The Host (2006) NYAFF 2022

A family desperately tries to locate one of their members who was carried off by a giant mutant monster.

Oscar Winner Bong Joon Ho's THE HOST returns to Lincoln Center as part of the New York Asian Film Festival. It originally played as part of the New York Film Festival in 2006. That's when I saw it originally, where the screening burned into my brain as one of the great times at that festival.

When the film played in 2006 most people had no idea who Bong Joon Ho was. Sure some people did, but many people at the screening didn't. More importantly a lot of people there had no idea what they were seeing. They weren't expecting a giant monster movie with a wicked sense of humor. As much as I was enjoying watching the film, there was a point where I kind of stopped watching the film and started watching  the audience- the people freaking out at the scary points, the blue hairs  talking to each other, desperately trying to sort out what it all meant. I remember shaking my head and cursing that the director wasn't there that day because, frankly it would have been a hell of a Q&A.

Now the film is legendary.  Its a classic giant monster film. And if you've never seen it- you must. The film is just a great deal of fun on every level. It's also influenced generations of filmmakers and film lovers.

I can't recommend it.

Just go.

Moon In The Hidden Woods (2019) Fantasia 2019

In a world where the moon has gone missing a princess who is the heir to a great power flees the castle into the city where she meets a young musician who rescues her from her pursuers and takes her back to his village. Pursued by the creepy older guy who wants to marry her so an evil force can take over the world conflict soon occurs.

Visually impressive but narratively  unremarkable (hence the bland telling) MOON IN THE HIDDEN WOODS will delight you with all the cool visuals and small details, while making you wish the filmmakers had been as creative with their story as the visuals.

I loved att the strange creatures that wander through the film. I also really loved the sense of place the world creates. All of the differing locations feel well thought out. Everything integrates and makes sense both together and separately. That may not sound like much but most films have cool things that make no sense when put together. 

The Korean folktale vibe is also really well done. While I suspect it could be argued that the folktale basis of things is the reason for the story's twists and turns, I don't think the slow middle section is the fault of basing the film on the structure. Indeed the fact the film begins and ends like gangbusters gives and indication of what the film could have been had it not wanted to stall and show so much of village life. Because the film slows down we can use the folktale plotting to work out how this is going to go and it takes an edge off the excitement.

Regardless the film looks great and when the film is firing on all cylinders it can't be beat. Recommended for those who love cool animated worlds.

Money (2019) Fantasia 2019

Super little thriller played around the US earlier this year and now is playing at Fantasia concerns a young stockbroker who make a deal with a shadowy source called The Ticket for tips. When the regulators come calling The Ticket decides to close up shop and take care of loose ends.

Beautifully acted by some of the best actors in Korea MONEY is a smart little film that grabs you and drags you along. The cast works perfectly with the script so that the technical talk never over whelms the drama. We are invested in what is happening.

How good is MONEY? The fact that the film is being picked up by festivals like Fantasia and NYAFF even after it's run earlier this year is a good indication of a fan base that wants to have this film get the recognition it deserves. I couldn't agree more.

Highly recommended.

Nate Hood on Burning (2018) NYFF2018

The characters in Haruki Murakami stories are some of the most reactive in the modern literary canon—they spend much of their time puttering around until inadvertently encountering something (or someone) strange or otherworldly which challenges the nature of reality. His books and stories can require incredible patience, not just for their intimidating length, but for their leisurely pace.

In that light, it’s almost a cosmic punchline that Lee Chang-dong’s Burning, an adaptation of Murakami’s short story “Barn Burning,” would stretch six pages of source material into almost two-and-a-half hours of runtime. Burning might be the best cinematic adaptation of Murakami yet, if not in terms of actual quality, then in fidelity to his work’s texture, mood, and pacing: in addition to nailing the superficial reoccurring details of his work (e.g. explicit, nonchalant sexuality; kitty cats!), it captures his trademark existential anxieties (e.g. the impossibility for alienated young people to truly fit into the collectivist societies of Southeast Asia; kitty cats!).

A slow-burn thriller if ever there was one, the film follows disaffected twentysomething farmer Jong-su (Yoo Ah-in) as he falls in love with old childhood friend Hae-mi (Jeon Jong-seo) after accidentally running into her. His feelings are tested after Hae-mi, an impulsive free spirit in the mould of so many of Murakami’s female love interests, traipses off to Africa for a vacation and meets Ben (Steven Yeun), a rich playboy with an unusual hobby involving fire. After Hae-mi mysteriously disappears, Jong-su begins a fateful—and potentially fatal—private investigation to find her.

There’s maybe only an hour of plot in Burning; the rest is either filler or sequences stretched to interminable length for the sake of interminable length. Much like Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, the 2016 NYFF cause célèbre, it could easily lose an hour of irrelevant subplots and sequences of characters literally wandering throughout the countryside. The film’s point is to create intense ambiguity—but certainly this can be done in a tight hundred minutes.

Are Lee’s methods here faithful to Murakami? Yes. Do they translate to a good movie? Maybe. Austere, brilliantly acted, and punctuated with flashes of genius (a sequence where a stoned Jeon dances topless in front of a sunset is one of the most beautiful and hypnotic of 2018) one’s appreciation for Burning will depend on one’s patience for tedium.

