[Movie 2002] Addiction / Addicted 중독

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October 15, 2016

[Guest Film Review] "Addicted"

Source: Hancinema.net

The 00's decade signaled a trend where romantic films were injected with supernatural and/or mystery elements, in order to stand out from the plethora of entries in the category. "Ditto" and "Il Mare" are two distinct samples, as is the case with "Addicted".

Two brothers, race-driver Dae-jin and carpenter Ho-jin live happily in the same house along with the wife of the latter, Eun-soo. One day, both siblings get into traffic accidents at the same time, although in different incidents. They end up in coma. Dae-jin wakes up a year later, believing he is Ho-jin, to the point of having the same feelings for Eun-soo, even considering her, his wife. Eun-soo has to face both his feelings and the sense of loss for her husband.

Park Yeong-hoon directs retains quite a slow pace, preparing, in essence, the spectator for the shocking finale. This pace becomes a bit tiring, at times, especially when compared to contemporary films, but, actually, fits the development of the story quite nicely. The rhythm, along with the overall, dark atmosphere implemented by Kim Byeong-il's cinematography, are the ones responsible for the film not being another romantic flick.

Park focuses much on the interaction between the two protagonists, although Eun-soo's dilemma and general feelings have a more central place in the film than Dae-jin's. This tactic benefits the most by the fact that Lee Byung-hun and Lee Mi-yeon have great chemistry with each other, since they have also cooperated in the past in similar roles ("The Harmonium in my Memories"). The fact that they are both gorgeous also helps, in this aspect.

Lee Byung-hun portrays, quite well, a complicated, enigmatic character, exemplifying the fact that Eun-soo, and consequently, the spectator, cannot understand what he is thinking. Lee Mi-yeon is great in her role, as she is quite persuasive as both a happy wife, and a sad, confused woman. The award she received from Grand Bell was well justified. Furthermore, both the performances are in perfect harmony with the pace and the general aesthetics of the film.

"Addicted" is a film that stands apart due to its direction, script, and acting, and subsequently, on a higher level than most of the entries in the genre. 

Review by Panos Kotzathanasis

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March 6, 2018

 

Universal Storytelling
A Look at Foreign Remakes of Korean Films
 

by Christopher Weatherspoon / KoBiz

 

The Korean film industry has grown enormously. According to Korean Film Council (KOFIC)’s 2017 Korean Film Industry Report, last year, local theaters sold nearly 220 million tickets, once again making South Korea one of the countries with the highest per capita theater attendance in the world. Unfortunately, this also means that the Korean market has reached a saturation point where further growth could prove difficult. This conundrum has forced the Korean industry to set their sights on international expansion as they search for more audiences to consume their content. 

 

These days, in addition to the export of completed Korean films, the licensing of Korean intellectual property for foreign remakes has also become popular. Of course foreign remakes are nothing new for the Korean film industry. Since the turn of the millennium, international producers have attempted to remake popular Korean films for local audiences, with varying degrees of success. However, over the past 20 years things have changed. The Korean film industry has now grown to become one of the world’s most creative and profitable, and now carries the capital, marketing know-how and most importantly soft-power, to produce localized remakes of Korean films that can compete at the international level. 

The modernization of the Korean film industry in the late 1990s coincided with a time when Hollywood began to adapt Asian genre films for American audiences. The success of the American remakes of Ju-on: The Grudge (2002) and The Ring (1998) encouraged Hollywood producers to seek out more international intellectual properties to exploit for American audiences. However, early adaptations of South Korean films saw limited success in the United States. In 2008, the American remake of KIM Sung-ho’s 2003 horror film Into the Mirror went on to earn a respectable USD 77.5 million worldwide against a reported budget of USD 35 million. Helmed by French horror director Alexandre Aja, the film, which starred Kiefer Sutherland, deviated in plot from the original Korean version and received less than stellar reviews.
 

Roy LEE, one of the Hollywood producers responsible for introducing The Ring to American audiences, would try his hand at several American remakes of Korean films. First was the romantic drama The Lakehouse (2006), which was a remake of LEE Hyeon-seung’s classic time-hop love story Il Mare (2000). The film, which reunited Speed (1994) co-stars Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reeves, earned a healthy USD 115 million at the international box office. Next, Roy LEE and his team produced a western remake of KWAK Jae-yong’s 2001 hit romantic comedy My Sassy Girl. However, the American version failed to acquire theatrical distribution and was released direct-to-DVD. LEE made three more attempts at releasing western remakes of Korean films which included Possession (2008), a remake of PARK Young-hoon’s Addicted (2002), The Uninvited (2009), a remake of KIM Jee-woon’s A Tale of Two Sisters (2003) and Old Boy (2003), Spike Lee’s remake of PARK Chan-wook’s classic neo-noir film of the same name. Though The Uninvited saw some financial success, none of the films achieved critical acclaim. 

 

Full article HERE