Tag: Korea

Review: Coming to You

In January this year, a Seoul court denied a same-sex couple’s rights for spousal health benefits. In a country where homosexuality was only declassified as “harmful and obscene” in 2003, these lack of legal protections for LGBTQIA+ communities are still indicative of widespread prejudice. In COMING TO YOU (너에게 가는 길), director Byun Gyu-ri attempts to give a face to the people most impacted by these attitudes.

Byun’s film primarily focuses on two mothers who initially have differing responses to their children coming out. Nabi, a veteran fire officer of over three decades, enters the film after her child Hankyeol comes out as a trans, non-binary, and asexual polyamorist. Nabi tries to understand the challenges that they might face, and joins the local chapter of PFLAG.

Flight attendant Vivian’s son Yejoon also comes out as gay by letter to his mother. She struggles with how this will impact his life in the conservative Korea, while Yejoon travels to Canada in an attempt to live outside those narrow confines. Or, as Yejoon puts it, to simply “kiss without danger.”

Working in parallel with, and in stark contrast to, Graham Kolbeins’ Queer Japan (2020), here we see South Korea at a crossroads. Like Japan, there is a complex scene that is caught between social change and a group of people who aren’t quite willing to move on yet. For every fledgling pride march moment that Byun captures, there’s an equally strong protest movement against LGBTQIA+ rights. One mother recounts being punched in the face at a pride march in front of police, also demonstrating who institutionalised the prejudice remains.

Which is where we find the real strength of Byun’s documentary. By concentrating on a handful on individuals, we get to witness firsthand how difficult the journey through the South Korean legal structure is for Hankyeol and Yejoon. For example, while South Korea does have facility for a change of legal gender, we see the courts deny Hankyeol’s right to do so under a technicality.

Yet there is hope thanks to the hardworking efforts of PFLAG and the LGBTQIA+ communities across South Korea. What started as a self-help group in 2014 was reformed in 2018 as a human rights advocacy group, positioning South Korea for more social and legal changes in the future. As PFLAG parents affirm their support to camera over the credits, there’s a good chance that dream could become a reality sooner rather than later.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Byun Gyu-ri | CINEMATOGRAPHY: Byun Gyu-ri and others | EDITOR: San Kim | CAST: Eunae ‘Nabi’ Jeong, Sunhwa ‘Vivian’ Kang, Hankyeol Lee | DISTRIBUTOR: M-Line Distribution, Mardi Gras Film Festival 2022 | RUNNING TIME: 93 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 17 February – 3 March 2022 (AUS)

February 21, 2022
Review: Drown

Lim Sang-Su’s debut feature opens with a gloriously vivid shot of a lake surrounded by mountains. As we soak in these seemingly tranquil surrounds, the title DROWN (드라운) drops on screen, positively dripping with foreboding. So begins this moody thriller that skirts the lines between waking worlds of grief and trauma and a dreamlike otherness.

When we meet Do-woo (Lee Joong-ok), he is scrubbing the toilets of the Motel Alps. Moments later, he see the swinging feet of someone who has killed themselves by hanging from a water pipe. As the owner of the rundown motel, largely used by GIs, his defeated attitude is indicative that he has seen it all before. The lake is filled with the bodies of thousands of Korean War victims after all.

Coupled with the burdens of caring for his mother, who is suffering with dementia, he maintains a remote and quiet existence. When his mother goes missing in the dead of winter, everyone pitches in to help him find her. Yet when she fails to turn up, suspicion turns towards Do-woo. The fact that he was under the influence of his mother’s sleeping pills doesn’t help his defence.

What follows is an atmospheric mystery, with a perpetual question hanging over the film: did Do-woo do it? More to the point, does Do-woo even know if he did? When a local hostess and a mysterious stranger also start staying at Do-woo’s otherwise empty hotel, we’re left with even more questions. In fact, for part of the movie one might even wonder if these figures are there at all or simply other aspects of Do-woo. It’s the kind of ambiguous drama South Korean cinema has been so good at, from Bong Joon-ho’s Mother through to Lee chang-dong’s Burning. Even if you aren’t engaged in the core mystery, the world that Lim creates has a way of drawing you in.