Rating: 7/10

GONJIAM HAUNTED ASYLUM (2018) Fantasia 2018

This is a repost of Joe Bendel's review from when the film played Los Angeles earlier this year.

Technically, it is not fake news. CNN Travel called this abandoned Korean mental hospital one of the “7 freakiest places on Earth,” but they never explicitly claimed it is actually haunted (notable for Korean film fans, Battleship Island also made the list). There is no question the place is creepy, so it rather makes sense for a paranormal investigating web series to film an episode there. Horror fans know they are probably filming their final show in Jung Bum-sik’s Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum (trailer here), which plays Fantasia today.

The title pretty much says it all: Gonjiam is an asylum that is haunted—especially room 402. Reportedly, people have died trying to open this mysterious locked chamber. Naturally, that is what the producer of Horror Times has planned for their ill-conceived grand finale. Determined to reach one million viewers, the Horror Times boys have a couple of planned scares to throw at their four “lucky guests” chosen from a pool of fans. Not surprisingly, they selected three cute girls and a socially awkward guy. However, the two on-camera hosts will be screaming like little babies when things get real.

Basically, Gonjiam does exactly what the original Grave Encounters and Hollow Grove did, but somehow it is even eerier in Korean. Jung and co-writer Park Sang-min also manage to flesh out the characters to a greater extent than you see in most found footage horror films, at least with respect to their fan-guests (whereas the Horror Times crew are just bad karma-generating jerks). Moon Ye-won and Oh Ah-yeon are particularly notable as the rich, hip, and terrified Charlotte and the naïve but comparatively grounded Ah-yeon, respectively.

Jung skillfully builds the tension with small but unsettling bits of business, like doors ominously opening and candles extinguishing themselves. He also exploits the absolutely terrifying setting for all its worth (it is hard to believe the real Gonjiam was operational until 1996, because the movie analog looks like it has been moldering since the 1960s). As in franchising, location is often everything for horror films—and this one is profoundly malevolent looking.

So yes, this is another haunted asylum movie, just like the subtitle promises. Jung delivers on it. If you haven’t seen Grave Encounter, you will probably find Gonjiam a wildly chilling ride, but more experience may very well find themselves investing in spite of themselves, thanks to Moon and Oh. Recommended for K-horror fans due to some skillful direction and evocative set and prop design,

What a Man Wants (2018) Fantasia 2018

This is a Korean movie, so even though it starts out like a Blake Edwards sex farce, there will be some tragedy eventually. Men are indeed acting badly, but they are not the only ones in Lee Byeong-hun’s What a Man Wants, which screens during Fantasia 2018.

Seok-geun constantly cheats on his patient and lovely wife Dam-deok, because he is a cad. Ironically, he often tricks his straight-laced brother-in-law Bong-soo into covering for him. A lot of people would give him a pass if he had some side action, because Seok-geun’s sister Mi-young can be a you-know-what-buster. One fateful night, Bong-soo naively shows up for the pool game that was supposed to serve as Seok-geun’s alibi and inadvertently steals away the attention of his new prospective lady friend, Je-ni. Seok-geun had been daring him to have an affair of his own, so he finally gives into temptation.

Not long after the affair begins, Bong-soo’s professional standing as a chef-restauranteur dramatically improves. Alas, tragedy also strikes the family. As a result of these combined events, Bong-soo and Seok-geun effectively trade places. However, when Mi-young hires Je-ni as a waitress in the restaurant, things revert back to a farcical level.

There is a fair amount of door-slamming in WAMW, but there is also a good deal of guilt and grief. When it loses a character, the repercussions are felt all the way through to the end. Still, there is plenty of physical comedy, mostly executed without excessive mugging.


Most of that sneaking around and hiding under tables falls to Shin Ha-kyun, who is quite nimble and rather poker-faced as Bong-soo. Initially. Lee Sung-min plays Seok-geun as a roguish shaggy dog, almost like a Korean Jim Belushi, but he gets surprisingly serious during the third act. In fact, it is a rather smoothly and subtly evolving performance. Yet, the biggest surprise might be Lee El, who elevates Je-ni beyond a mere sex status, giving her complicated depth and dimension, very much in the tradition of Dada Chan.

Nobody gets off easily in WAMW, but Lee and co-screenwriters Jang Gyu-sung Bae Se-young do not hold grudges against anyone either. You might have missed the connection, but their screenplay is based on the 2011 Czech film Men in Hope, yet they definitely incorporate distinctly Korean attitudes. They also capitalize on the temperate and inviting Jeju Island locales. A nice balance of funny and sad, What a Man Wants screens today as part of Fantasia 2018

The Outlaws (2018) Fantasia 2018

THE OUTLAWS is truly great. To be certain it doesn’t break any new ground, but god damn it kicks ass and takes names- and ultimately is so good it won several awards.

The film is the story of a seasoned cop who knows everyone and knows how to bend the rules taking on the exploding Chinese gangs who are running rough shod over the city. Given a short time to break them he goes at it with great skill.

