park said in an acceptance speech.

 

"As I have worked for 26 years so far, I will be thankful if the Geneva International Film Festival invites me again before my career ends in 2045," he added.

 

South Korean director Park Chan-wook speaks after receiving the Film and Beyond Award at the 25th Geneva International Film Festival in the Swiss city on Nov. 5, 2019. (Yonhap)

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November 6, 2019

 

Director Park Chan-wook recognized at Geneva film festival

 

By Yoon Min-sik The Korea Herald

Korean director Park Chang-wook on Tuesday received the Film and Beyond award at the Geneva International Film Festival, commended for his works including “The Handmaiden,” which will be screened at the festival until Sunday.

 

The award was given to the director in recognition of Park’s body of work to the field of cinema, at the 25th annual event at the Swiss city from Nov.1-10.

 

“This is an award usually given to a director with a long career who is about to retire, but I will appreciate it as a midterm settlement to my career. ... I’ve worked for 26 years (in the film industry), so I’d appreciate it when the Gevena International Film Festival would invite me again around 2045, when my career would be over,” Park said in his acceptance speech.

 

Park Chan-wook speaks after receiving the Film and Beyond Award at the 25th Geneva International Film Festival in the Swiss city on Tuesday. (Yonhap)

Two feature-length films and three shorts by Park will be screened at the festival.

Park, a director, screenwriter and producer, is known for “Thirst,” “Joint Security Area,” “Lady Vengeance” and “Old Boy,” which won the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, among others.

By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)

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November 7, 2019

 

Park Chan-wook Wins Honorary Award at Geneva Film Festival

 

Source: The ChosunIlbo via HanCinema.net

 

 

 

Director Park Chan-wook won an honorary award at the Geneva International Film Festival on Tuesday.

 

The organizers said Park was chosen for the Film and Beyond Award in recognition of his achievements in a wide range of film-related fields.

 

Park thanked the organizers and said he considers it a "mid-term" assessment of his career, mentioning that the award is usually given to directors at the end of their career.

 

"I've worked for 26 years and would thank the Geneva International Film Festival if it invites me again in 2045".

 

Two of his feature films including "The Handmaiden" and three short films are being shown at the festival.

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November 9, 2019

 

Park Chan-wook wins honorary award at Norwegian film festival

 

Source: The DONG-A ILBO

 

South Korean director Park Chan-wook received the honorary award, the Silver Mirror, on Thursday (local time) at the 29th Films from the South movie festival held in Oslo, Norway. The festival features films from around 30 countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America every year.

 

 

“I’ve made various types of movies, other than the ‘revenge movies,’ such as ‘Oldboy,’” Park said during his award speech. “In the era when more and more people are refusing to communicate with others, I pay my sincere respect to you for trying to understand cultures other than your own.” The Norwegian festival will highlight Park’s artistic expressions as a film director by showcasing his movies, including a short film titled “Night Fishing.”

Seol Lee snow@donga.com

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November 15, 2019

 

Lee Byung Hun’s Agency Responds To Reports About His Appearance In “Old Boy” Director Park Chan Wook’s New Film

Source: Soompi by S. Park

 

 

Lee Byung Hun may be working with celebrated film director Park Chan Wook!

 

On November 14, a media outlet reported that Lee Byung Hun had confirmed his appearance in director Park Chan Wook’s new film and was adjusting his schedule. Park Chan Wook is well-known for his work including “Old Boy,” “Lady of Vengeance,” “Thirst,” “Stoker,” and “The Handmaiden.”

 

The article stated that Lee Byung Hun initially turned down the offer due to the filming schedule for writer Noh Hee Kyung’s upcoming film “Here” (literal title), which begins in 2020. After director Park Chan Wook’s reportedly persistent requests, including a personal visit to the actor in Los Angeles, Lee Byung Hun accepted his offer.

