Blog Archives

Sword in the Moon (2004)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

Lots of flashing swordingness, some funky costumes, but overall this is fairly mundane. If you want historical fantasy action, you’d be better off going for something like Bichunmoo, which has the added advantage of the hawk-faced Shin Hyun-joon and a passel of other convincing characters.… (read more)

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The Scarlet Letter (2004)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre thought that Hell was being locked in a room for eternity with your friends, but as Lister from Red Dwarf pointed out, all his mates were French. Director Byun seems to believe that Hell consists of being brought face to face with the consequences of one’s actions, and for some that’s far more scary. We all have things that we don’t want to face, although we probably don’t expect the consequences to be as icky as … (read more)

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Say Yes (2001)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

Say Yes is not so much a thriller as a tenser. How tense? Real tense. Tense with a capital tense. By the end of this film you’ll be clenching everything but your elbows.

Park Joong-Hoon, the grinning, shambling cop from Nowhere To Hide, gives a masterful portrayal of a man so far over the edge he’s up to the next edge. He’s so good, he can sit at a table, saying nothing, doing nothing, and still make you nervous. … (read more)

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Samaritan Girl (2004)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by James

Samaritan Girl is Kim’s best film since The Isle, and along with Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter … and Spring it signals an interesting new direction for the maverick filmmaker. Kim has slightly softened his approach and turned his focus to broader spiritual, rather than specific social, issues. Gone are moments such as the frozen swordfish turned lethal weapon scene in Wild Animals. Violence in Kim’s films has now got a lot less to do with men slapping, molesting … (read more)

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Phantom: The Submarine (1999)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by James

As political anxiety concerning North Korea’s alleged nuclear weapons program increases in tempo with each new report on Kim Jong-il’s supposed love for the Friday the 13th movies (a logic which seems to be: passion for horror = bad taste = evil tyrant), the thematic situations presented in Phantom become all the more interesting. It is extremely tempting to follow in the story and characterisations an allegory for the North: the connection to Russia (as Stalinist allies), the numbering of … (read more)

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Hi! Dharma (2002)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

Light-hearted fluff with some laughs and some warm fuzzies. The gang boss is good, and the lead monk is great (you will remember him from Bichunmoo, among other films), and the Korean scenery is, as always, nothing short of spectacular. The second film, Hi Dharma 2: Showdown In Seoul is a better film, and stars the talented Shin Hyun-joon, but this one’s still pretty fine.… (read more)

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Crying Fist (2004)

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Posted on October 29, 2005 by Alison

I must admit to approaching this film with some trepidation. After all, the only other film I’d seen by director Ryoo was Arahan, and while that was fun mindless entertaiment, I was hard-pressed to imagine him succeeding with something serious.

My fears were unfounded, because this is a genre-defying drama which succeeds wonderfully. Choi Min-shik will always be watchable, whatever the role and whatever the film, and he imbues his down-and-out boxer with real humanity. Moments that, in lesser … (read more)

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My Brother (2004)

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Posted on May 26, 2005 by James

Won Bin and Shin Ha-kyun make for cute sibling rivalry in this ultimately tragic (or at least bittersweet) film that reminded me very much of Friend, another massively successful picture devoted to the display of another kind of brotherly bond (I guess it also has some resonances with Taegukgi).

Why did this film, which is really not far elevated from television melodrama (with Yu-jin’s mother from ‘Winter Sonata’ and all), do so well in Korean theatres? First, it’s … (read more)

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