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Reviews
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Written by Samuel Jamier
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Tuesday, 21 August 2007 |
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The tiny but lively community that lives on the remote island nicknamed “Paradise Island” (Gukrak-do) is, as the epithet suggests, a peaceful, almost utopian micro-society. Or would be, if a gruesome murder had not taken place after a long night of gambling, ripping the apparently seamless fabric of this (very) small world, and leaving two hideously mutilated corpses to the shock and dismay of the 17 islanders.
As they decide to investigate the matter, led by the local doctor, Chae Wu-Song, tension and paranoia grow strong and wild and everyone on the premises becomes a potential suspect and a target of the faceless murderer.
The investigation, through a succession of unreliable narratives, leads the viewers to many a dark corner of the human heart, deceiving one expectation after the other.
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Featured Events
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Written by Samuel Jamier
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Thursday, 16 August 2007 |
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On Thursday, August 23, 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm, I will be moderating a panel discussion with:
Kim Yong-Hwa (director of the blockbuster comedy, 200 Pound Beauty)
Michael Huh (vice president, ImaginAsian TV)
Robert Cagle (assistant professor of cinema studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Recent years have seen a wave of Korean pop culture (hallyu) sweep across Asia as Korean movies, music and TV have kept audiences rapt. But now production costs are soaring, a backlash against Korean content is brewing in some of its most lucrative Asian markets and the domestic screen quota system, which nurtured the country's entertainment talent, is being dismantled. Is the Korean Wave receding?
Join the discussion as some of the top producers of Korean pop culture discuss the state of their industry and where it's headed next.
Presented in conjunction with the New York Korean Film Festival, presented by Helio (August 21 - September 2, 2007).
Buy Tickets
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Featured Events
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Written by Samuel Jamier
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Wednesday, 15 August 2007 |
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The New York Korean Film Festival is having its second Short Film program on August 30th at Cinema Village. The theme of this year’s edition is: Universality. The purpose is “to honor the works, which communicate and connect with various culture and audience by sharing something that is core in life.”
“In Your Eyes”, one of the animation finalist
After the programming committee’s initial choices, the NYKFF team has invited guest jurors to select their best picks from a list of finalists. Here are the New York Korean Film Festival 2007 Short Film program official selections:
“An Artistic Presentation of Metaphysical Butterfly Effect” by Ki-wan Park
“Beef Palace” by Michael Kim
“Blackout” by June Lee
“Cold Air” by Mi-na Jhung
“Dalsoo and Soojin’s Story” by Seo Lee
“In Your Eyes” by Eun-mi Lee
“Family Picnic” by Seung-wan Hong
“J, a Photographer in a Strange Village” by Sang-yup Lee
“The Love of a Boy Who Loved Orange” by Geon-hwa Hong
“Reunion” by Sung-hoon Hong
“Stutter” by Janice Ann
“This Solace Eternal” by Jennie Na
“Under the Honey Chestnut Tree” by Hyun-min Lee
“Show Me Daddy’s Ultra Power” by Min-seok Choi
Live-Action Finalists
“Stutter” by Janice Ahn
“Beef Palace” by Michael Kim
“J, a Photographer in a Strange Village” by Sang-yup Lee
“Blackout” by June Lee
Animation Finalists
“In Your Eyes” by Eun-mi Lee
“Under the Honey Chestnut Tree” by Hyun-min Lee
“An Artistic Presentation of Metaphysical Butterfly Effect” by Ki-wan Park
A group of industry-working jurors was invited to judge the short films this year.
The event is also meant to provides networking opportunities between emerging directors and the film industry. Jurors are as follows:
Jef Castro
Co-director and Creator/Curator for Music Video Program at
New York Asian American International Film Festival
Peter Goldwyn
Vice President Acquisitions of Samuel Goldwyn Films
David Koh
Head of Acquisitions and Production, Arthouse Films
John H Lee + Jiae Kim
Creative director + Publisher of THEME Magazine
Richard Lim
Producer and a founding partner of Sidetrack Films
Bill Woods
Programmer for New Filmmakers Series at Anthology Film Archives *
The winners for live action and animation categories will be announced after the completion of the NYKFF short film festival screenings.
An after-screening party will follow from 9:30 PM at Forum, 127 Fourth Avenue between 12th and 13th Streets.
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Reviews
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Written by Samuel Jamier
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Saturday, 11 August 2007 |
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Unstoppable Marriage is director Kim Sung-Wook’s first movie and a good piece of romantic and unpretentious fun (more fun than my review, if I may say so myself). Kim has obviously taken some inspiration from his previous work on hit comedies like the excellent Attack the Gas Station by Kim Sang-Jin, Lovely Rivals, and My Teacher, Mr. Kim, by Jang Gyoo-Seong, who made Small-Town Rivals this year, and to whom he was an assistant for a long time.
The main attraction of this charming tale of opposites attract is the pair of glamorous star-crossed lovers that graces the big screen for about two hours: the unfeasibly cute (I’m sure I’ve written this before) ex-S.E.S. member and top-celeb’ singer-turned-actress Eugene (in a more orthodox transliteration: Yoo-Jin), and rising star/heartthrob Ha Suk-Jin from Hot For Teacher, See You After School, and the recent hit drama Hello! Miss.
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Essays
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Written by Samuel Jamier
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Thursday, 09 August 2007 |
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The New York Korean Film Festival 2007, presented by Helio and organized by The Korea Society:
Tazza: the High Rollers will be screened on
- Saturday, August 25th 2007, 9:00 PM. At Cinema Village
- Sunday, September 2nd 2007, 6:00 PM. At BAM Rose Cinemas
By some odd coincidence, as I was looking for the Japanese title of Tazza for some work I had to do in the prospect of the upcoming festival, I came across a charmingly quaint term: ikasamashi (written in the original below... it is the title of a book by Yanagihara Kei, apparently).
A cheater, a con man… a dirty… rotten scoundrel? Mad or bad… dangerous to know at any rate, as they say. A word that also happens to refer to a masterpiece of 17th century painting by George De La Tour: The Cheat with the Ace of Diamonds (which can be seen at the Louvre) and its avatar, The Cheat with the Ace of Clubs (acquired by the Kimbell Art Museum), the kind of vocabulary that Machida Ko (ex-punk rocker and Akutagawa-prize winner novelist) would not shrink from using.This might not seem immediately relevant (what’s relevant in a blog anyway?) but as odd as it might sound, there is something seductive about the idea of tracing a sort of unwitting lineage from classical painting to contemporary South Korean cinema in general and Tazza (which I commented earlier on, this year) in particular. The ghostly connection between the two (in so many ways, between high art and “pop” art) offers the occasion of a brief deviant commentary of Choi Dong-Hoon’s film.
In the realm of artistic representation, the card game card is hardly a novelty. Cinema has certainly exploited the theme threadbare, from the God of Gamblers series in Hong Kong (from Chow Yun-Fat to Gong Li) to the cockney hoodlums of Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, from Paul Newman to Tom Cruise (!), from Rounders to Tazza, half a world away.
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