 

An insider from the film industry said, “Park Chan Wook is set on Lee Byung Hun as the lead for his new film because he decided that Lee Byung Hun is perfect for the character in the project that he’s currently preparing.”

 

Director Park Chan Wook’s new film is under wraps and was briefly mentioned at last month’s open talk session at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). He stated, “There’s a project ‘X’ that I think of as my lifelong project. Director Costa-Gavras made this project in French and has the rights to it, and I’m trying to turn it into a movie.”

 

In response to the article, a source from BH Entertainment said, “I know that there are many projects that Park Chan Wook is considering for his next film. He has only asked about [Lee Byung Hun’s] schedule. There is no scenario and no specific information.”

 

Lee Byung Hun will next appear in the film “Baekdusan” (literal title), which premieres in December and stars Ha Jung Woo, Ma Dong Seok, Jeon Hye Jin, and Suzy. Check out the posters here.

 

Source (1) (2)

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November 15, 2019

 

PARK Chan-wook Won an Honorary Award in Oslo
Films from the South Festival Gives Korean Director Honorary Award

 

by Pierce Conran KOFIC

 

 

Renowned director PARK Chan-wook has been honored with an honorary award, at this year’s Films from the South Festival in Oslo, Norway. The Korean cineaste was the main guest at the 29th edition of the festival, which focuses on works from Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

 

Director PARK was present to accept his prize in Norway on November 7 during the festival’s opening ceremony. PARK’s short film Night Fishing, winner of the best short film award at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2011, was screened during the ceremony, which was followed by an opening film presentation of PARASITE, the new film by BONG Joon-ho, whose 2013 sci-fi Snowpiercer was produced by PARK.

 

PARK was also on hand for a moderated discussion prior to a screening of his seminal 2003 work Old Boy and also presented a screening of the director’s cut of his 2016 opus The Handmaiden. Films from the South also screened PARK’s Trio (1997), Joint Security Area /JSA (2000), Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002), Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005), I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK (2006) and Thirst (2009), as well as a range of other shorts and documentaries he has made.

 

Following The Handmaiden, PARK’s most recent project was the TV miniseries The Little Drummer Girl for the BBC, which was adapted from the novel of the same name by John LE CARRÉ. He has several projects in development, including the western The Brigands of Rattlecreek for Amazon and an English-language adaptation of Donald E. WESTLAKE’s novel ‘The Ax’.

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Source: Vi•ble

[Film making with Park Chanwook]
Park Chan-wook, Korea's leading film director, screenwriter and film producer.
ViBLE contains everything about Park Chan-wook's filmmaking.
⠀
Released in December 2019. ⠀

 

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Source: ViBLE @vible_official

 

 

 

 

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Source: Studio ViBLE

 

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Source: ViBLE

 

It's been a while since we tweeted! We are also working hard on the app in the new year. #ViBLE #Bible #Yunoyunho #Park Chan-wook #Lee Byung-hun #coming_soon_

 

 

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Source: ViBLE @vible_official

iOS : https://apple.co/2RBDheo
Android : http://bit.ly/3681w9l
ViBLE mobile application is launched!

 

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February 4, 2020

 

Welcome to Hallyuwood:

10 South Korean films to watch after Parasite

From South Korea’s first big budget blockbuster to a revenge flick with a deadly assassin, here’s a cinematic guide for those who loved Bong Joon-ho’s hit

James Balmont DAZED Digital

 

Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite recently made history after becoming the first South Korean film to receive nominations for best picture, best director and best international feature film at the Academy Awards, and has cleaned up across this awards season. A masterful amalgamation of family drama, black comedy, and psychological thriller, the film marks the apex of a South Korean film industry that has been steadily establishing itself as one of the world’s best over the past two decades.

