Ma Dong-seok is unstoppable. In 2018, the actor starred in a record-breaking five films: Champion, Along With The Gods: The Last 49 Days, The Soul-Mate, The Villagers and Unstoppable, and it seems that he is keeping himself just as busy in 2019. His final work of 2018, the action thriller Unstoppable, directed by Kim Min-ho, screened…
Category: Foreign Films
21st Udine Far East Film Festival: The Great Battle Review
The history of Korea has been a constant struggle of forces who either conquered or tried to conquer its lands. One such turbulent event was the attack on the Ansi Fortress in 645AD, recently depicted in Kim Kwang-sik’s The Great Battle, an ultra-patriotic tale of survival and sacrifice. Photo © Next Entertainment World Emperor of the…
21st Udine Far East Film Festival: Birthday Review
In the early hours of the morning on April 16th 2014, followed by heart-wrenching days of rescue, the hearts of the South Korean nation broke as one as the ferry MV Sewol sank and claimed the lives of 304 passengers and crew members. The tragedy was made worse as 250 of the victims were juniors…
Netflix’s Kingdom Review
Where does the fascination with the undead come from? Is it the love of horror, the repellent zombies’ behaviour or the taste of adrenaline-filled adventure? Hard to say, as the zombie-loving audience varies as much as the character of zombies themselves. Zombies have been present in cinema for quite some time, but they only found…
69th Berlin Film Festival: Hellhole Review
Hellhole, Bas Devos’ second feature, is a draining and frank look at the trauma inflicted upon Brussels residents following the March 2016 bombings. It delivers an episodic and fragmented depiction of a hollow, sceptical and disconnected city – filled with individuals struggling in their own way with grief and isolation. Hellhole follows the story of…
69th Berlin Film Festival: In Conversation with Matija Strniša, a Film Music Composer
The competitive Generation 14plus section of this year’s Berlinale featured international gems with a focus on young adult themes, and the Grand Prix Award for Best Film was awarded to Kim Bora‘s House of Hummingbird, which finally got its European premiere after wowing the audience with its world premiere at the 2018 Busan International Film…
69th Berlin Film Festival: A Colony Review
‘If you were in the wild, you’d be eaten!’ is a line spat at pre-teen Mylia by her younger sister, Camille, referring to Mylia’s meek and unopinionated existence. Geneviève Dulude-De Celles’ latest piece A Colony is a thoughtful and perceptive look into teenage anxiety and how, in high school, invisibility and diffidence can be a…
In Conversation with Steven Yeun of ‘Burning’
Steven Yeun greets me with a big smile and a warm handshake as we meet at the Mayfair hotel in London on a cold October morning. We sit down and chat about what it means to be a Korean-American, his latest production Burning, and working with Lee Chang-dong. Born in Seoul, South Korea and raised…
Fauve Review
Kicking off with an orchestra of cicadas, chirping birds, and the sound of rocks crunching under worn-out trainers, Fauve sets itself up as an ode to the rural and nostalgic. Two troublemaker preteen boys Benjamin (Alexandre Perreault) and Tyler (Félix Grenier), are roaming around an abandoned railway track; locking each other in deserted train carriages,…
Rodrigo Sorogoyen’s Madre Review
The significance of being a mother is practically endless. A mother is a selfless, protective and loving human: to those women who are mothers, it might be the hardest yet the most rewarding job of all. Motherhood also comes with fear and anxiety when it comes to a child’s safety, and one can only pray…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 