With its snow-capped surroundings and dense forests, there’s some serious Twin Peaks vibes coming out of this isolated corner of South Korea. As we see the recurring motifs of a woman’s hands, violent encounters or a dog named Fluffy, Lim skillfully refuses to let us know how much of it is in Do-woo’s head. Sometimes we will see him wake up in a cold sweat. Yet there’s another scene where someone dramatically vomits blood over him at a restaurant, and the scene plays out as though it is a waking moment.

Lim doesn’t leave us with any easy answers either, ostensibly wrapping up one mystery while leaving us with dozens of other questions. For some viewers, this approach may not sustain engagement for the duration, and that’s fair too: Lim is deliberately cold and chaotic in equal measure. Yet as the closing shot arrives, a near-mirror shot of the opening save for the sun hanging low in the sky, we acknowledge that Lim has taken us full circle. Whether the cycle will repeat is yet to be seen.

2022 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Lim Sang-Su | WRITER: Lim Sang-Su | CAST: Lee Joong-ok, Kim Daegeon, Kim Yeongyo, Byeon Junghui, Kang Malgeum, Kong Minjeong | DISTRIBUTOR: Studio Bonanza, International Film Festival Rotterdam 2022 (NL) | RUNNING TIME: 100 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 26 January – 6 February 2022 (IFFR)

February 9, 2022
Review: Hellbound

If there’s a constant in Yeon Sang-ho’s career, then it’s change. After beginning his career with the animated King of Pigs, he has since crossed over into the global mainstream with Train to Busan. Since then, he’s kept adapting with Psychokinesis and Busan sequel Peninsula. With HELLBOUND (지옥), Yeon’s second foray into television, he brings the blockbuster sensibilities of his features to serial storytelling.

Co-created by Yeon and Choi Gyu-seok (Awl), adapting Yeon’s own webtoon, it begins as three hulking demonic figures appear out of the ether, beat down a fellow fleeing from a café, and leave nothing but a pile of ashes. It soon emerges that people are hearing predictions of when they will die, and these monsters are sending those people straight to hell.

Jung Jin-Soo (Yoo Ah-In) of the religious cult New Truth, explains the phenomena as a revelation from god, gaining enthusiastic and dedicated followers across Korea. Jin Kyung-Hoon (Yang Ik-June) is a detective investigating the deaths while dealing with the darkness in his own past. Intersecting with these strange events is lawyer Min Hey-Jin (Kim Hyun-Joo), who stands up to the Arrowhead group who follows Jung Jin-Soo’s teachings.

Following the based-on-a-spiritually-themed-webtoon sub-genre that made Along With the Gods such as success, HELLBOUND wastes no time in wowing us with the scale of its ambition. From giant heads appearing to tell people they will die through to the aforementioned demons, there’s clearly some of that good Netflix money involved here. Of course, if it was just a special effects outing it wouldn’t be a Yeon Sang-ho joint.

Genuinely creepy in parts, especially as revelations about the various characters come to light, much of the first half of the series is investigative in nature. There’s the more obvious plots from the cops and journalists, but as aspects of Jung Jin-Soo’s character unfurl, one suspects that this will end with some major reveals. Where it gets especially interesting is where the intersection of ‘cult’ behaviour and media intersect. Jung Jin-Soo’s followers might seem blind, but there’s a spectacularly tense scene in which hundreds of onlookers and the assembled media have gathered ostensibly to watch a woman die.

Yoo Ah-In, known most recently for zombie films like #Alive, is an intriguing lead character — we genuinely don’t know what motivates him for the longest time, and that’s properly scary. Similarly, Yang Ik-June brings a rounded performance to a character that has some layers to unpick.

Festival viewers have been treated to the first three episodes of this six part series, with the remainder coming to Netflix at a future date. So, it’s difficult to give this a complete review at this stage, but the bones are good. There’s several notable cliffhangers that will make this compelling viewing when it hits the streaming giant later this year, and I can’t wait to see how it ends.

HELLBOUND is reviewed as part of our coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2021.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Yeon Sang-ho | WRITER: Yeon Sang-ho, Choi Kyu-sok | CAST: Yoo Ah-in, Park Jung-min, Kim Hyun-joo, Won Jin-ah | DISTRIBUTOR: Netflix, TIFF 2021 | RELEASE DATE: 9 September – 18 September 2021 (TIFF 2021), TBA (Netflix)

September 17, 2021
Review: Aloners

When writing about a film like ALONERS (혼자 사는 사람들) in the middle of a global pandemic, the film inevitably takes on a different meaning. Hong Sung-Eun’s feature debut examines the feelings of self-isolation while pondering what it really means to be ‘alone’ in a modern context.

