Ryu Seong-hie is a Korean Film Production Designer whose creativity and passion for film has no limits. She made a name for herself in 2001, when she gave a helping hand on Song Il-gon’s film Flower Island. The film was later presented with 7 awards, including CinemAvvenire’s award for Best First Film at the Venice Film…
Category: Asian Cinema
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: Cold Eyes Review
“A slick and clever thriller, with dynamic pacing, strong lensing and a particularly strong use of space” – Pierce Conran, TWITCH Cold Eyes (2013) by Jo Ui-seok and Kim Byung-seo, will grab you by the throat from the very first minute you see Jung Woo-sung (The Divine Move) on the big screen. It is common…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: Han Gong- ju Review
In 2004, Korea was shocked by one of the country’s most horrific crimes of the 20th century, when three middle school and two high school girls were kidnapped from the city of Miryang and gang raped by more than 40 male pupils. This infuriating event, unfortunately, was only the beginning of the girls’ struggle…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: A Hard Day Review
A Hard Day is an action- packed movie by Kim Seong- hun, which puts protagonist detective Go Geon- soo (Lee Sun-Kyun) in a tricky situation from the very first scene. Forced to skip his mother’s funeral he rushes to attend an important matter at the police station. Unfortunately, before reaching the destination, he is…
The 9th London Korean Film Festival: Pieta Review
Recently Asian films, South Korean ones in particular, have been overflowing the British film market. Having said that, there’s one remarkable director, whose specific directorial style, often criticized for the excessive brutality and misogyny, drew my attention and it always will, his name is Kim Ki-duk. The first time I came across Kim Ki-duk’s…
The 58th BFI London Film Festival: The World of Kanako Review
“Why is everyone so obsessed with Kanako?” One character asks under duress to Kanako’s latest victim, Boku, who is desperately seeking the truth about her. Where she is? Why she is? How she is? What is she? Kanako. Kanako. Ka-na-ko. Perhaps it’s fitting then, that The World of Kanako is all about its eponymous character…
The 58th BFI London Film Festival: Hill of Freedom Review
For a film that was selected for the laugh category at this year’s BFI London Film Festival, the least you’d expect is Hill of Freedom to be funny. Instead Hong Sang-soo’s film is poorly paced with little acting or directorial merit to speak of. The film follows Mori, a Japanese man searching for his…
The 22nd Raindance Film Festival: The Horses of Fukushima
On March 11th 2011 a powerful earthquake struck Japan. As a result, a giant tsunami devastated the North-East coast, where over 18,000 people lost their lives. Sadly the seismic sea wave caused horrific damage to the Fukushima nuclear reactor as well. In May 2011, it was confirmed that a serious leak was detected in one…
Japanese Animation Spotlight: Hal
Hal, Wit Studio’s first public project, is a clever and elegant depiction of grief, the nature of relationships, and the catharsis in moving on. Set in a technologically advanced and yet anachronistic society, the film briefly introduces the audience to robot Q01 before we learn of an unexpected death that separates the titular character, Hal,…
In Conversation with Yoon Seok- ho
Yoon Seok-ho is a South Korean television director, whose status was solidified with the success of the TV dramas Autumn in My Heart in 2000 and Winter Sonata in 2002, which are both considered pioneers in Korean melodramatic series, launching the fever that is commonly referred to as the Korean Wave. For years Yoon Seok-…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 