Awarding winning film hits all the right buttons and is an absolute delight. Great characters, tense plot, super action and pithy dialog mix for one hell of a ride. I completely understand why this was a critical darling it takes a plot we've all seen a thousand times before and makes it absolutely new even though it isn't- and you don't care. Actually you just want to get back on the train and for a second and third ride. (No, it is that freaking good)

I don’t have much to say beyond that. Frankly other than saying I want a copy of this film in my collection so I can pull it out now and again, there is nothing left to say other than track it down and see it.

THE FORTRESS (2017) Fantasia 2018

It was a lot like a Korean Valley Forge when King Injo retreated to the Namhansanseong mountain fortress during the winter of 1636, but it did not end so well for the Joseon Kingdom. They were indeed times that tried men souls, but they were made exponentially worse by the corruption and arrogant sense of entitlement held by senior members of the royal court. At least that is the revisionist perspective offered by Hwang Dong-hyuk’s The Fortress (trailer here), which plays at Fantasia today and August 2nd

History has not been kind to King Injo, for good reason. Even during the early days of the encampment, Kim Sang-hun finds himself cleaning up resentments caused by the court’s stingy, high-handed behavior. Morale will only continue to plummet as hunger and record low temperatures take its toll on the beleaguered troops.

Strategically, Kim is diametrically opposed to the peace overtures reluctantly advocated by Choi Myung-kil, a senior official who has few friends at court, yet still enjoys the King’s confidence. Nevertheless, the two foes often find themselves allied together, arguing for better conditions for the King’s soldiers, over their colleagues’ petty objections. Having seen the enemy camp, Choi knows they are badly outnumbered. News of the impending arrival of Nurhaci, the Qing Khan himself further raises the stakes. However, Kim’s desperate plan to save the kingdom has a puncher’s chance of working, but he will only trust Seo Nal-soi, a common-born blacksmith pressed into army service, as his messenger.

It is hard to believe this gritty, downbeat adaptation of Kim Hoon’s historical novel came from Hwang, the man who brought the world the Miss Granny franchise. This is a cynically class-conscious film that explicitly argues the dithering king and his nonproductive court of leeches only have themselves to blame for their spectacular humiliation. Yet, apparently, there is a robust domestic market for such sentiments, because The Fortress set new attendance records for the Chuseok (“Korean Thanksgiving”) holiday.

It is also a bit surprising to find international action superstar Lee Byung-hun playing the peacenik Choi. However, he is certainly an intriguing character, who is resigned to his anticipated infamy, if it secures the King’s survival. Lee projects the necessary graveness and gravity, but he still can’t compete with the steely gravitas of Kim Yoon-seok’s Kim Sang-hun, looking at least ten years older than the thesp really is—and they are a hard ten years.

Hwang stages some impressive battle scenes that viewers have to admire, even though he telegraphs the bitter end from the earliest stages. As result, Fortress has the vibe of high classical tragedy, with every short-sighted decision bringing King Injo closer to his downfall. The atmosphere of stately woe is further enhanced by the score penned by the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto (The Revenant, The Last Emperor, etc.). It is an impressive film in nearly every respect, but the maddening inevitability of it all will have viewer pulling out their hair, which is probably exactly what Hwang was going for. Recommended for fans of historical epics.

The Vanished (2018) Fantasia 2018

THE VANISHED is a twisty turny supernatural tinged crime thriller about a dead body that gets up from the slab in the morgue and walks off. This sets in motion a police investigation…and to say more might be telling.

The less you know the better this is going to play. I say this because in reading on the film in the Fantasia material I read comparisons to various classic thrillers (I won’t say which ones) which kind of took the edge off the WTF nature of some of the twists. Knowing too much made this slightly less thrilling. I should also point out that the film is a remake of a Spanish film called THE BODY so if you saw that film you may know what to expect here. (Not having seen the earlier film I don’t know how they compare).

I will say that is an expertly made film. Everything about it is as good as it gets. I love that the pithy dialog is delivered by an expert cast. I also love the look of the film. There are numerous shots and sequences that not only added emotion to the proceedings but delighted my inner film geek (the underwater shot where the red lighting looks like blood may be one of my favorite shots of all time).

Simply put VANISHED is a great little thriller and worth a look.

Satan's Slaves Fantasia 2018

It could be the Indonesian Hereditary—and it’s a remake, so there really isn’t much new under the sun. That doesn’t mean it isn’t scary as Hell though. After three years of bedridden decline, Rini Suwono’s mother is finally gone. Or is she? She was always difficult, but she takes it to all new heights (or lows) when she starts haunting her family. It seems to be all part of her satanic death cult’s plan in Joko Anwar’s Satan’s Slaves  which screens during this year’s Fantasia.

Mawarni Suwono was once a popular local folk singer, whose eerie ballads had a vibe not unlike the string-heavy Judy Collins’ rendition of “Both Sides Now” that happens to play over Hereditary’s closing credits. Of course, her old records label just throws crumbs to her family, so they are in rather desperate financial straits. In fact, the nameless father will leave looking for work shortly after the funeral.