 

Despite a tendency to frequently place as “runners up” at some of the world’s biggest competitions, films of the South Korean New Wave, or “Hallyuwood” (with “Hallyu” roughly translating as “flow from Korea”) are no stranger to global acclaim. The South Korean cinema renaissance has seen directors like Kim Jee-woon and Park Chan-wook pick up countless international awards, while native acting stars like Choi Min-sik, Ma Dong-seok and Lee Byung-hun have capitalised with successful ventures into Hollywood.

 

Parasite has already bagged a Palme d’Or, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors’ Guild Award. In February 2020 it may take home the biggest gong of them all at the Oscars ceremony. But beyond Parasite, South Korea is home to a broad host of cinematic excellence. In the words of Bong Joon-ho, “once you overcome the one-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.”

 

Here are ten of Dazed’s favourite films of the Korean New Wave to watch after Parasite.

 

SHIRI

For fans of: The Rock, Heat, Hard Boiled

A BITTERSWEET LIFE

For fans of: Kill Bill, A Fistful of Dollars, Oldboy

THE HOST

For fans of: Godzilla, Jaws, Cloverfield

OLDBOY

For fans of: Leon: The Professional, Straw Dogs, Death Wish

DONGMAEKGOL

For fans of: Life Is Beautiful, JSA, The Bird People of China

THE VILLAINESS

For Fans of: La Femme Nikita, John Wick, Atomic Blonde

BURNING

For fans of: Lost Highway, The Machinist, Audition

TRAIN TO BUSAN

For fans of: 28 Days Later, Dawn of the Dead, Snakes on a Plane

NEW WORLD

For Fans of: The Departed, The Godfather, Infernal Affairs

THE WAILING

For fans of: The Wicker Man, The Exorcist, Memories of Murder

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February 6, 2020

Director Park Chan Wook corrects information inviting Tang Wei to join new work

 

Source: JTBC PLUS via Channels.Vlive

 

Moho Film side gave the official stance about the news that Tang Wei would appear in the new work of the director Park Chan Wook.

On February 6, Momo Film said, "The new drama of director Park Chan Wook mentioned in today's report is one of the projects that are in preparation, however, the original script has not been completed. Therefore, the casting has not started yet. We will have an announcement when the next work is decided in the future."

 

Previously, also on February 6, a newspaper reported on Tang Wei confirming to star in the new work of director Park Chan Wook and added that Lee Byung Hun was also in talks about taking on the lead role. Regarding this, Tang Wei shared the official stance, "Despite having yet to receive the invitation, we were asked about the actress's schedule."

 

Director Park Chan Wook affirmed his excellent world-class directing ability through such movies as "The Handmaiden", "Stoker", "Thirst", "Lady Vengeance", "Oldboy", etc. 

 

Reporter Hwang So Young hwang.soyoung@jtbc.co.kr
Everything Idol, Everyday Exclusive

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February 7, 2020

 

Sources Respond To Report That Lee Byung Hun And Tang Wei Will Star In Park Chan Wook’s New Film

Source: Soompi by J. K

 

Following a report stating that Lee Byung Hun and Chinese acress Tang Wei had been cast in Park Chan Wook’s upcoming film, his production company has clarified that nothing has been decided yet.

 

His company Moho Film stated, “That film is one of several projects that Director Park Chan Wook has in the works right now, but the script hasn’t been completed yet. Therefore, the casting process has not begun yet. We will share information on his new project once it’s concrete.”

 

Lee Byung Hun’s agency BH Entertainment also replied, “We have only received a question about his schedule. Nothing has developed after that.”

 

A source representing Tang Wei also said, “We haven’t received an offer. We’ve received a question about her schedule.”

 

Park Chan Wook is a famous director known for his films such as “Joint Security Area,” “Oldboy,” “Lady Vengeance,” and more.

 

Source (1) (2)

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February 11, 2020

 

ROAD TO PARASITE: THE RISE OF KOREAN CINEMA IN 11 MUST-SEE MOVIES
A brief history of the Korean New Wave.

