Imagine yourself waking up in a nightmare, a nightmare that you can not escape; what would you do? Park Hong-min’s Alone traps his key character Su-min (Lee Ju-won) in the endless ephialtes which occur in silent, hovel and labyrinthine alleys. Su-min, an avid photographer, captures on his camera – while taking pictures from his apartment’s roof…
The 11th London Korean Film Festival: Breathing Underwater
On the gorgeous Korean islands of Jeju and Udo (and the surrounding islets of Jeju province), almost every day, over 4000 women risk their lives to challenge the sea in order to bring out its treasures – sea urchin, conch, algae, octopus, and the highly treasured abalone. They are called haenyo – sea women – and…
In Conversation with Cho Hyun-hoon, director of ‘Jane’
Cho Hyun-hoon’s professional voyage into filmmaking started when his short film Metamorphosis got invited to Busan Asian Short Film Festival in 2007. In 2013, another short film of his, The Mother’s Family, was invited to Indie Forum Mise-en-scene Short Film Festival; the short was relatively successful; it won the Acting Award during Busan International Short…
In Conversation with Park Hong-min, director of ‘Alone’
After his attention-pulling debut A Fish (2011), South Korean film director Park Hong-min returned in 2015 with his second feature Alone that wowed audiences both in Korea and abroad, winning several awards and making rounds on several global film festivals – it is no wonder that the director got invited as a guest to this year’s…
The Net (그물) Review
Kim Ki-duk. You either dislike him or admire him for his extraordinary – and every so often, repulsive – filmmaking. That said, no matter what subject matter he tackles, he always finds an appreciative audience. Despite his lack of formal education, he has become one of the most prominent film directors of modern cinema; and…
The 11th London Korean Film Festival: In Conversation with Jung Woo-sung & Kim Sung-soo
During this year’s London Korean Film Festival, we had a chance to meet and interview- along with MyM, Hangul Celluloid- Kim Sung-soo and Jung Woo-sung. Hangul Celluloid: You’re here promoting Asura: The City of Madness, your latest film, why did you decide to set it in a fictional city rather than in a normal Korean…
The 11th London Korean Film Festival: Inside Men
In the current global political climate, dirty politicians seem to be abound; some even appear to have strong underground connections, so it comes as no surprise that these topics wound themselves into films – in Korean cinema, it appears to be the filmmaker’s favourite topic of the year, along with Japanese occupation era films. Much…
The 11th London Korean Film Festival: Asura- The City of Madness
In Indian mythology, Asura is a god or a demon. Kim Sung-soo’s new production by no means reveals his film’s characters as gods; on the contrary, they are a group of nefarious people, including an unscrupulous detective Ha Do-kyung (Jung Woo-sung: A Moment to Remember, Cold Eyes) and covetous mayor Park Sun-bae (Hwang Jung-min: The Wailing, Veteran). Asura: The…
The 11th London Korean Film Festival: The Truth Beneath (Opening Night)
Lee Kyoung-mi’s The Truth Beneath, a superb dark thriller, was the Opening Night film at this year’s London Korean Film Festival. Co-written by Park Chan-wook, The Truth Beneath takes the audience on a terrifying journey through the dirty corners of the world of politics and through the personal pain of the protagonist, Yeon-hong (Son Ye-jin)….
The 1st London East Asia Film Festival: The World of Us
As we grow up and get busy pretending that we are fully-fledged adults, we sometimes forget the trials and losses and gains that helped us grow and shaped us while we were growing up. Childhood is the era in one’s life when friends have as much influence as family – or even more; and it…
The 1st London East Asia Film Festival: Spirits’ Homecoming
The subject of ‘comfort women’ has always been a complex and uncomfortable one for the Japanese government. 40 years after the Second World War ended, Japan finally acknowledged that the country forced many Korean women and teenagers into military brothels. Sadly, for some people and the ‘comfort women’ in particular, this wasn’t seen as sincere apology….
The 1st London East Asia Film Festival: Stoker
Stoker is the first English language film by Korean director Park Chan-Wook (Oldboy). The film, which merges horror and family drama, follows confused teenager India Stoker and fragile alcoholic mother Evie during the days following the death of India’s father. After the arrival of her mysterious uncle Charlie, a series of strange and violent events occur which leads both characters to become more and more unstable. As the…
The 1st London East Asia Film Festival: Tunnel
Hunger, thirst, anxiety, a struggle to save a man’s life and the craft of drinking urine are the highlights of Kim Seong-hun’s new film Tunnel. Previously known for his action-packed film Hard Day, the film director has decided to put his next protagonist in a collapsed tunnel, just to make his life more depressing. It all…
The 21st Busan International Film Festival: Jane
Jane – a film about Sohyun (Lee Min-ji), a runaway – is a 2016 feature debut from Cho Hyun-hoon. The director’s professional voyage into filmmaking started when his short film Metamorphosis got invited to Busan Asian Short Film Festival in 2007. In 2013, another short film of his, The Mother’s Family, was invited to Indie Forum Mise-en-scene…
VIEW OF THE ARTS 