As a result, Rini will have to face the initial rounds of terror and tragedy on her own, including the death of her paternal grandmother. That just leaves her and her younger brothers: the surprisingly helpful sixteen-year-old Tony, the bratty ten-year-old Bondi, and the mute nearly seven-year-old Ian, who will become the primary focus of most of the supernatural and sinister attention. Rather tellingly, none of the siblings look alike, presumably because they were each the product of unions with different cult members.

So yes, things are bad, but they will get steadily worse. Hereditary really is a fitting comparison film for Satan’s Slaves, which incorporates elements of James Wan haunted house movies, demonic horror, and killer cults. The milieu of isolated rural poverty and Islamic traditionalism heightens the atmosphere of hopeless dread (it might be politically incorrect to say it, but the truth is Catholics and Buddhists have the best exorcists). The early 1980s period details are all spot-on and the music, most particularly Suwono’s old records, burrows under your skin like a tick.

Tara Basro solidly anchors the film as Rini, but some of the best work comes from her younger co-stars, especially Nasar Annuz and M. Adhiyat, who are completely believable as Bondi and Ian, even when placed in some wildly freaky circumstances. As a bonus, Egy Fedly cranks up the attitude and eccentricity as Budiman, who was once a close friend of Rini’s grandmother, before becoming a paranoid Fortean researcher.

Frankly, Anwar is probably the most under-appreciated genre master working in cinema today. He has a masterful command of mood, pacing, and fear that builds over time. Despite, or maybe because of its thematic similarities with Hereditary, Satan’s Slaves could very well be the film that will take him to higher levels of international awareness and distribution. Very highly recommended.

What Makes A Good Man? an interview with Lee Do-yun, director of CONFESSION (South Korea, 2014)

Lee Do-yun at the 2015 NY Korean Film Festival for the New York premiere for CONFESSION

One of the more passionately discussed films at the 2015 New York Korean Film Festival, held at the Museum of the Moving Image, crept up rather by surprise in the form of the thoroughly independent production CONFESSION. Its somber and unostentatious presentation of a moral quandary faced by three authentically depicted friends left viewers with plenty to think about. I had a chance to speak to the film’s director Lee Do-yun before he presented his debut feature at its New York premiere. Our brief conversation revealed that there are some heady ideas on the mind of Lee, which will continue to pervade his work, as he is already at work on his next feature.

Mondocurry: What made it possible to get the backing to make this, your first feature film?

Lee Do-yun: This film has been on the shelf for about four years. It sort of went from production company to production company without finding the right investors. I’ve had a lot of investors saying we can’t make it because it’s not a commercial film. Then Opus Pictures, which is the production company I worked with this time, they were because they dealt with production and were also an investor company. The producer from that company took a look at my screenplay and said he wanted to try his hand at production and also wanted to try to finance the film. So we were able to do that together with the production company. If it weren’t for that company, this project would not have been able to take off at all.

MC: Was this the film you always had in mind for your first feature?

LD: This has been a film that I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. This is a little behind the story but there is actually a second film I confirmed doing for this production company. It has just been confirmed. But that's a commercial film. When I was talking with the head of the company, he said he wanted to do that first. But I told him that without doing CONFESSION first, as a director I felt I would be burdened so much. So In a way I was stubborn about having to do this film before going on to the second film. Making CONFESSION actually sort of helped me turn a page in my life, if you will, as a sort of ending chapter of one stage in my life. It’s like a turning point that I’ve been able to move on from.

MC: The movie has a very genuine feel to it. Is it based on an personal experience?

LD: I feel like it’s not formed only from a particular experience in my life. I thought about it as a film about values. When you look at human relationships, they aren’t just black and white or good and evil. In real life, a person you’re having a relationship with may seem like a good person one day and on the next they seem like a bad person. I think that is exactly what human nature is like.  We are constantly shifting. So I thought that it would be interesting to tell a story about that through a group of three friends. I think, ultimately I wanted to pose a question to the viewers:  ‘who am I?’ and  ‘what would I do?’ So I would say it doesn't come from a particular event, but from 36 years of being alive on this planet and having relationships. That experience sort of seeped into the story that I wanted to tell in CONFESSION.

MC: Was it originally conceived as a movie or another medium?

LD: When this story was originally thought of, I wanted the medium to be film. I think it differs… Some stories are told better through words and others through imagery and I thought CONFESSIONS in this case is more the latter than the former. When I first conceived of the story, it started from an image of a man asking the culprits that murdered his parents to help him find who were the culprits. That was the image I started from.

MC:  It seems there are many societal forces affecting character’ actions. Did you want to say something about one’s surroundings influencing their decisions as opposed to their inherent human nature?

LD: I basically believe human nature is very susceptible to one’s environment. For instance, we right now all are cozy in this New York world but around the world there are wars going on and people are suffering… I think the thing that really defines who you are as a person comes when we are placed in extreme circumstances and it depends on what choice we make in those circumstances. I feel that Korean society nowadays really forces a choice against our wills. Unfortunately it’s just the way things are. Basically I really want to challenge people about their beliefs that they are being a good person or a bad person. Would those really hold up in an extreme circumstances? That's what I want to question. I feel like I’m more interested in characters that are not born to be heroes or villains.  I like to deal with characters that become a hero or villain depending on the choice you make. The stories I really like to tell are about characters who are not in that decision making process at first, but we see them go through it. And then they become a hero or a villain. I think that is also my goal as a director: to portray human beings in that sort of context.