When we meet Jin-A (Gong Seung-Yeon), she’s a cool-headed employee at a credit card call centre. Yet her star worker status doesn’t translate into personal relationships with her colleagues. She lives alone, and one day discovers that the single neighbour who did attempt to chat with her has been found dead. Shocked by his demise, she begins obsessively watching the hidden camera footage from her recently widowed father’s house.

The phenomena described in Hong’s film is so common there’s a name for it: honjok. The term, which refers to people who engage in typical social activities — eating, drinking, leisure trips — alone. Caused by everything from social ennui to an increase in single person households, companies have now developed strategies to market specifically to this group.

Hong taps into this trend in the form of an intimate character study, rather than as any commentary on honjoks across the board. Jin-A’s facade is aloof and stand-offish to everyone around her, a deliberate choice that keeps her an island unto herself. New employee Sujin (Jung Da-Eun) is the polar opposite, vainly attempting to be friends with Jin-A despite the latter’s rejection of social mores.

The audience could easily be just as isolated as Jin-A were it not for the excellent performance from Gong Seung-Yeon, seamlessly transitioning from TV dramas to feature lead. The death of her neighbour might force her to reconsider her life, but Gong’s performance is so subtle that she undergoes more of a slow evolution throughout the film rather than a revolution.

Which seems to be exactly where Gong wants to position ALONERS. It’s a collection of moments that add up to a major shift but could just as easily have gone in the other direction. Jin-A ultimately works to break a cycle that was taught to her, and eventually concludes with some irony that “I just need some time to myself.”

ALONERS is reviewed as part of our coverage of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) 2021.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Hong Sung-Eun | WRITER: Hong Sung-Eun | CAST: Gong Seung-Yeon, Jung Da-Eun, Seo Hyun-Woo, Park Jung-Hak | DISTRIBUTOR: Deokub, TIFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 91 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 9 September – 18 September 2021 (TIFF 2021)

September 14, 2021
Review: Sinkhole

Sinkholes are terrifying. They occur when the ground beneath the surface shifts and collapses, potentially sucking everything above it into the earth. Hard to predict and popping up all over the world, you could be sitting above one right now. Go on, let that sink in for a bit.

Director Kim Ji-hoon is no stranger to disaster movies, with The Tower (2012) remaining a favourite amongst many fans of South Korea action. In SINKHOLE (싱크홀), a somewhat unique comedy-disaster hybrid, we follow Park Dong-won (Kim Sung-kyun) and his family as they move into a new apartment block after over a decade of scrimping and saving.

After inviting some colleagues over for a housewarming, including co-worker Kim Seung-Hyun (Lee Kwang-Soo), torrential rains result in the titular sinkhole opening up below them and sucking the entire building beneath the surface. With the hole filling up with water, Park must work with neighbour Jeong Man-soo (Cha Seung-won) to find their loved ones — and a way out of the hole — before the elements take over.

Kim’s film has an odd tone. The first 30 minutes of the narrative is frontloaded with squabbles and comic misunderstandings between Park and Jeong, including really strange asides where characters get stuck in automatic doors. It’s all mixed in with a little bit of foreboding about coming events — including the tilting of interiors and the lack of running water — but it establishes a tone one doesn’t typically see in a genre picture.

When the main event occurs, the ₩15 billion budget (about US$13 million) is on full display. The entire building rockets straight down with the use of CG imagery, setting the scene for the survivalist plotting that follows. To the credit of screenwriters Jeon Cheol-hong and Kim Jeong-han, they manage to keep the comedy in line with the drama for the duration. That’s a rare feat indeed.

While the characters are built into a fairly standard mould, Kim Sung-kyun and Cha Seung-won are engaging leads. Cha in particular gets to combine his comedy and act chops, having balanced between the two for the last decade or so of his career.

SINKHOLE is already the fastest film to pass 1 million viewers in South Korea this year, marking it as late contender for one of the highest grossing Korean films of the year. Its unique mix of humour and action will translate easily to international audiences, so make sure you jump in and see this before the inevitable Hollywood remake.

