Salut jeunesse.
Bon j'ai une sacré chance puisque différents organismes coréens ont eu la bonne idée de préparer un festival dédié au ciné coréen, et ce pendant la période où je suis sur place. Je compte aller voir quelques unes des oeuvres proposées. Il m'est évidemment impossible d'assister à toutes les séances : argent et temps risquent de me faire défaut, mais je compte voir les films qui semblent le plus intéressants ou ayant de grande chances de débarquer en Europe (DVD ou Ciné). Je serai aussi sur place avec une amie coréenne donc mes brèves critiques ont des chances d'être plus objectif car j'aurai l'avis d'une personne vraiment concernée ^^
Je vous poste pour l'instant la liste des films proposés ainsi qu'une petite description (en anglais) et si vous avez déjà eu un feedback dessus ou si vous êtes interressés, laissez moi savoir, car je n'ai pas encore fait mon choix pour certains ^^
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Time
Sunday, May 13. 3 PM. FGA
Kim Ki-duk, Korean cinema's resident provocateur, returns with this over-the-top plastic surgery psychodrama. Jealous of her boyfriend's roving eye, a young woman convinces a surgeon to change her face so she can seduce her man as another woman entirely. While this proves her point, it creates myriad other problems as well. 2006, 96 min. Intended for mature audiences.
Between
Friday, May 18. 12 PM. NMNH
Lee Chang-jae's documentary-fiction hybrid looks at the five thousand-year-old tradition of Korean shamans, who serve as intermediaries between the living and the spirit world. In Lee's fascinating film, a young woman suffers an inexplicable paralysis and then learns she is destined to become a shaman, a calling for which she might not be prepared. 2006, 98 min.
Too Young to Die
Friday, May 18. 7 PM. FGA
In person: Park Jin-pyo
Praised in Cannes but banned in Korea, Park Jin-pyo's eye-opening film challenges common views of the elderly. Park Chi-gyu and Lee Soon-ye (who re-enact their own story) met and fell in love in their seventies, but they act like teenagers about it. The director shows every aspect of their relationship, including their sex lives, without being shocking or exploitive. Rather, Park offers a deeply sympathetic and moving look at love in old age. 2002, 67 min. Intended for mature audiences.
You Are My Sunshine
Sunday, May 20. 2 PM. FGA
In person: Park Jin-pyo
Melodrama has always been a staple of Korean cinema, but Park Jin-pyo's approach raises it to a new level. In this brilliantly acted, poignant love story, a naíve farmer falls for the tough city girl who works at the local coffee shop (which doubles as a prostitution business). She eventually returns his affections, but tragedy and scandal threaten to tear them apart. 2005, 122 min. Intended for mature audiences.
Sa-kwa
Saturday, May 26. 6 PM. AFI
Wednesday, May 30. 7 PM. AFI
By turns heartbreaking and humorous, Kang Ki-kwan's debut film features a powerhouse performance by the phenomenally gifted actress Moon So-ri. This subtle drama, with its shifting moods and acute observation of the dynamics of relationships, stars Moon as a woman who, after being dumped by her fiancé, marries another man-but did she make the right choice? 2005, 118 min.
A Dirty Carnival
Saturday, June 9. 9:30 PM. AFI
Sunday, June 10. 8:15 PM. AFI
A true gangland epic, Yoo Ha's sprawling film charts the dangerous trajectory of a tough-but-honest young hoodlum who struggles to balance his devotion to family and friends with his duty to treacherous gangsters. Full of great characters and exciting action scenes, this movie delivers the goods. 2006, 141 min. Intended for mature audiences.
The Grace Lee Project
Wednesday, June 13. 6:30 PM. NMWA
In this entertaining documentary, director Grace Lee tracks down dozens of women who share her name, and in the process she finds an astonishing range of fascinating and at times eccentric personalities. Underneath the humorous tone is a thoughtful consideration of the complexities of Korean-American identity. 2005, 68 min., video, English.
In Between Days
Wednesday, June 13. 8 PM. NMWA
An award winner at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals, So Yong Kim's first feature is a quiet yet emotionally intense film about a teenage Korean immigrant in Canada. Her shyness, and the demands of living in a strange new land, make it particularly difficult for her to tell her only friend that she has fallen in love with him. The more isolated she feels, the more she realizes she must look within herself for the answers to her problems. 2006, 82 min.
Murder, Take One
Tuesday, June 19. 9:30 PM. AFI
Thursday, June 21. 9:20 PM. AFI
A giddy mix of comedy, suspense, action, and drama, this film from director Jang Jin is a murder mystery with a twist. When a beautiful executive is found dead in a luxury hotel room, the police search for the killer, but it turns out the crime is much more than it seems. To make matters worse, their investigation is being broadcast as a reality television show. 2005, 115 min.
The President's Last Bang
Wednesday, June 20. 9:30 PM. AFI
Friday, June 22. 9:30 PM. AFI
Events surrounding the 1979 assassination of Korean president Park Chung-hee are recreated in this biting, bitter political satire that pulls no punches in its attack on corruption and cronyism in Park's repressive regime. Im Sang-soo's film is bold, thrilling, and full of pitch black humor. 2005, 102 min.
A Bittersweet Life
Tuesday, June 26. 9:20 PM. AFI
Thursday, June 28. 9:25 PM. AFI
Sleek and stylish, this gangland saga from director Kim Ji-woon delivers shootouts, vengeance, and betrayal, but it also offers more character depth and insight than the average crime flick. This story of an assassin who discovers his conscience just a bit too late is a prime example of Korean action movies at their best. 2005, 120 min. Intended for mature audiences.