 

Source: Inverse.com

 

THE AWARD WAS GIVEN TO PARASITE, BUT ALL OF KOREA FELT ACCOMPLISHED.

 

The mountainous rise of Korean cinema reached its highest peak on Sunday when the American-centric Oscars crowned Korean director Bong Joon-ho and his acclaimed drama Parasite as the year's Best Picture (not best international, just best).

It was a historic moment, not just for foreign language cinema, but for the wide breadth of the Korean film industry that has seen pictures regularly transcend language and cultural barriers, from cult classics like Old Boy to sci-fi blockbusters like Snowpiercer. The list goes on, but we've whittled it down to an essential eleven.

 

For the unfamiliar, it may be hard to understand how this happened, and why Korean cinema is now the darling of the worldwide film community. While Japan boasts legends like Akira Kurosawa and Hayao Miyazaki, and Hong Kong has Wong Kar-Wai, Ann Hui, and John Woo, the most renowned artists of South Korea didn't emerge until the 2000s. Out of the 1997 financial collapse and a boost from screen quota laws, the East Asian nation of 51 million found their voices in directors like Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho, Kwak Jae-yong, and more, who helped kick off the Korean New Wave that's now lasted nearly two decades.

 

The can't-miss films below illustrate a region's cinema that carved its identity through blending overly familiar genres into pointed social commentaries. Spy movies, monster movies, zombies, vampires, and rom-coms are remixed with uniquely Korean flavor that all point to a nation, and a people, who fell hard in the global economy only to resurge amidst grand, sweeping technological shifts. By the second decade, Korean filmmakers began to reckon with the unfair income inequality that continues to plague the nation.

 

Below is a brief history of the Korean New Wave, as illustrated by 11 must-watch movies that all led to the crowning of Parasite. If you're less "#BongHive" and more "Bong Joon-who?" let this be your starting point.

11. JOINT SECURITY AREA (2000)

 

It is commonly understood that the Korean New Wave kicked off in 1999 with South Korea's first Hollywood-style blockbuster, Shiri. A spy film directed by Kang Je-gyu, Shiri had the highest budget of a South Korean film at the time ($8.5 million) and still broke box office records upon its release. It was the reason James Cameron's Titanic sunk in South Korea, the only Asian nation the movie bombed.

 

But while Shiri was the first punch, Park Chan-wook's Joint Security Area (2000) was the haymaker. A mystery thriller that helped cement the careers of actors Lee Byung-hun, Song Kang-ho, and Lee Young-ae, the film explores the circumstances of a murder at the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the border separating North and South Korea. In its microscopic view of the war-torn region, the film looks far and wide to the irreconcilable differences between two nations still at war today.

The fourth release from Park Chan-wook, Joint Security Area was a smash hit at home, becoming the highest-grossing movie in Korean film history in 2001. It developed an international cult following thanks in part to American directors like Quentin Tarantino giving it public praise.

 

Fun fact: When the film was released on DVD, South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun gifted the movie to North Korea's Kim Jong-il at the 2007 Inter-Korean summit.

 

10. MY SASSY GIRL (2001)

 

Spoiler

 

Before Tom met Summer in (500) Days of Summer, director Kwak Jae-yong adapted a popular online blog written by a lovestruck boy obsessed over the perfect, if not quirky, girl.

My Sassy Girl, starring Jun Ji-hyun and Chae Tae-hyun, was a major hit that spawned one of the most popular Korean franchises of all time, earning acclaim across all of Asia. The inevitable American remake was produced in 2008 with Elisha Cuthbert, while other adaptations and remakes have popped up in Japan, India, China, and Nepali. In 2014, The Korean Wave author Jennifer Jung-Kim wrote of My Sassy Girl that it's a film that "deserves to be called a global success" based on its numerous localized adaptations.

 

 

9. VOLCANO HIGH (2001)

 

Spoiler

 

When misfit teenager Kim Kyung-soo (Jang Hyuk) is transferred to a secret martial arts school, he literally fights to survive in a mashup of teen dramas and kinetic action movies that all pay homage to Korea's homegrown manhwa (comics).