MC: You mentioned another film is in the works and will be a commercial one. Will it be very different than CONFESSION?

LD: I wouldn't say it’s entirely different from CONFESSION because, although it takes on the genre of an action thriller film, it’s about a journalist and terrorist who are trying to get what they want. Both of them have different goals and they’re trying to get them but I think that similarly to CONFESSION it keeps on dealing with the choices we are confronted with and the consequences that arise from the choices we make. So yes I think it still follows the same thread in that I want to ask the question of how we maintain our integrity as human beings.

MC: Is there anyone you have an aspiration to work with, or anyone you worked with on CONFESSION that you would like to collaborate with again?

LD: I’m about to work on the screenplay of the next movie. Ju Ji-hoon, who played in-chul in CONFESSION, is actually unofficially confirmed to play one of the leading roles in it. It was a great experience for me working with the actors on CONFESSION so I’m happy to be working with him again. During the time between filming CONFESSION and now, he’s grown quite a bit in visibility and popularity so he’s a good asset to have on the film. We’re still in the casting process right now. There are some very good actors in Korea, so I need to get back and see who I want to work with.

For more information about the New York Korean Film Festival, visit its website here.

The NEW YORK KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL Returns With A Sharper Edge Than Ever

Some 15 years ago Korean cinema lodged itself into a special place in my heart, kicking and screaming all the way. Not a source of tranquility or soothing balm, I came to look to the nation’s exploding film scene for a reliable dose of cathartic turmoil.  While its output has been diverse, certain cultural qualities have often found their way into the fast growing canon of work, not the least of which is a tendency for biting rounds of verbal sparring. That and a tendency for unleashing cutting societal criticisms have led to my rabid consumption of South Korean film whenever the chance should arise.

For a while Korean cinema and I have experienced a bit of an estrangement. General busyness has led to seeing less films, and those I have seen felt as though they were laden with an uncharacteristic populist flavor. Even when detailing great struggle, the mood was more celebratory than caustic.

So, it pleases me to report that this year’s rendition of the New York Korean Film Festival, which runs from November 6 - 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image, is bringing the nation’s collective angst back to this metropolis in full force.

Perhaps the venue change to MOMI, situated in the internationally flavored borough of Queens has made the difference; Its vast Sumner Redstone theater is surely an ideal venue for absorbing films’ more bombastic qualities. It may also owe a lot to this year being officially cosigned by Subway Cinema, presenters of the New York Asian Film Festival, who have an eye always out for Asia’s more electrifying works and a penchant for wrangling an impressive array of guests. 

The result is a lean selection of films that is crammed tight with social issues, verbal exchanges both lively and thorny, and plenty of blood spilled, with top notch guests a-plenty on hand to guide you through it all.

The event is bookended by two films that could not be more different tonally, yet manage to share a discontented point of view on institutional injustice: Opening night film OFFICE is a creepy foray into terror between the cubicles of a small and struggling company. Setting out to immediately disturb, we watch as an office worker returns home and calmly murders the members of his family with a chilling hammer attack. The moments of terror that follow shift between otherworldly apparition, stealthy movements, and paranoid perceptions. It is a confusing mix that intentionally keeps the viewer off balance, but what remains clear throughout is that the office politics are vicious, especially to its youngest and most powerless member, and the affairs of the police who come to save the day are no less bound by red tape.

Meanwhile festival closer WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE  is a mostly lighthearted comedy that presents the folly of a one way role reversal. An intensely independent, male bashing, executive lawyer Yeon-woo, whose life is abruptly cut short by a celestial error, is transplanted into the body of a housewife in the final weeks of her life. Her struggles to cope with sudden domesticated complacence make for riotous mirth, while highlighting the difference between traditional and more modern gender roles. Her sudden transplant gives her a new perspective on the effects of corporate interests forcing the hand of civic politics. Things get a bit soapy when serious societal ills befall the members of  Yeon-woo’s new clan, yet the story’s heart is always in the right place in this mass appeal audience charmer.

Another grandiose production taking aim at corporate greed unchecked is accomplished action director Ryoo Seung-wan’s ( THE CITY OF VIOLENCE, THE UNJUST, THE BERLIN FILE) VETERAN, by way of an over the top cop drama. After a largely unnecessary half hour of cartoonish action, the story settles into a more tightly wound buildup to a showdown between a privileged enfant terrible son of a corporate tycoon and the reckless top cop on the previously introduced squad, who cannot stomach seeing the antagonist’s transgressions go unchecked. Along with the numerous hotheaded wars of words, the film also contains another familiar feature of many touchstone Korean films: a grudge match between two directly opposed, usually male, individuals bent on tearing each other apart. The film walks an interesting line between serious and silly. It’s a moving depiction of growing class inequity, but never achieves the emotional charge found in the strained loyalties of THE CITY OF VIOLENCE. The numerous familiar faces of the Korean film landscape working together here is impressive in and of itself.

