Lee Jung Jin 이정진

[willenette]

September 6, 2012


‘Pieta’ filled with bloody revenge





By Kwaak Je-yup

What can wash our sins away? In Kim Ki-duk’s “Pieta,” it is our own blood.

Having premiered at the Venice Film Festival and opened in selected theaters in Seoul this week, the latest work by Korean cinema’s enfant terrible may draw reference from Christian art’s depiction of the Virgin Mary cradling the dead body of Jesus but nobody in the film abides by the religious values. They go directly against them, in fact.

A debt collector goes around the dilapidated industrial area around Cheonggye Stream, downtown Seoul, to cripple the debtors for insurance money. The impoverished victims and their family members resort to suicide and vengeance. There is no room for pity or mercy. If Mary were to star in the film, she would go hang the sons of Jerusalem’s leaders and then kill herself to repent.

But Kim also puts motherly love at the center of this cesspit, showing how a ruthless loan shark can become a baby when a mother, or in this case, a mysterious visitor who claims to be her appears on the orphan’s doorstep.

The first half, which these two stories make up, is nearly flawless, helped by masterful direction, stunning cinematography and inspired acting. What mars the film is the theme of revenge, which dominates and keeps repeating itself in the second half, up until the end credits.

For the most part, Kim makes sure the film moves at a swift pace, never dragging even with the heavyweight subject. The frightening scenes inside the metal workshops, machines engorging body parts, as well as those at the sickly white apartment building of the protagonist are a visual feat. He may never show the truly bloody scenes but manages to insert very graphic images, those of body parts, meat and fish, to the audience.

Kim is helped by Cho Min-soo, who gives the performance of her lifetime and is deservedly considered a contender for the best actress prize in Venice. Her femme fatale is never exaggerated; neither is her vulnerable persona. Her only fault is the confession scene in the end, where she loses her inscrutability. This is, however, more due to the unrealistic lines written by Kim.

Meanwhile, her co-star Lee Jung-jin is barely adequate as the male lead Kang-do, which literally means a robber in Korean. With the inexplicable black eyeliner in his lashes, he curses like a sailor, but the lines never feel natural to his voice or facial expression. The brutal violence is more suitable, however.

The supporting cast members are universally magnificent; the choice was impeccable.

The ending, which this reporter will not spoil, is ultimately the film’s downfall. Predictable for a director with a thirst for blood, but it may have been better to end one scene earlier, producing a much more thought-provoking and ambiguous finale to this intense journey.

Instead, as it is now, “Pieta” just shows everyone as revenge-hungry monsters, driven by financially-strapped circumstances. Since his first interviews about this film, the director has openly called this work his critique of overly capitalistic modern society and its capacity to destroy civic virtues and humanity.

But by trying to achieve this goal, he ended the film on a perversely preachy note and robbed the audience of an opportunity to think about the beautifully complex.

That bloody sacrifice, however, did not save the movie, rather doing just the opposite.

“Pieta” is now showing in selected theaters. Rated 18 and over. Runs for 104 minutes. Distributed by Next Entertainment World (NEW).



credit : Korea Times

[Guest noknok]

September 5, 2012

Korean morality tale premieres at Venice film fest
The Korea Herald

South Korean director Kim Ki-duk brought his brand of excruciating emotion and troubling imagery to the Venice film festival Tuesday with his condemnation of extreme capitalism in “Pieta”.

The film revolves around a brutal loan shark played by Lee Jung-jin who prowls the back alleys and small workshops of a central area of Seoul that is quickly going out of business and being replaced by skyscrapers.

Kim said at a press conference that he had been inspired by Michelangelo‘s famous “Pieta” statue in the Vatican of a Virgin Mary holding the corpse of her son Jesus Christ as well as the fallout from the current economic crisis.