SINKHOLE is the closing film of the New York Asian Film Festival 2021.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kim Ji-hoon | WRITERS: Jeon Cheol-hong, Kim Jeong-han | CAST: Cha Seung-won, Kim Sung-kyun, Lee Kwang-soo, Kim Hye-jun | DISTRIBUTOR: Showbox, NYAFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 114 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 22 August 2021 (NYAFF 2021)

August 19, 2021
Review: Midnight

In the grand tradition of Hush or Wait Until Dark, a woman with a hearing impairment becomes the target of a serial killer. That’s the premise of Kwon Oh-Seung’s debut film, one that draws inspiration from Korea’s own I Saw the Devil and through to overt references to The Shining.

In MIDNIGHT (미드나이트), actor Jin Ki-Joo (Little Forest) stars as Kyung-Mi, a deaf young woman working as a sign interpreter in a call centre. After walking out of a client party that’s filled with toxic masculinity, she picks up her mother (Gil Hae-Yeon). Yet their paths intersect with serial killer Do-Sik (Wi Ha-Joon), who is interrupted from completing his latest kill.

Accompanying Kyung-Mi and her mother to the police station, they are unaware that Do-Sik is the killer and is determined to get them both out of the way. So begins a series of gaslighting moments, cat and mouse chases, and so many jump scares.

Stylishly lit and solidly cast, Kwon’s film works best when the audience is one step ahead of the would-be victims. There’s a lengthy sequence set in the police station that’s paced like a stage production. People come and go, suspicions are cast in the wrong direction, and Do-Sik manages to pull the wool over everybody’s eyes but Kyung-Mi’s mother. (Always listen to your mother). Her hearing impairment plays into some of the drama, in that people are unwilling to listen to her frantic attempts at communication. It’s here that the film plays expertly with anticipation and keeps us on the edge for as long as possible.

Still, it never really develops much beyond this. While Kwon is careful not to exploit Kyong-Mi’s impairment, there are very few instances where it serves the plot. Yes, the addition of non-verbal communication gives Kyung-Mi and her mother a one-up on the killer, but everything else is a bit repetitive. Kwon uses sound and its absence for occasional shocks, for example, but squanders it as Kyung-Mi almost runs into traffic at least three times.

While it would have been ideal to cast a non-hearing actor in the lead role, Jin Ki-Joo gives a solid performance. She reportedly did some intensive study of sign language to take the part, and brings an earnestness to the part that makes her something more than a continual victim at the hands of Do-sik. The latter is creepily played by Wi Ha-Joon, who is no stranger to scares in films such as Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum.

The final 20 minutes or so are some of the most tense in any thriller you’re likely to see, even if some of it staggers belief. It’s a chase at its most basic level, but as tables are turned Kwon lets us know he’s got a few tricks up his sleeve. It’s a promising start for a first film and we’ll be keen to see what he has in store for us next.

MIDNIGHT is reviewed as part of our coverage for both the New York Asian Film Festival 2021 and Fantasia Festival 2021.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kwon Oh-seung | WRITER: Kwon Oh-seung | CAST: Jin Ki-joo, Kim Hye-yoon, Park Hoon, Wi Ha-jun | DISTRIBUTOR: FINECUT, Fantasia Festival 2021, NYAFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 120 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 5-25 August 2021 (Fantasia 2021), 6-22 August 2021 (NYAFF 2021)

August 18, 2021
Review: Fighter

Films about the relationship between North and South Korea have become increasingly prevalent over the last few years. From historical dramas like The Spy Gone North and this year’s Escape from Mogadishu to blockbusters like Ashfall, occasional ire is earned on both sides of the DMZ for perceived misrepresentations. TV’s Crash Landing on You has been praised for its research while also being criticised for its depiction for its softly positive depiction of the North.

Yun Jéro’s FIGHTER (파이터) avoids some of this minefield of issues by focusing less on ideological differences and more on a general feeling of societal disconnection. Unlike Yun’s documentary work, such as Mrs. B, a North Korean Woman (2016) — which depicts a woman who smuggles people between North Korea, China and South Korea — this film introduces us to Jina (Lim Sung-mi) as she emerges from a few months of social rehabilitation training in the South.

Labelled a ‘North Korean refugee,’ Jina is assigned a social worker and given an apartment in Seoul. Although she has some subsidies given to her, Jina wants to to bring her father from China to South Korea, so she needs money. She starts working at a boxing gym and soon becomes fascinated with the tight-knit group of female boxers there. Initially met with some aggression, Jina begins to find a de facto family unit that’s in stark contrast to life outside the ring.