The festival’s main thoroughfare can perhaps best be characterized by a trio of dark dramas from outside of Korean cinema’s most widely known pantheon. TRAP sends a modish screenwriter stuck in a quagmire of writer’s block to a remote makeshift inn where he is immediately taken with the property owner’s barely legal daughter. The source of his fascination is far from innocent as she carries out accomplished acts of seduction. The fetishistic camera work not only captures the writer’s enraptured perspective, but cheekily dares viewers to not be taken in by it themselves. There may not be too much below the surface of this assured exercise in eroticism and suspense, beyond the notion that infatuation is just a slight step away from delirium.  There is a definite gleam of mischief about the film, a curious kindred spirit to OFFICE and WONDERFUL NIGHTMARE for putting female characters in provocative, confrontational roles.     

CONFESSION is an impressive feature debut that presents a clash between ambition and loyalty amid relative poverty in elegant fashion. A backdrop of dingy locales is a steady but not overbearing reminder of how economics and the dangling carrot of financial gain affect the actions and fates of its humble characters. The three individuals whose longstanding friendship is tested are all well-developed and portrayed sympathetically. A work of steadily paced, stirring drama that can truly carry its head held high.

Festival highpoint THE SHAMELESS is a fascinating presentation of the tightrope walk of navigating hierarchical relationships in South Korean society. There is a constant vying for the upper hand of status amongst cops and crooks alike via words and tones, ever threatening to escalate into physical violence. One would be hard pressed to find a cooler customer than detective Jung Jae-gon (Kim Nam-gil) who makes his way through the extremely corrupt landscape as an emotional grifter. He plays on women’s attraction to find suspects on the run from the law. His encounter with bar mistress Kim Hye-Kyung (Jeon Do-yeon, who delivers a perfect balancing act of ferocity and frailty) leads to a crack in his resolve. While he wrestles internally with what it means to lead an honorable path, his steely demeanor remains mostly intact.  With nary a crack in its vision of heartbreak and weariness in a dilapidated urban sprawl, this is one not to miss.

MADONNA is less artful than the rest of its cohort but still compelling, as it weaves the tale of a hospital’s determined caregiver to uncover the past of a comatose, pregnant patient. Meanwhile, strings are being pulled by the son of an elderly wealthy patient on life support, who would resort to immoral means to keep his father’s body alive another day. It’s a chilling microcosm of the disparity of power amongst a nation’s citizens.

For those comfortable with the confrontational nature of many Korean films, the biggest endurance test of the fest may in fact be THEBEAUTY INSIDE, which stands out as a tranquil romantic tale, albeit with a fantastical twist. Its male lead suffers a curious affliction of waking up every morning with a completely different body. A designer of fashionable customized wooden furniture, he falls instantly in love with a woman who works in a shop that sells said furniture. Despite circumstances, they give a relationship a try and for a while, it's all ultra hip wooden chairs and equally hip music choices during a meet that seems interminably cute. When the unique and trying nature of his condition puts a strain on their relationship, things do become sufficiently dramatic. The lack of effort to do anything to understand or curtail the condition lends a fairy tale element. And really, the inclusion of this unreal element allows the director to abstract the problems faced by any typical relationship with adverse elements that has gone past the honeymoon stage, and present them in an entertaining way. Though cloying at times, its second half is heartfelt as is the film’s  ambitions to say something about diversity in these modern times.

For a full run down of the New York Korean Film Festival’s selections and schedule, as well as guests due to appear, visit the Museum ofMoving Image’s website.

@mondocurry

Screening: Across Land Across Sea and Director's Talk with Hark-Joon Lee

On April 16, the Korea Society hosted a riveting evening with South Korean journalist Hark-Joon Lee, during which his documentary Over Land, Over Sea about North Koreans defecting to the South was shown. Afterwards he spoke about making the film and his varied experiences as a journalist pursuing challenging stories.

Across Land, Across Sea is a barebones account of a North Korean couple’s valiant effort to escape to South Korea and bring members of their extended families across the border safely. The focus is at first on Songgook, one of five defectors traversing ocean by boat to get from China to South Korea. He had escaped from North Korea at 14 and grew up in China, awaiting an opportunity to attempt escape to the South. Safely in South Korea, Songgook took up a career as a construction worker and set his efforts to bring his wife, Sueryon to be with him. Her successful crossing over reveals the treacherous risks involved with defection: One relative was sold to a farmer by human traffickers while another was stopped at a border in Laos and turned over to North Korean authorities. Meanwhile, brokers, the individuals who arrange the clandestine movement of people across the border, send confusing messages about the fates of other family members. The threat of more money being suddenly demanded or misinformation being given to serve an ulterior motive is always present.

Once united, Songgook and Sueryon take up residency in a church providing shelter, guided by Pastor Kim, a community leader who is hands-on in the process of helping defectors from the North make their voyage. The couple occupies their thoughts with plans to bring their family over, while Sueryon is also preparing to give birth. We see the large extent to which their lives and those of their families are left in the hands of these curious go-betweens, who have their own financial goals spurring them on. In one exchange captured by hidden camera, a broker is confronted by authorities with the Sueryon accusing her defrauding them and giving them false information about their family’s status. It would follow that she too was a North Korean defector.

