In this era of digital cameras and laptop editing, ambitious video essays and filmmaker documentaries are hardly the uncommon encounter they had been when Claire Denis made her film for the Cinéma, de notre temps television series, Jacques Rivette - Le veilleur—a movie on a lot of our minds with the passing of the New Wave master last week. Yet, as with fiction films, while the increased democratization and affordability of movie-making apparatus has meant more such essays and more such documentaries, the quality of this greater proliferation varies widely. Which is why it was such a pleasure to come in Rotterdam across two stupendous examples of each: Night and Fog in the Zona, Jung Sung-il's long-form documentary on Chinese independent filmmaker Wang Bing, and Juke: Passages from the Films of Spencer Williams, American teacher and filmmaker Thom Andersen’s video essay on the culturally forgotten films by the African American director.
- 2/5/2016
- by Daniel Kasman
- MUBI
Marking the debut of writer/director Roy Lee, “Melo” is a hard-hitting Korean psychodrama which follows the trials of an unfortunate, downtrodden woman whose downward spiral ironically begins just when her life finally seems to be getting better. Having premiered at the 2012 Busan Film Festival in the Korean Cinema Today section, the film stars actress Kim Hye Na (“Cafe Noir”) in the complex lead role, with support from Lee Sun Ho (also in TV drama “The Servant”) and Kim Nam Mi (“B.E.D”). The plot revolves around Yoon Seo (Kim Hye Na), an average woman working in a coffee shop, suffering in an abusive relationship and generally leading a dead end life with no real possibilities for the future. Everything changes when a good looking painter called Tae In (Lee Sun Ho) who frequents the coffee shop hesitantly approaches her and asks her to model for him. Though initially...
- 10/8/2014
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Although early trailers seemed to suggest an Asian stab at the increasingly overpopulated zombie genre, “Deranged” thankfully turned out to be something very different and considerably more intriguing. Directed by Park Jeong Woo (“Big Bang”), the film is actually a disease outbreak thriller, quite rare in Korean cinema, mixed with conspiracy elements and horror, and proved very popular at the domestic box office, topping the charts for two weeks running. Taking the lead role is one of the country’s most talented and acclaimed actors, Kim Myung Min (“Closer to Heaven”, “Detective K”), with support from Kim Dong Wan of the pop group Shinhwa, Moon Jung Hee (“Cafe Noir”), and Honey Lee (“Pasta”). Kim Myung Min plays Jae Hyuk, a scientist who has been reduced to working as a pharmaceutical company salesman to support his family after being ruined due to bad stock market advice from his cop brother Jae...
- 11/16/2012
- by James Mudge
- Beyond Hollywood
Cafe Noir is screening for free Tuesday, June 21 at 7:00 Pm, as part of Korean Movie Night at Tribeca Cinemas. You can find more details and information on the Subway Cinema site.Jeoung Sung-il, a well regarded Korean film critic, makes a directorial debut with Cafe Noir, largely based on two works of literature - Goethe's The Sorrows of Young Werther and Dostoevsky's White Nights. This sprawling three hours plus contemplation on love and heartbreak also draws from many different cinematic sources. This concoction doesn't always work, but is still quite intoxicating. And in Jeoung's hands, Seoul, the neon megalopolis, becomes the new capital of the heartbroken. The film opens with a young woman unwrapping and eating a hamburger while looking up forlornly to the...
- 6/20/2011
- Screen Anarchy
With the geo-political tensions on the Korean peninsula at an all-time high, it comes as no surprise that some of the films creating the most buzz are war movies. Here's the top 5 Most Anticipated South Korean Films of 2011. #.5 The Battle of Yellow SeaNot to be confused with Na Hong-jin's The Yellow Sea, Kwak Gyeong-taek, the director of one of Korea's most well-know films, "Friend" (Chingu), goes straight to the heart of Koreans recent international attention with his newest film: the 3D movie "The Battle For Yellow Sea". The film is based around the June 29, 2002 North Korean sinking of a South Korean naval ship, and how it was essentially ignored in current events while South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. (Ironically, the filming was set to start not long before the 2010 Yeongpeong Island shelling by North Korea that left 4 South Koreans dead.) However, delays in the filming and recent national sensitivities...
- 2/9/2011
- IONCINEMA.com
Eliza Triana in Hilda Hidalgo‘s Of Love and Other Demons (top); Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon (upper middle); Zohar Strauss, Ran Danker in Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open (lower middle); Jung Sung-Il‘s Cafe Noir (bottom) Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright will be present to talk about his career at the Los Angeles Film Festival on Sunday evening, June 20. Star Trek‘s J. J. Abrams will be Wright’s conversation partner. Other Sunday highlights at the Laff include Samuel Maoz‘s Lebanon, Jung Sung-Il‘s Cafe Noir, Haim Tabakman‘s Eyes Wide Open, and Hilda Hidalgo‘s Del amor y otros demonios / Of Love and Other Demons. Winner of the Golden Lion at last year’s Venice Film Festival and of four Ophir Awards from the Israeli Film Academy, Lebanon takes place inside an Israeli tank on the first day of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon...
- 6/20/2010
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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