Yun’s script doesn’t dwell on the culture shock of moving from the North, with the tone generally being one of a slow and relentless malaise. There’s two major knocks that Jina takes: her social work begins making inappropriate advances towards her, and there’s still a pall hanging over the relationship with her hitherto estranged mother who left her for South Korea years before. Yet Yun peppers Jina’s world with masses of micro-aggressions, from casual comments about North Koreans to slurs about her social status.

Lim delivers an understated excellence in a the lead role, one where she keeps her cards pretty close to her chest for the majority of the film. There’s a quasi romantic sub-plot, and the relationship with her mother of course, but it isn’t until late in the piece that she finally breaks. “Don’t hold your tears,” her sympathetic boxing coach tells her. “In life, there are times when one needs to cry.”

Not a lot happens in FIGHTER, but that’s kind of the point. There are no major revelations about the nature of Korea’s geopolitical future. This is a personal journey of a single woman and finding the strength to move forward in a new environment. Ending at the same point the film started, on a beach in the near light, both Jina and the audience feel hope for the first time.

FIGHTER played at both the New York Asian Film Festival 2021 and Fantasia Festival 2021.

2020 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Yun Jéro | WRITERS: Yun Jéro | CAST: Lim Seong-mi, Baek Seo-bin, Oh Kwang-rok | DISTRIBUTOR: NYAFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 103 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6-22 August 2021 (NYAFF 2021)

August 14, 2021
Review: The Book of Fish

Jeong Yak-jeon, who lived between 1758 and 1816, is acknowledged in Korea as a scholar of some renown. While not reaching the culture significance of his UNESCO recognised brother Jeong Yak-yong, his work and story fascinated director Lee Joon-ik. Blending fact and fiction, he conveys something here that is part biography and also an exploration of two opposing philosophical points of view.

THE BOOK OF FISH (자산어보) takes place during Jeong’s exile to Heuksando Island during the Catholic Persecution of 1801 under King Sunjo of Joseon’s reign. Despite Jeong (played by Sol Kyung-Gu) being branded a traitor by the local magistrate, he soon finds a home with the kindly Gageo-daek (Lee Jung-Eun).

Standing in contrast to the highly educated Jeong is Chang-dae (Byun Yo-han), an incredibly intelligent fisherman who is only held back by his inability to afford the required texts. Jeong’s initial offers to mentor him are rejected due to his ‘evil western teachings.’ Yet with Chang-dae’s keen interest in Neo-Confucianism, and Jeong’s growing fascination with the island’s marine life, the stage is set for a meeting of minds.

Although the character of Chang-dae is mentioned in the scholar’s writings, his personality is entirely a creation of director Lee and writer Kim Se-Kyum (Sunset In My Hometown). It’s a fascinating way to demonstrate Jeong’s connection with the land. Jeong wrote volumes during his period of exile, and the titular Jasaneobo — a treatise on marine life that identified over 200 varieties of creatures around the island — is argued to be the most fascinating. While the book itself is real, his semi-fictionalised relationship with Chang-dae serves the important story purpose of connecting Jeong with both the islanders and modern film audiences.

The two central performances carry this, with long stretches of the film effectively acting as a two-hander between the versatile star Sol Kyung-Gu and the much younger Byun Yo-Han. The latter’s journey to the mainland, and his discovery that nobility isn’t all that noble, is both heartbreaking and poignant. Yet the supporting cast is also charming and effective, especially Lee Jung-Eun’s homespun and frank portrayal of a very modern woman transplanted into 19th century Korea.

Equal amounts of praise are to be heaped on cinematographer Lee Ui-tae who casts the island in gorgeous monochromatic hues. From the endless skylines to the high contrast faces, Lee captures this story as if it’s somehow shot half a century ago. They allow themselves one splash of colour during a pivotal scene during the final act, and the comparison only highlights how consistently great the photography has been at sucking us into this world.