The life of these defectors is presented as being in a constant state of flux, never able to settle down, often coming and going from desolate countryside meeting points or uninviting train stations, wondering if in fact their family members would show up or not. Sueryon reflects on how the most difficult parts of these ordeals is often the waiting.

Much of the process is detailed here including the painstaking journey commonly used by defectors, which takes them through China into Laos (what could amount to a14 day trip by foot), then from Laos into Thailand where asylum can be attained. Travel by boat has offered a faster route to get to South Korea, but one with its own set of dangers. A last courageous effort to bring over several family members finds Songgook purchasing a boat that is later shown to be no match for the rough ocean waves. Pastor Kim, who is supposed to pick up Songgook in a much larger vessel, sets out on the rough waters much later, his departure delayed by difficulties acquiring a ship that can weather the hostile conditions. Against all odds. the pastor is able to locate Songgook's small boat and take the new defectors aboard, yet Songgook’s own ability to return is complicated by details of where he departed from and the legality of his arrival point.

The documentary contains raw but extremely hard to come by footage of nighttime escapes along the banks of as well as the aforementioned harrowing rescue in the middle of a turbulent waters. Yet Lee's perspective remained neutral, leaving his own voice or interactions out of the proceedings. At the heart of the film is the protagonist couple, whose devotion to each other and ability to persevere in the most doubt-filled times shows a triumph of human spirit.

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Hark-Joon Lee was interviewed after the screening. He spoke of his initial interests in being a film director, which somewhat unexpectedly led to journalism. Before studying the North Korean defector situation, which he spent several years in China researching,  he was as a correspondent in the Afghan War.

The issue of what causes defectors to make the perilous trip arose, and Park responded by emphasizing that it is a complicated issue. The political climate has changed since the ‘90s, when most defectors tried to leave and ended up stranded in China. Hark was ever contemplative, explaining that he often wondered what exactly makes people wanted to leave, to which he came to the general conclusion that hope for a better life was the strongest motivator.

Lee was very candid in his discussion, talking about how he came to view his subject, Songgook with respect and a certain kind of envy. He considered himself far more calculating in his actions compared to Songgook ,whose commitment to his wife and willingness to put his life at numerous risk to help both of their families caused him to question his own willingness to sacrifice for the sake of his family. 

Lee also discussed often conflicting impulses over pursuing a story. In the face of certain difficult situations filming must be stopped while at the same time a need to continue documenting takes hold. For Lee it is often the latter urge that wins out.

Lee suggested that his biggest drive was, in fact, curiosity. When met with the prospect of a perilous trip across the sea, it sparked his interest in the story even more, likening himself to a moth drawn to a flame.

Although the politics of the North-South conflict were discussed, Lee  wanted to make clear that he is far more interested in the human aspect of this story than a political one. He described the subjects here as individuals whose voices should not be passed over in history, hence the importance of documentation, and not losing these accounts. He expressed the viewpoint that often, the people who have made this amazing journey want, more than anything, to be listened to and understood. His priority here is to serving them.

Questioned by Strangers: An Interview w/ director Noh Young-Seok (Daytime Drinking, Intruders)

At this year’s Film Comment Select series held at Lincoln Center’s Walter Reade Theater, I had the pleasure of seeing Intruders, the long awaited follow up to South Korean director Noh Young-Seok’s debut film Daytime Drinking. It occurred to me, with Unseen Films celebrating a birthday (back around the time of the screening), that Daytime Drinking was the first film I officially logged a review for on good pal Steve’s little engine that could of a site espousing the love of film. it be something of a coming around the bend to be able to interview that film’s director here in New York?

After the screening and Q & A, I humbly approached Mr. Noh after the film’s about my interest in interviewing him. All too aware of the potential to come across like one of his films’ hopelessly socially awkward characters who trap the main protagonists with their overzealousness, I said a few quick words of appreciation and left him my card before making a quick exit. To my surprised delight, I heard back and an interview was set for the following day.

Very big thanks to Stephanie Lee at the Korea Society for arranging and facilitating the interview.

Very special thanks to Rachel Jackson for a tremendous assistance with translating, wording, and editing a final draft.

Mondocurry: Can you tell a little about your background outside of making films?

Noh Young-Seok: My major in college was in Chinese ceramic design, and I really wanted to make music. I created some music but I didn’t want to do anything with it commercially.

MC: What types of music are you interested in?

Noh: I like electronic music, rock, metal, jazz, classical…a lot of different types.

MC: Both of your movies deal with awkward interactions between strangers. Is this particularly difficult in South Korean society?

Noh: In the US when people meet in elevator, they may say ‘hi’ and be friendly. In Korea people don’t act so familiar with one another.  Recently people don’t even communicate with their neighbors who live next door.

I don’t usually communicate with strangers but when I have a chance, I notice this, and maybe I observe it more carefully than other people do.