Actors Cho Min-soo, right, and Lee Jung-Jin arrive for the premiere of the movie 'Pieta' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP-Yonhap News)

 
Actor Lee Jung Jin poses for the photo call of the film ‘Pieta’ at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Tuesday. (AP-Yonhap News)


Director Kim Ki-duk signs autographs as he arrives for the premiere of the movie 'Pieta' at the 69th edition of the Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, Tuesday, Sept. 4, 2012. (AP-Yonhap News)

“I’ve been to the Vatican twice to admire this masterpiece by Michelangelo. The image of this embrace has stayed with me for many years. For me it is an embrace of humanity,” said the pony-tailed 51-year-old director.

“I feel that this movie in particular is a movie dedicated to humankind in a situation of a deep crisis in extreme capitalism,” he said.

“There are three protagonists. The two actors and the third one is money.”

Lee spoke of his apprehension when taking the part, saying: “I was a bit afraid because he works with darkness, with difficulty but it all went very well... I was not asked to play beautiful scenes but to play true scenes.”

Lee‘s character is often compared to an infernal creature by his victims and he enforces a grim Faustian pact -- hobbling the artisans who cannot pay their debts in order to cash in on the insurance they have been forced to take out.

One day a woman claiming to be his mother walks into his life and he tries to change his ways in an emotional crescendo until an ending in which audiences are left wondering whether there can ever be redemption for such a cruel man.

Kim has won awards at the Berlin and Venice film festivals and is known for shooting quickly and on low budgets. This is his 18th feature film.

“Pieta” is one of 18 movies vying for this year’s Golden Lion prize, which will be announced on Saturday. (AFP)

[Guest noknok]

via :http://www.zimbio.com/

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Strong Heart (12/09/04) part 1/2

http://www.dailymoti...h264-akk_webcam


Strong Heart (12/09/04) part 2/2

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[Guest noknok]

willenette said:

[PHOTO] Lee Jung-jin, Cho Min-soo, Kim Ki-duk arrive at Venice Film Festival for "Pieta"

Actress Cho Min-soo and actor Lee Jung-Jin attended the premiere of Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta" at the 69th Venice Film Festival opening in Venice, Italy, on September 4.

sheathed in figure-hugging black dress by Edward Shin's high-end couture brand Publicka Atelier, Cho strut the red carpet while throwing smiles to reporters and cameras at the scene.

Lee, meanwhile, chose Dolce & Gabbana for his red carpet look. He cut a dash at both the carpet and press conference, where he was joined by reporters from various Italian media outlets, according to distributor NEW's press release Wednesday.

"Going to the film festival is like taking a class at school for me. By going there I can share perspectives of directors from around the world. This could enhance film export opportunities and expand the environment [for productions]," Kim said at a press conference held in Seoul on August 29.

"Pieta" is Kim's 18th feature film and one of 18 movies competing for the Golden Lion prize.

Providing the director's insights into capitalism, the story centers around a merciless loan shark [Lee] who brutally uses violence to underprivileged members of the society working near the Cheonggye Stream, which used to be the center of Seoul's thriving economy between the 1970s and 90s.

After a woman, who claims to be his mother that left him after giving birth to him, steps into the man's life, the vicious and brutal man experience changes in his life.

This year's Golden Lion Prize will be announced on September 8.


Director Kim Ki-duk (left), actor Lee Jung-jin (second to left) and actress Cho Min-soo (right) pose at the 69th Venice Film Festival's red carpet in Venice, Italy, on September 4.


Director Kim Ki-duk (second to left), actress Cho Min-soo (second to right) and actor Lee Jung-jin (right) pose together at the 69th Venice Film Festival opening in Venice, Italy, on September 4.



credit : 10Asia

[willenette]

Hi nok, thanks for sharing all these news & photos related to his upcoming movie, "Pieta" - ]

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South Korean, US films tipped for Venice film prize


VENICE, Italy: South Korean director Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta" and US director Paul Thomas Anderson's "The Master" are tipped as the critics' favourites to win the coveted Golden Lion award on Saturday night.

The two are among the 18 movies in competition at the world's oldest film festival in Venice where stars, auteurs and industry honchos have been rubbing shoulders at the seaside for nearly two weeks of art house cinema.

