| LOS ANGELES KOREAN
INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL The news from the Cannes Film
Festival this year that Asian, and in particular Korean, cinema has arrived in full force
on the world film scene should come as no surprise to anyone watching the incredible
explosion of filmmaking talent in South Korea over the past few years. Break-out directors
like enfant terrible Chan-wook Park (whose new film OLDBOY won the Grand
Prize at Cannes from the Quentin Tarantino-led jury, and whose previous film SYMPATHY FOR
MR. VENGEANCE premieres in our Fest), Kim Ki-duk (SAMARITAN GIRL; SPRING, SUMMER,
FALL, WINTER … AND SPRING; THE ISLE), and Hong Sang-soo (WOMAN IS THE FUTURE
OF MAN; TURNING GATE) are pushing Korean cinema into wonderfully strange and unsettling
territory, while crowd-pleasing hits like the Korean War epic TAEGUKGI (which will be
released in the U.S. in early September) have packed theatres across Asia.
This year, the American Cinematheque is pleased to partner with the
Los Angeles Korean International Film Festival (LA-KIFF), one of the largest events
dedicated to Korean and Korean-American cinema in North America, to bring a greater
knowledge and appreciation of the cultural richness and artistic diversity of the Korean
and Korean-American experience to L.A. audiences. LA-KIFF emphasizes individual
creativity, cultural exchange and global communication during its multi-part Festival
events. [For more information on the other LA-KIFF screenings, please check www.lakiff.com.]
Friday, September 24 – 7:00 PM
L.A. Premiere!!
SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE
(BOKSUNEUN NAUI GEOT), 2002, Tartan USA in assoc. with Vitagraph Films, 121 min. One of
the hottest directors in world cinema, Korean filmmaker Chan-wook Park (his new
film OLDBOY won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes this year) shows what all the buzz is about
with this ferocious, brilliantly constructed revenge tragedy. To raise money for his older
sister’s life-saving operation, a deaf-mute man with green hair (Shin Ha-kyun)
kidnaps the young daughter of a wealthy corporate executive. Fate conspires against him at
every turn, though – and when the kidnapping goes horribly awry, it sets off an
inexorable and increasingly horrifying chain of events that sucks everyone involved into a
black vortex of destruction. Stunning visuals, editing, scripting and acting make this one
of the most impressive films of the white-hot Korean New Wave. [Please note that SYMPATHY
FOR MR. VENGEANCE features extremely graphic violence. No one under 18 will be admitted to
the screening.] Discussion following with director Chan-wook
Park.
Friday, September 24 – 10:00 PM
L.A. Premiere!!
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (JANGHWA,
HONGRYEON), 2003, Tartan USA in assoc. with Vitagraph Films, 115 min. Director Ji-woon
Kim’s superb, spine-tingling ghost story brings to mind thrillers like THE SIXTH
SENSE and THE GRUDGE (no wonder TWO SISTERS is already in the pipeline for a major
Hollywood remake). Two teenaged sisters, Su-mi (Su-jeong Lim) and Su-yeon (Geun-yeong
Mun), return home after an unexplained absence to face their emotionally-distant father
and their demonically-cheerful stepmom. But there are deeper and darker problems lurking
inside the house, and Su-mi is determined to protect her younger sibling from the unnamed
evil that hides in the corners, in the bedroom closet, under the kitchen stove… >>Official
website. A site in English with
lots of photos.
Saturday, September 25 – 6:00 PM
L.A. Premiere!!
WOMAN IS THE FUTURE OF MAN (YEOJANEUN
NAMJAUI MIRAEDA), 2004, MK2, 84 min. Arthouse favorite Hong Sang-Soo
(TURNING GATE) returns with this elusive, quietly devastating portrait of men, women, and
just how phenomenally screwed up and complicated relations between the sexes really are.
Two former college friends, an aspiring film director (Kim Tae-woo) and a now-bourgeois
professor (Yu Ji-tae), meet on a snowy day at a restaurant, and immediately start to hit
on any woman in sight (their come-ons to a shy waitress are painfully hilarious). Fueled
by booze, their conversation turns to a former lover of both, Seon-hwa (Seong Hyeon-ah),
and the story flashes back to the messy, inarticulate, graphically sexual encounters of
days past, while both men try to track down Seon-hwa in the present day. "This
fifth feature by Hong seems his most playful, and very close at times to the classic
‘Tales’ of French auteur Eric Rohmer." – Derek Elley, Variety Please note: Due to graphic sexual content no on under
18 will be admitted to the screening. Discussion following with director Hong Sang-Soo (TBD).
Saturday, September 25 – 8:15 PM
L.A. Premiere!!
SAMARITAN GIRL (SAMARIA), 2004,
Cineclick, 96 min. A mournful, brutally disturbing parable of corruption and
self-sacrifice, SAMARITAN GIRL follows two high school girls engaged in the dangerous
business of prostitution: the overly-naïve Jae-young (Min-jeong Seo) sleeps with older
men, while her more cautious friend Yeo-jin (Ji-min Kwak) keeps watch and takes the money.
But when Jae-young is gravely injured during a police raid, the emotionally and mentally
shattered Yeo-jin adopts her friend’s persona, sleeping with men as a twisted act of
self-sacrifice. Even more tragically, Yeo-jin’s father (Eol Lee) is a highly
religious policeman, and when he discovers his daughter’s secret life, this caring,
seemingly stable man is driven to the brink of violence and insanity. Break-out director
Kim Ki-duk manages to craft a moral allegory that is both gut-wrenching and unbearably
poetic. Winner of the 2004 Silver Bear at Berlin International Film Festival. |