You won't find much praise for Volcano High outside the most niche action movie blogs. If it wasn't for an MTV-produced dub starring hip-hop musicians like André 3000, Lil Jon, Snoop Dogg, and Method Man, Kim Tae-kyun's martial arts teen comedy would be forgotten to time.

But it was precisely because of MTV and the movie's wide distribution in the US on DVD that Volcano High become a cult hit among American teens — and the first real dose of Korean action for a mass, impressionable audience. (I knew about the movie because it was always so cheap at Walmart.)

Peep the YouTube comments and you'll find people reminiscing about discovering it on MTV and DVD in their youths. While not the highest of brows, the availability of Volcano High may have been the untold Westerners' first dose of Korean cinema.

 

 

8. OLDBOY (2003)

 

Easily one of the most renowned movies of the Korean New Wave, this neo-noir thriller from Park Chan-wook adapts the Japanese comic of the same name. The film tells the story of a man mysteriously imprisoned for 15 years. When he's finally released, he's given only five days to figure out the reason for his torture.

Choi Min-Sik, Yoo Ji-tae, and Kang Hye-jung star in a gritty revenge tale whose reach and influence went far beyond its homeland. The film played a direct influence on American movies and shows like John Wick and Marvel's Daredevil.

Like Park's Joint Security Area, Old Boy's praise from Western voices like Quentin Tarantino and Roger Ebert — who in his review called the film "powerful ... not because of what it depicts, but because of the depths of the human heart which it strips bare" — helped cement the movie as a must-see and the real barn burner for the Korean New Wave around the world.

 

7. THE HOST (2006)

 

Spoiler

 

By the time Bong Joon-ho got to making his political monster thriller, The Host, he was already a veteran with film credits like Barking Dogs Never Bite (2000) and Memories of a Murder (2003). But it was The Host that put Bong on the global map. Merging together the styles of Japanese monster films with Korean social commentary, Bong tells the story of a Korean family that tries to stay together when a mutant monster emerges from the Han River.

Eschewing the spectacle of blowing things up in favor of family drama, The Host won acclaim and proved the Korean New Wave's tendency to mesh and reinvent genres like science fiction and horror into something more profound. The film is also proudly Korean, with scathing depictions of American imperialism. (The film was in part inspired by an international incident in 2000, when the United States military dumped formaldehyde into the drinking water of Seoul.)

 

 

6. THIRST (2009)

 

Amid the height of the West's obsession for vampires, thanks to the Twilight phenomenon, Park Chan-wook directed Thirst. A loose adaptation of the 1868 French novel Thérèse Raquin by Émile Zola, the movie stars Song Kang-ho as a Catholic priest who volunteers for a medical experiment that turns him into a vampire. The priest must then resist his bloodlust as he falls in love with an old childhood friend.

 

The film won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2009 and debuted at number one at the South Korean box office upon its release. While not the capital-B biggest movie in the Korean New Wave, the film's buzz — supported by Park who was still floating internationally thanks to the popularity of Oldboy — kept Korean film popularity going into the 2010s.

 

5. I SAW THE DEVIL (2010)

 

Spoiler

 

A movie seemingly made for the Reddit crowd, Kim Jee-woon's gruesomely morbid thriller, I Saw the Devil, took the Korean New Wave into its darkest territory yet. Flipping the manhunt movie on its head, the movie stars Lee Byung-hun (by now known to Americans for his role as Storm Shadow in 2009's G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra) as a heroic NIS agent who pursues a serial killer (Choi Min-sik) for the murder of his fiancé.

What the movie does differently than other hunt movies, to unnerving effect, is a downward spiral journey revealing what, or who, is a real monster. Praised by Rolling Stone for "relentless nastiness" that's "hard to watch and even harder to turn off" and by Taste of Cinema as "a modern masterpiece of South Korean cinema," the film endures thanks to discussions on places like Reddit.