The selection is "the best around," said festival director Alberto Barbera.

Among the other notable entries this year have been the poignant first feature by US-born Israeli director Rama Burshtein about a confused young girl coming of age in a tradition-bound Orthodox Hasidic community in Tel Aviv.

French director Olivier Assayas's tribute to idealistic youngsters in the early 1970s in "Apres mai" ("Something in the Air") has also been winning rave reviews, along with cult US director Terrence Malick's elegiac "To the wonder".

A major underlying theme of the festival this year has been the crisis of spirituality -- the heart of Austrian director Ulrich Seidl's entry "Paradies: Glaube" ("Paradise: Faith") which has also caused ripples at the fest.

Fans also crowded the festival area for "Spring Breakers" starring former Disney stars Selena Gomez and Vanessa Hudgens and for "Bad 25" -- a documentary by Spike Lee about the music of the late king of pop Michael Jackson.

But by pooling the judgment of 23 film critics, the daily bulletin at the festival "Venezia News" is giving "Pieta" as the favourite so far.

With a title inspired by the famous heart-wrenching statue by Michelangelo in the Vatican of the Virgin Mary holding the body of Jesus Christ, the bleak morality tale about a brutal loan shark has captured viewers' hearts.

Kim said his movie was "dedicated to humankind in a situation of a deep crisis in extreme capitalism," adding that for him there were three protagonists -- the loan shark, the woman claiming to be his mother and money.

Italian daily La Repubblica said "Pieta" was "the shock film" of the festival and had "conquered audiences with an avalanche of applause for this extreme story of characters torn between revenge and compassion."

The 51-year-old Kim is no stranger to Venice, where he won the Silver Lion award for best director in 2004 for "Bin-jip" ("3-iron"), but the low-budget filmmaker is still seen as a bit of an outsider in the Korean film industry.

The new movie by Oscar-winner Anderson -- the man behind "Boogie Nights" and "There Will Be Blood" -- is tipped to be a close second with a story inspired by the early days of Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard in the 1950s.

The charismatic leader is played by Philip Seymour Hoffman but the stand-out performance in this film is by Joaquin Phoenix as his troubled disciple.

An alcoholic World War II veteran, Phoenix's character becomes "guinea pig and protege" to Hoffman who has founded a movement called "The Cause".

"I think we're just trying to tell a love story about these guys," Anderson said. He added that the story was set in the post-war era when there was "a tremendous amount of hope but a lot of bodies in the background."

The discordant string music by musician and composer Jonny Greenwood -- best known as a member of the British rock band Radiohead -- and the minutely-studied period set details add value to this hypnotic work.

Phoenix is seen as a possible best actor award winner on Saturday along with Italy's Toni Servillo who plays the part of a Sicilian father crushed by fate in "E' stato il figlio" by Daniele Cipri about a family in crisis.

The best actress award is still seen as wide open at the festival, which organisers said has given women their rightful place in the cinema world by including 21 female directors out of the total of 52 films being shown.

The last word on the winners will of course be up to a nine-person jury presided this year by influential Hollywood director, screenwriter and producer Michael Mann, who has kept his preferences a closely guarded secret.

The award ceremony kicks off at 7:30pm (1730 GMT) on Saturday.


- AFP/al


credit : channelnewsasia

[willenette]

Kim Ki-duk's "Pieta" scores major deals with overseas distribution companies in Venice

Famed Korean director Kim Ki-duk's latest feature "Pieta" has caught the eyes of a number of distribution companies at the ongoing Venice Film Festival.

NEW said in a press release Friday that they have signed distribution rights of "Pieta" with 20 countries at the 69th Venice Film Festival in Venice, Italy, which kicked off on September 4.

The list of countries that will distribute "Pieta" includes the former USSR, the Baltic States, Norway, Turkey, Greece, Hong Kong, Italy and Germany.

Meanwhile, the distribution companies in Germany will premiere "Pieta" at this year’s Filmfest Hamburg on October 4, and Kim will receive the lifetime achievement award, Douglas-Sirk-Award, during the event.

