Archive for August, 2015
A Korean Director to Know: Hong Sang-Soo and Korean Arthouse Film Posted by Tony Kitchen on Aug 8, 2015
The 54-year old Hong Sang-Soo (홍상수), a filmmaker for nearly 20 years, has taken Korean arthouse film–the trendy, day-to-day social life, chain-smoking conversations over soju–to a new level. His films have been highly regarded at international film festivals, including the Cannes Film Festival (considered to be the gold standard for independent film awards), where he…
Korean Movies: Beyond ‘Old Boy’ and off the Charted Path Posted by Tony Kitchen on Aug 6, 2015
Korean film is more than the modern classics like Old Boy (올드보이 2003), The Chaser (추격자 2008), and Taegukgi: The Brotherhood of War (태극기 휘날리며 2004). Those titles are internationally acclaimed Korean movies–quirky, disturbing, powerful. Film Festivals in Cannes, Venice, Berlin, among others, represent a steady stream of nominated Korean films from independent to large studios. (In a future post, I…