MC: It is a very interesting style of awkward comedy in your films that I haven’t noticed in other Korean films. Is this influenced by personal experiences? Other films?

Noh: I think emotions are influenced by different movies. When I watched various movies, I try to experience the situations vicariously. If it were my movie, , I consider what I would do differently. If I met someone in the movie, I might do something different. So I take notes and make it my own movie.

MC: Is there such drastic culture shock when people from Seoul encounter people from the countryside?

Noh: If you go to the countryside outside of the city, rural people will stare at you because you’re a stranger to them. I think they’ll want to talk to me.  They’d be really curious about me. But also, they are very anxious about people from the outside.

Rural people might behave with some meanness because they are a tightknit group of people and I am a stranger. They are very curious but very anxious. They try to be very friendly but they have some apprehension about talking to outsiders.

MC: You were working on something different when the idea for INTRUDERS came?

Noh: A story called INSOMNIA. It’s about a guy who has a very sad life. It wasn’t to be a comedy, but a dark drama.

MC: Did you feel an urge to make a film that went in a darker direction after Daytime Drinking?

Noh: I have a lot of bright, positive story ideas but also dark ones too. My mind didn’t consciously change about the type of movie I wanted to make. Many ideas come across my mind. So from time to time I organize them into a kind of order to put in a movie.

MC: Can you talk about the differences in casting Daytime Drinking and Intruders?

Noh: Daytime Drinking was made on a very low budget and all of the actors and actresses were my friends.

For Intruders, I was thinking about who I wanted for each part before but the film’s investors really wanted to use famous actors. But the budget was not enough so for some parts, like the police officer and Hak-su, I cast the actors I really wanted.

For the main character, I was trying to cast a really famous actor but it didn’t work out because of schedule and money issues. I thought it would be better to cast a brand new actor than a slightly famous one. So I looked around and found a perfect match for the main character who was new, and cast him.

MC: You worked with some of the same actors on both films?

Noh: There were three people in both.  The truck driver from Daytime Drinking is a store clerk in Intruders, and there two people who are eating with Hak Su in Intruders. But they were only in Intruders for a very short time.

MC: You made the music for your films. But you didn’t have any formal musical training?

Noh: No, I just taught myself how to do it at home.

MC: Was there anything that especially inspired the score to Intruders? It has the feel of a classic suspense film score.

Noh: It’s really hard to say I got inspired by any one thing. I thought about what would match well with the movie. The music came very naturally when I was making it. I had some kind of similar music in my head; it came from somewhere…

MC: One of my favorite parts of Daytime Drinking is when someone talks about dancing to “strange music.” I wondered about how that music came about…

Noh: I wanted to express something really bizzare and unexpected. Like, if a woman suggested to someone ‘you’ll really like this music’ then they might expect something really romantic or catchy, but it turns out… when you hear it you think “what is this song? Not sure if it’s good or bad, just really strange.” That’s the feeling I wanted to achieve.

MC: There was a lot of time between Daytime Drinking and Intruders…

Noh: In between, I got married and had kids. In the meantime I was working on scripts for different movies. Some are finished and some are not. That’s why there is a gap.

MC: Did you feel any kind of pressure to keep producing movies in a certain amount of time, or were you not so worried about it?

Noh: I had some pressure before, but it was not like there was any intense deadline. But I think I need to have a little bit of pressure to make me work hard on a movie.

MC: You were both the writer and director of the two films you’ve made. Is this a situation that is important to you?

Noh: I’ve thought of writing a scenario and then someone else shooting it, but I wasn’t sure if it would work or not. Now, I would consider writing a movie for someone else to direct.

MC: Were there challenges to directing Intruders?

Noh: I felt it was a shame that I couldn’t shoot in many different locations and get acting in different atmospheres. But I didn’t have enough time and the budget was too low.

MC: Did any parts of the story change from what you had initially expected after first writing Intruders?

Noh: Not much, but I changed some parts a little bit, for the better, during the editing of the movie.

MC: Was it a challenge shooting in a location like this with lots of snow and in the mountains?

Noh: We never had to wait for snow at all. It came when we needed it. The problem was that the snow wouldn’t melt. The location had a lot of hills so cars couldn’t drive through. We really needed to get ingredients for the staff’s food but it ran out. We were somehow able to get what we needed and eat.

It was also really hard to move all the gear because it was very heavy, and we had to shoot on the hill. There were a lot of challenges like that.

MC: Did actors in the movie do their own stunts?

Noh: There was a stunt director. He was one of (the movie’s antagonists).

MC: Were there any hazardous situations for the cast?

Noh: When the main actor fell through the trap door (in the ground)… At that time we couldn’t see anything under the snow, so when we were shooting that scene he was injured by a tree trunk.

MC: Have you been influenced by any directors, new or old?

Noh: I don’t have any one specific favorite. I don’t tend to focus on a certain director. I think more about certain movies…

Rob Reiner has made movies in various genres and he expresses ideas so well in all of them. I suppose he would be one of my favorites.

Films that he made such as Stand By Me and When Harry Met Sally…I’d like to be the director of films that have the same mood and impact as those.

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