 

 

4. SNOWPIERCER (2013)

 

Spoiler

 

Bong Joon-ho went international with Snowpiercer, a Korean-Czech financed movie with a majority English-speaking script and cast all based on a French comic book. Fresh from The Avengers, Chris Evans fights for freedom as the leader of a revolution aboard a high-speed train that circles a frosted Earth — an apocalypse from an overcorrection of reversing climate change. Song Kang-ho, Tilda Swinton, Jamie Bell, Octavia Spencer, John Hurt, Go Ah-sung, Alison Pill, and Ed Harris also star.

A critical favorite when it was released in 2013, the film not only proved the international appeal of Korean cinema, but it also became a bonafide franchise. An American TV series will premiere on TNT in 2020.

 

 

3. TRAIN TO BUSAN (2016)

 

Spoiler

 

Like The Host before it, Yeon Sang-ho's Train to Busan takes another horror genre (this time zombies) and again explores the meaningful bond of a family and class warfare when a zombie outbreak occurs on a train to the second-most populous city in South Korea.

Amidst the decorations for the film, the biggest praise came from English director Edgar Wright, of the 2004 comedy Shaun of the Dead, who tweeted Train to Busan was the "best zombie movie I've seen in forever. A total crowd-pleaser. Highly recommend."

 

 

2. THE HANDMAIDEN (2016)

 

Another erotic thriller from Chan-wook Park, this adaptation of Fingersmith by Sarah Waters changes Victorian England to Korea, dominated by colonial Japan, and is notable for borderline "pornographic" sex scenes between two main female characters. The film made numerous critics' end-of-year top 10 lists and included a nomination for the Palme d'Or. Just halfway past the 2010s, movies like The Handmaiden proved Korean cinema was here to stay.

 

1. BURNING (2018)

 

Spoiler

 

Lee Chang-dong's Burning adapts Haruki Murakami's short story "Barn Burning" into a mystery drama that, according to The Atlantic, "rejects the glamorization of Asian wealth and the notion of a universal Asian identity."

With two opposing characters — one working-class native Korean and one "Americanized" wealthy Korean played by The Walking Dead's Steven Yeun — the film imbues suspense into another harrowing tale of class warfare.

 

 

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Published on June 26, 2017 by ARIRANG TV

 

Film critic from London and fan of Korean films, Jason Bechervaise

 

 

 

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March 21, 2020

 

Sports Chosun 30th Anniversary Survey

Bong Joon Ho X Song Kang Ho X Lee Byung Hun - the top 3 Korean movie power

 

Source: Sports Chosun (Google-translate)

 

Spoiler

 

Sports Chosun surveyed about 100 people, including broadcasters, movie producers, music affiliates, and experts, in conjunction of the 30th anniversary of the foundation, and collected opinions through the process of 'Movie, Power People in each field such as broadcasting and singing were selected.

In the fields of film, drama, and entertainment, 47 people from the film industry and 41 companies from the drama / entertainment category voted the top three people. [Reporter Jo Ji-young of Sports Chosun]

 

A new century of Korean cinema began over 100 years of history. Bong Joon Ho, actor Song Kang Ho, and Lee Byung Hun have been selected as the top 3 movie world power to lead the new 100 years of Korean cinema. Among them, Bong Joon Ho had became the 'Oscar Legend'. 

