I liked director Davy Chou’s 2016 film Diamond Island and his latest feature, set in South Korea rather than Cambodia, has the same slow, introspective quality.
Continue readingReturn to Seoul (Retour à Séoul) (2022)
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Broker (브로커) (2022)
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This latest film from Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda is masterful storytelling. I came out of the screening with a similar feeling to when I watched Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite (2019); contemporary South Korea where the dramatic tension comes from depth of character not plot.
Continue readingThe Novelist’s Film (소설가의 영화)(2022)
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I find myself wanting to like South Korean auteur Hong Sangsoo’s work. Maybe I’m choosing the wrong ones out of his huge filmography as they seem whimsically pedestrian and self-absorbed, albeit in a way that’s meant to be charming.
Continue readingA Resistance (항거:유관순 이야기) (2019)
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Cho Min-ho gives us a measured exploration of the Korean independence protests of the 20s that thoroughly engages with its focus on one women and her plight.
Continue readingDay 29: A film that always makes me cry
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Train to Busan (2016)
A South Korean zombie epic might not be everyone’s first choice but I have yet to get through this without crying in two particular scenes.
Continue readingHotel By The River (Gang-byun Hotel) (2019)
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Image via miff.com.au
A credible source told me that director Hong Sang-soo doesn’t mind if you nap in his films. Hotel by the River’s quiet contemplation lulled me into a few lengthy blinks so I missed a little of its wry, slow narrative. Continue reading
VR: On the Road (Short) (2018)
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Image via miff.com.au
This short South Korean virtual reality film mixes static and moving imagery to evoke words sent from a man to a woman as he revisit the places they went to together. Like a poem, we sense the emptiness of the spaces without her, the monochrome of lost punctuated by the saturated colour of memory. Continue reading
Burning (버닝) (2018)
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Image via miff.com.au
My daughter is teaching herself Korean and before I left for MIFF, she taught me how to say, “I’m tired. However, I want to watch a movie” in Korean. I thought of her when I saw Burning in the sumptuous Versailles that is the Regent Theatre. Continue reading
The Villainess (Ak-Nyeo) (2017)
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Image via http://www.empireonline.com
Hardly pausing to draw breath, this South Korean thriller by director Byung-gil Jung launches you into blood soaked action from the first unforgettable scene. Continue reading
Train to Busan (Busanhaeng) (2016)
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Image via whysoblu.com
I have been waiting to watch this South Korean zombie film with my Korea-obsessed daughter and it did not disappoint. Now one of my favourite zombie movies (I’m a bit partial to Dawn of the Dead, Shaun of the Dead, and Warm Bodies), it had me hiding behind a cushion for most of its 118 minutes. Continue reading
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