Having received a standing ovation after its premiere at the Venice film fest, "Pieta," which opened locally on September 6, centers around a cruel loan shark gradually changing after running into a mysterious woman who claims to be his mother.



credit : 10Asia

[willenette]

From eccentric to darling of Venice

By Rachel Lee

While the world more readily acknowledged and embraced Kim Ki-duk as an auteur director, he has been received in a mixed fashion in Korea.

But with his 18th feature film “Pieta” having grabbed the Golden Lion Prize at the 69th Venice Film Festival, the 51-year-old Kim has reaffirmed his art to the world and the Korean public as a first-rate director who has won the top prize at three international film festivals of Venice, Cannes and Berlin.

His eccentricities include not owning a cell phone, dressing down in worn-out shoes or bare foot on the red carpet, and singing the Korean folk song “Arirang” after winning the Golden Lion. But “Pieta,” a morality tale about an enforcer for a loan shark and his supposed mother, found resonance in Venice.

“Capitalism is a major topic of concern everywhere in the world. I think the judges and audience felt strongly about immorality that has come from capitalism. The movie begins with cruelty and violence but it eventually moved them with scenes that purify the mind through inner forgiveness and salvation,” Kim said.





In “Pieta,” the level of explicit violence is toned down compared to previous films that earned him the epithet of being a notorious filmmaker, an intentional attempt Kim made to appeal to a larger audience.

The veteran director has been more engaging recently, appearing on a popular entertainment program in which he described himself as a “monster who grew up with an inferiority complex” due to underprivileged surroundings; he acquired his art through self-learning and only received a middle school education.

Born in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, Kim grew up in a difficult home environment. He had no other choice than to go to a local agricultural high school that was not officially recognized as an educational institution.

After graduating, the director attempted to acquire a lot of different skills by working in the Guro Industrial Complex and Cheonggye district in Seoul. He started to work in a factory located near the then covered stream at the age of 15 and also became a manual laborer in the worn-down industrial complex. This kind of workshop was starkly portrayed in “Pieta.”

He also worked as a street-portrait painter in Daehangno, Seoul, before he headed to France and worked as a street painter after serving two years of military duty.

During his time in France, the two movies, “The Silence of the Lambs” and “Les Amants du Pont Neuf,” altered the path of his whole life; he decided to become a film director. His directorial debut work “Crocodile” received sensational reviews with the tale of a man living on the edge of the Han River in Seoul who saves a woman trying to commit suicide.

“I always concentrate on respecting people and their lives and the meaning within their lives, and I believe that is something people around the world can appreciate,” Kim was quoted as saying by AFP on Saturday.

(skipped unrelated...)


credit : Korea Times

[willenette]

[CHART] Weekend Box Office: September 7-9

credit : 10Asia

[Guest noknok]

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(credit : Iris Lee) Lee Jung Jin facebook fanpage
My friend translated what they said in the end:
September 4, 2012, perhaps a vision is not enough to rate the films of Kim Ki Duk, Pieta.
Beautiful is beautiful, shot and masterfully interpreted, but it is so strong,
so bloody that must be settled. Here the applause received by the director
and the actors in the Great Hall in Venice, the first projection with the public.
The tickets were sold out.

[Guest noknok]

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69th Venice Film Festival - Pietà by Kim Ki-duk

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[willenette]

noknok said:

-----
(credit : Iris Lee) Lee Jung Jin facebook fanpage
My friend translated what they said in the end:
September 4, 2012, perhaps a vision is not enough to rate the films of Kim Ki Duk, Pieta.
Beautiful is beautiful, shot and masterfully interpreted, but it is so strong,
so bloody that must be settled. Here the applause received by the director
and the actors in the Great Hall in Venice, the first projection with the public.
The tickets were sold out.

[willenette]

September 13, 2012


'Pieta' to compete for Oscar's best foreign film award


SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Yonhap) -- "Pieta," winner of the best film award at this year's Venice International Film Festival, will be submitted to the Foreign Language Film section of the Academy Awards to represent Korean cinema, a government commission said Thursday.

