April 07, 2008

Korean Film - Intermediate Level

A More In Depth Look

Ben already brought you his beginner’s course on Korean Cinema. This brief list is meant to expand your horizons by digging deeper into the past and some of the lesser known films that come from the land of kimchi. I tried my best to make it easily accessible but there is no guarantee of DVD or easy access. Let’s begin shall we?

Documentary:

Repatriation (2004, Kim Dong-won) The Murmuring (1995), Habitual Sadness (1997), My Own Breathing (1999, Byun Young-joo)

These are some of the most heart-rending documentaries I have ever seen. Repatriation broke box office records in Korea for a documentary film and follows the seven year journey of several long term prisoners of conscience (men who were jailed for their Communists beliefs and refused to renounce them even under torture and intimidation) from their release from jail, their attempts at assimilation into South Korean society, and finally their campaign to return to North Korea. Byun Young-joo’s trilogy documents the lives of a community of comfort women (women who were forced into sexual servitude by the Japanese army in World War II) and gives a human face to the suffering that humans can inflict on other humans.

Political Movies:

Holiday (2006 Yang Yun-ho), The Road Taken (2003 Hong Ki-seon) A Single Spark (1995 Park Kwon-soo)

Holiday is based on an incident that stems from South Korea’s hosting of the 1988 Olympics (which was also the topic of Kim Dong-won’s first documentary Sangyae-dong Olympics) during which Korea’s government destroyed many neighborhoods that they deems unsightly for foreign visitors. It follows a group of prisoners that escape from prison and try to bring attention to the unfair laws that kept them in prison for petty crimes. “The wealthy are always innocent, while the poor are always guilty,” says the main character, encapsulating the frustration that came from the climate in 80s Korea. The Road Taken is the dramatization of the years in prison that the prisoners from Repatriation faced and is very well done, unfortunately the real life footage that is shown at the end of the film (and the documentary) eclipse the film with the real world heart break that comes from the division between the Koreas. A Single Spark is the story of Chun Tae-il who immolated himself in protest of the conditions that workers faced in textile factories. Lee Chang-dong (who Ben covered last time) wrote the screenplay for this film and it is essential viewing.

Classics:

The Housemaid (1960 Kim Ki-young), A Flower in Hell (1958 Shin Sang-ok), Hurrah! For Freedom (1946 Choi In-kyu)

The Housemaid is one of the greatest films of all time. Hands down, and easily my favorite Korean film. If Ben doesn't write his review soon, I might be forced to do mine from memory. It is a thriller about a family that is slowly taken over and broken by the titular maid. And you owe it to yourself to see this movie. A Flower in Hell is from another master of Korean cinema, and depicts the day-to-day life in post war Korea and the society that surrounds the US army bases. The final scene is one of the most beautiful black and white sequences I have ever seen. Hurrah! For Freedom is a film made immediately after Korea’s ‘liberation’ from Japan and although most of the film has been lost to time and censors remains an interesting look at that era of Korean history.

Independent:

Flower Island (2001 Song Il-gon), My Generation (2004Noh Dong-seok) Nabi (2001 Moon Seoung-wook)

Flower Island follows three broken and wounded women on a trip to the titular island in search of salvation. It is a beautiful film filled with interesting characters and the breakdown of sexual relationships in their interactions with the men in their journey might garner a longer feature from me at a later date. Although as a whole it fails to hold total interest there is enough here to make me recommend it, especially to those who enjoy Song’s later work. My Generation is a digital film that follows a couple as they struggle with modern Korean life and the debts and pressures they find themselves under. It is again a work that is not consistent enough to call it great, but small moments between the couple and some of the images captured are engaging enough to make me add it to my list.

Nabi is the only good Korean sci-fi film (Save the Green Planet was more satire than sci-fi and Ben already covered it). In a country in which everyday life is coupled with technology and the cutting edge I find it strange that sci-fi has not found a foothold. Nabi follows a woman seeking to forget a past trauma (like the women in Flower Island) and the Oblivion Virus is her cure. It follows her journey and the relationship with her tour guides, and her discovery that she may have been here before. It is beautiful and haunting.

The Bat-shit Insane Category:

Teenage Hooker Became Killing Machine in Daehak-roh (2000 Nam Gi-woong)

The original Korean title translates literally as The high-school student who got chopped up while selling herself in Daehakno is still in Daehakno and is 60 minutes of craziness. Is it good? Not really. It's a rehash of La Femme Nikita by way of Robocop, but by merits of the title alone you should see it. Plus it supports Korean independent cinema.