With THE BOOK OF FISH, South Korean cinema continues its celebration of their culture history, and this film will no doubt have even more impact on home soil. Yet while there are some specific culture touchstones here, they are not really a barrier to entry. Lee’s film is a beautiful and engaging portrait of a human, and a reminder of the connection that we all share through the common language of nature.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Lee Joon-ik | WRITER: Kim Se-Kyum | CAST: Sol Kyung-gu, Byun Yo-han, Lee Jung-eun, Min Do-hee | DISTRIBUTOR: NYAFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 126 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6-22 August 2021 (NYAFF 2021)

August 14, 2021
KOFFIA 2021: Korean Film Festival in Australia announces full program

Our friends at the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) have announced their full program for 2021! Just in time to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations between Australia and South Korea, the 12th edition of KOFFIA returns to cinemas in Canberra (2-6 September), Brisbane (16-19 September), Melbourne (16-23 September) and Sydney (14-23 October).

Coming off the back of a historic high point for Korean cinema internationally, with Parasite and Minari dominating the awards categories for the last few years, the Festival program features 22 of the finest films from Korea’s world-class film industry.

Tickets to KOFFIA are on sale now at www.koffia.com.au

Drama

Lee Isaac Chung’s MINARI leads the pack. The award-winning story of one family’s experience after moving from Los Angeles to Arkansas to start a farm in the early 1980’s. We named it one of the Best Films of 2020 in our round-up in December.

Koh Hoon’s feature film PAPER FLOWER follows the life of an old mortician, his unwell son and the events that take place when a new family moves next door.

Coming straight from the Korean box office in early 2021, WAITING FOR THE RAIN is a romantic drama directed by Cho Jin-mo. It an epistolary film, based on a series of letters sent between lovers who have struggled to meet for years.

In WAY BACK HOME a woman (Woo-yun Han) receives a call from the police alerting her that they have arrested the man who raped her 10 years prior. Reluctant to tell her husband, her past is slowly revealed little by little, throwing married life off balance.

Lee Tae-Gyeom’s directorial debut I DON’T FIRE MYSELF is a sobering social drama that sees a woman take a subcontractor role rather than resigning from her job. The film follows her struggles to adjust to the new life.

KIDS ARE FINE is a fun-filled yet sentimental film following the adventure of three 9-year-old kids who set out on a daring journey to find one of their ailing mothers after she is transferred to a faraway hospital.

Other dramas in the Festival program include director KIM Hyun-tak’s compelling and emotional I, SOMEWHERE IN BETWEEN which follows a young man who returns home without a hope for his future and finds hope and comfort; musical film SPRING SONG; and the romantic dramas DOUBLE PATTY, JOSÉE and SHADES OF THE HEART.

Family

As you can probably guess from the title, RED SHOES AND THE SEVEN DWARFS is a parody of Snow White and follows seven dwarfs, once seven princes, who can only break their curse by kissing the most beautiful woman in the kingdom. Way to perpetuate the beauty myth, ancient curses!

Action

If there’s one thing that South Korea has been awesome at over the last few years, then it’s large-scale action blockbusters. KOFFIA this year is no exception.

THE SWORDSMAN is an action film from Cho Jae-hoon. Set in the 17th-century during a time when ruling dynasties in Korea and China were in significant transition, it stars Jang Hyuk as the titular character.

We love a heist film, and PIPELINE seems set to fill that void for us. The film features six thieves who hope to change their lives planning an oil heist by drilling into Korea’s biggest pipeline. Oils well that ends well, we guess.

Comedy

A surprisingly funny, smart and deep story, MORE THAN A FAMILY follows university student To-il who gets pregnant while dating her 19-year-old tutoring student and embarks on a journey to find her biological father.

SAMJIN COMPANY ENGLISH CLASS is a classic David and Goliath story where three talented women who are trapped in roles as mere office assistants, eventually become key drivers against an unethical corporate scheme.

THE GOLDEN HOLIDAY follows a detective on (you guessed it) holiday with his family in the Philippines before becoming entangled in an investigation of a local murder case.

Thriller + Adventure

Suspenseful mystery thriller RECALLED is about a woman who wakes up one day and learns that she’s lost her memory and begins to experience hallucinations that she feels portend future murderous events. Her doting husband cares for her at home but things are not what they seem. It stars Seo Yea-ji, Kim Kang-woo and Yeom Hye-ran.

DELIVER US FROM EVIL is a frenzied hit-man thriller following an assassin who goes to Thailand to solve a kidnapping case, only to find himself being chased by a man whose sibling he killed.