   The Korean Film Commission said the new film by director Kim Ki-duk was chosen with a unanimous decision by its jury members to be an entry to the 85th Academy Awards set for February.





Four other competitors were "The Taste of Money" (2012) by director Lim Sang-soo, "In Another Country" (2011) by director Hong Sang-soo, "Nameless Gangsters" (2012) by director Yoon Jong-bin and "Gwanghae: the Man Who Became the King" (2012) by director Choo Chang-min.

   Several South Korean films have been up for the Best Foreign Language Film award in recent years but none was formally nominated.

   The film commission explained that "Pieta" is based on South Korean reality but carries a universal message that extreme greed and poverty can destroy families and other human relationships.

   Meanwhile, the movie had drawn 170,000 moviegoers as of Wednesday, boosted by the winning of the Venice prize.

   sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)


credit : Yonhap News

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Via : nate

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The ‘Golden Lion‘ (Leone d’Oro) Award

12 Sep 2012





'Pieta' the Golden Lion award celebrations
Taken at 서울 웨스틴조선호텔 The Westin Chosun Seoul
13 Sep 2012

[Guest noknok]

Strong Heart (SBS) E144-145
Lee Jung Jin, Cho Min Soo and Kim Ki Duk from "PIETA"


VOD link : http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x28frp_yamila2505_strong-heart-pieta/1#video=xtbhif

[Guest noknok]

Playlist  : "Pieta" news , Teaser ,Interview

Link : http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x25qzq_yamila2505_lee-jung-jin-pieta/1#video=xthsal

[willenette]

noknok said:

Via : nate

[willenette]

Now showing

Pieta





An evil man (Lee Jeong-jin) was raised as an orphan and works for a violent loan shark. With the appearance of a mysterious woman (Cho Min-soo) claiming to be his mother, cruel secrets about their relationship are disclosed. Directed by Kim Ki-duk. Runs 104 minutes. In Korean.


Like Stars on Earth

A young boy, Ishaan (Darsheel Safary), is sent away to a boarding school to deal with his hyperactive imagination. The boy is ignored and underestimated until a new teacher (Aamir Khan) patiently finds the real problem. Directed by Aamir Khan. Runs 163 minutes. In English with Korean subtitles.

Resident Evil: Retribution

Alice (Mila Jovovich) lives an ordinary life until she finds out that all her memories are implanted. Alice is called again, as the human race is put to danger due to deadly T-virus that creates the undead. Directed by Paul W.S Anderson. Runs 95 minutes. In English with Korean subtitles.

Project 577

“Project 577” is a documentary instigated after an accidental comment Ha Jeong-woo made at an awards ceremony led him to walk the length of the country. Kong Hyo-jin, also a famous actress, joined him on the trek that covered 577 kilometers in 20 days. Directed by Yi Keun-woo. Runs 99 minutes. Rated 15 and over. In Korean.

The Bourne Legacy

In the fourth installment of the Bourne series, “The Bourne Legacy,” another special agent (Jeremy Renner) is chased by the same agency that created Jason Bourne. Directed by Tony Gilroy. Runs 135 minutes. Rated 15 and over. In English with Korean subtitles.

The Ugly Duckling

Nak-man (Kim Joon-goo), 23, joins the military as a “yook-bang” or six-month duty guard due to family difficulties. His main task in the army is to work as a hairdresser. Directed by Kwak Gyeong-taek. Runs 95 minutes. Rated 15 and over. In Korean.

Pina

The 3D dance film features a great German choreographer who left the world in 2009, Pina Bausch. Experience a journey into dance, theater, and life surrounding Wuppertal, home of Pina’s troupe. Directed by Wim Wenders. Runs 104 minutes. All Ages.


credit : Korea Times

[Guest noknok]

Dear willenette I found Strong Heart (Sub Eng) E144. hope you enjoy it.

link : [eng sub] Strong Heart E 144 (online)
via : daebaksubs.com


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