 

Power people who will lead the next 100 years of Korean cinema (a total of 47 reps & companies participated)

 

1. Bong Joog Ho (director) 39 (votes)

2. Song Kang Ho (actor) 10

3. Lee Byung Hun (actor) 8

4. Lee Byung Hun (director) 7

5. Kim Yong Hwa (Director) 5

5. Choi Dong Hoon (Director) 5

5. Lee Mi Kyung (producer) 5

8. Kim Tae Ri (actor) 4

8. Kim Bora (director) 4

10. Kang Hye Jung (producer) 3

10. Ma Dong Seok (actor) 3

10. Kwak Shin Ae (producer) 3

10. Park Jung Min (actor) 3

14. Park Chan Wook (director) 2

14. Jeon Do Yeon (actor) 2

14. Lee Ji Won (director) 2

14. Yoon Jong Bin (director) 2 

[Helena]

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/busan-festival-park-chan-wook-how-oldboy-shaped-his-career-1245800
Busan: Park Chan-Wook on How Blood-Splattered 'Oldboy' Shaped His Career

By Matthew Scott | October 7, 2019

 

Sylvain Lefevre/Getty Images | Park Chan-wook

The director attended a screening of his breakthrough thriller, which was chosen to help mark 100 years of Korean cinema.

South Korean director Park Chan-wook admits he still gets a bit nervous when he watches or even thinks about his breakthrough hit Oldboy.

 

“I have sometimes been scared by the reaction to this movie,” said Park during a discussion tied to a screening of the classic 2003 film at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), part of the festival’s celebration of 100 years of Korean cinema. "Like when men ask me to sign their hammers. But to be part of the program to celebrate 100 years is a great honor."

 

For many around the world, this piece of blood-splattered nasty-noir was a way in to Korean cinema, given the fact it won the Grand Prix at Cannes and was widely acclaimed at festivals everywhere.

 

It’s violent (hence the hammers), but it set the template for Korean thrillers as they started to reach out into the world, from the turn of the millennium right up to the current Oscar favorite Parasite. Bong Joon-ho’s dark social commentary, like Oldboy, sets its sights on society’s sicknesses and then explodes into those moments of ultra-violence.

 

After 16 years, it’s safe to say that Oldboy has lost none of its edge, nor its ability to make people squirm in their seats.

 

Revisiting Choi Min-sik as the thuggish Oh Dae-su, and watching him endure 15 years locked in a room for reasons he cannot comprehend, still unsettles as much as it transfixes. The interiors remain blood-red or crimson and still seem to drip down the screen. Then he’s released, and there’s the notorious scene with the live octopus. Then there’s the vengeance he wreaks. And then there’s the disturbing sexual premises, both Oedipal and incestual, that beat at this film’s dark heart.

 

Even Park says there are moments when he reflects on the monster he made.

 

“Looking back, I thought a lot of my films had portrayed violent masculinity,” said Park. “That’s why I made Sympathy for Lady Vengeance[in 2005]. About 90 percent of my fans up until then were men, and this really hit me hard when I met those hammer fans. That really made me look at my film universe. I wanted to have a balance in my audience, but it was really slanted to one side. I tried to change.”

 

The screening at BIFF was sold out, and there were audible squeals when the director made his way on stage for his Q&A session.

 

He fielded questions intently and soaked up the occasional nod to his talent, including praise from one young wannabe director who said he had driven all the way from Seoul, some 200 miles away, to find out what was behind Park’s fascination with the theme of vengeance.

 

“Everybody expects vengeance movies to have an empty sort of ending. This makes them unique,” said Park. “Vengeance is about the anger that follows when something is lost, but even if you get vengeance you cannot replace what is lost, so the feeling is empty. It’s nihilistic, but it is very human. I want to know why people are prepared to give up everything for this meaningless thing, vengeance. No other animal does that.”

 

Oldboy leaves its audience hanging, not knowing what the future holds for Oh Dae-su and the woman (Kang Hye-jung) he has bonded with. Park left the audience with a hint of what that was all about. 

 

“I leave Oh Dae-su with a conundrum,” Park said. “He loves her, but he also has to face the truth. Does he discard all of society’s taboos for love? I don’t think there would be a happy ending to this story if that was the case. He is a romantic, but this is tragic, and that’s what this film is: a romantic tragedy.”