COLLECTORS is another heist film that documents the journey where a team of grave robbers set out to claim an ancient king’s treasure buried in the royal tomb located in the heart of Seoul. With an elevator pitch of ‘Ocean’s Eleven meets Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ you know we’re going to sit up and pay attention. Park Jung-bae directs a cast led by Lee Je-hoon in this South Korean historical adventure/crime thriller. We’re in!

Documentary

Because you have to have at least one food documentary at an Australian festival! Park Hye-Ryoung’s THE WANDERING CHEF goes on a journey with Korean celebrity chef Im Jiho as he travels the Korean peninsula in search of the most authentic and unique ingredients with medicinal properties.

August 12, 2021
Review: Escape from Mogadishu

In January 1991, amidst rising rebellion and the ultimate collapse of Somali President Barre’s government, foreign embassies were evacuated. Arguably the most famous of these was Operation Eastern Exit, the name given to the military evacuation of the US embassy in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

Ryoo Seung-wan, who we last saw behind the camera for the large-scale war film The Battleship Island, takes the evacuation of the Korean embassies as the basis for his action film. Kicking off with the arrival of Counsellor Kang Dae-jin (Jo In-sung) of South Korean intelligence, Ryoo and co-writer Lee Ki-cheol (Assassination) sets the scene with a ragtag group of ambassadorial staff attempting to gain an audience with the Somali authorities.

Led by Han Sin-seong, the South Korean ambassador to Somalia, their efforts are thwarted by the more influential North Korean embassy and their ambassador Rim Yong-su (Heo Joon-ho). Shot at by rebels, and intimidated by police, the South Koreans feel completely cut off when violence escalates in the capital. Unable to get word from home, they unexpectedly find themselves working with the North Koreans in an attempt to flee the country.

As you might guess from the exciting title, ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU (모가디슈) isn’t so much a nuanced exploration of a major geopolitical event as it is a ripper of an blockbuster film. Blending fictionalised accounts with a non-fiction backdrop (as he did with The Battleship Island), every inch of its ₩24 billion (or US $20 million) budget can be seen on screen.

From the moment the group decides to leave their compounds, Ryoo’s film is filled with tense stand-offs and big-scale sprints across the city. As the clique attempts to make their way across the city at night, surrounded by burning objects and random gunfire, we the audience are right in there with them. Ryoo really ramps up the thrills in a spectacular sequence in which several cars, covered in books as bullet shields, try and muscle their way through the blockades. This is contemporary South Korean action at the top of its game.

Some characterisations are going to be questionable. The local Somali cops, for example, are depicted as literally toothless thugs. The only other real sense we get of the country is either through armed rebels or the aftermath of violence in the streets. At least all of this fleetingly acknowledges the devastating impact it had on the people of Somalia, even if the main thrust of the film is getting out of there. On the flip side, the cooperation between North and South Korea — even on this micro scale — seems positively optimistic, even if the 1990s setting condemns its longevity.

Ryoo’s casting is also top-notch. Jo In-sung, seen recently heading up The Great Battle (2018), is suitably enigmatic as the intelligence Counsellor. Meanwhile, Heo Joon-ho is perfectly cast as the North Korean ambassador, bringing just the right levels of menace and pathos when called for. Yet the emotional core is invested in Another Child‘s Kim Yoon-seok, a man adept at playing recent historical personas in 1987: When the Day Comes (2017) and Dark Figure of Crime (2018).

The aftermath of this event, and broader Somali Civil War, has famously been depicted by Ridley Scott in Black Hawk Down (2001). Although playing out on a small scale, and with a drastically smaller budget, Ryoo skilfully manoeuvres the audience to a bittersweet ending via a breathless series of spectacularly staged action sequences. Already the highest grossing South Korean action film of the year, it will no doubt join the ranks of A Taxi Driver (2017) in being one of the favourites of the year too.

ESCAPE FROM MOGADISHU is the opening night film of the New York Asian Film Festival 2021. A theatrical season will follow.

2021 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Ryoo Seung-wan | WRITER: Ryoo Seung-wan, Lee Ki-cheol | CAST: Kim Yoon-seok, Jo In-sung, Heo Joon-ho, Kim So-jin | DISTRIBUTOR: Well Go USA, NYAFF 2021 | RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 6 August 2021 (NYAFF 2021)

August 5, 2021