Tag: Korea

Review: Another Child

ANOTHER CHILD (미성년) is the directorial debut of actor Kim Yun-Seok, perhaps best known for films such as The Chaser (2008) and 1987: When the Day Comes (2018). The winner of multiple awards for his on-screen performances, his first foray behind the camera is worthy of critical praise as well.

Working from his own screenplay, co-written with Lee Bo-ram, it follows two second year high school students: Joo-Ri (Kim Hye-Jun) and Yoon-A (Park Se-Jin). While they wouldn’t normally hang about in the same social circles, the discovery of an affair between their respective parents sees them beginning to collaborate.

Tuning in his finely-honed actor’s senses to the broader narrative, Kim crafts an impressively nuanced character-based piece that never dips into melodrama. Kim Hye-Jun, best known for the Netflix series Kingdom, is a strong young lead, capably matched by newcomer Park Se-Jin. Their attempts to be the parents that their own are incapable of being gives both actors a well of strength to pull from. Their lack of any other commonalities makes the microcosm of their relationship all that more intense.

By comparison, Joo-Ri’s mother Young-Joo, trying to hold together their lives in a dead-end job, is wonderfully portrayed by Yum Jung-Ah (The Mimic). Kim casts himself as the father, who has some scenes playing against a strong male type, literally running away from his daughter in the face of revelation.

Working with cinematographer Hwang Ki-Seok (Saint Janet, Avengers: Age of Ultron), Kim also ensures that the focus on character is never at the expense of the visual storytelling. There’s a beautiful series of shots in a hospital, for example, where a baby’s crib is lit by the purple and blue lights of the ward. With the snow falling outside, the camera pushes through the closed window to give us am internal/external viewpoint that is both stylish and intimate.

In other film, the events leading up to the resolution might seem morbid on one hand, or utterly preposterous on the other. (Without spoiling anything here, it involves a hospital exodus and a couple of mini milk cartons). Yet this is still a coming of age story, one that is filtered through the already tumultuous emotions of teenagers. Kim Yun-Seok establishes himself as a triple threat of actor/writer/director, and if this film is any indication, he will continue to be a strong presence on both sides of Korean cinema’s lenses.

2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kim Yun-Seok | WRITERS: Kim Yun-Seok, Lee Bo-ram | CAST: Kim Hye-Jun, Park Se-Jin, Yum Jung-Ah, Kim Yun-Seok | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia 2019 (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 96 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 22 August – 12 September 2019 (KOFFIA)

August 21, 2019
Review: The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale

The zombie film is having something of a renaissance, and Korea has already made its mark with films like Train to Busan and Seoul Station redefining and influencing audiences across the globe. THE ODD FAMILY: ZOMBIE ON SALE (기묘한 가족) takes a slightly different approach, emphasising comedy in this strangely endearing film that happens to feature a bit of bloodletting.

As the title would imply, this is a zombie film about a deeply odd family. We all know the story: a zombie enters the lives of a family living in a small community, and soon the plague spreads like wildfire. Of course, no zombie has encountered a family as opportunistic as this one. Man-Deok (Park In-Hwan) runs a rural gas station that relies on tourists. When a zombie bite gives the Park patriarch back some of his youthful vim and vigour, they concoct a scheme to monetise zombie bites.

Writer/director Lee Min-Jae’s debut is arguably one of the gentler zombie films in the canon. Spending much of the first half of the film simply getting to know the family and their various quirks. The often-unilateral relationship between the strange man (Jung Ga-Ram) and Hae-Gul (Lee Soo-Kyung) swings between meet-cute and broader comedy. As Hae-Gul tries to ween him off flesh using sauce-covered lettuce, there’s a wonderfully silly moment when the pet zombie spots a field of the leafy green vegetables.

The back half of the film gives way to a more traditional zom com, as chaos erupts and the zombie damn breaks. A zombie survival montage, and a possible visual reference to George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead, will be appreciated by the undead traditionalists in the audience. That said, you’re unlikely to see a zombie rave of this quality outside a theme night at a warehouse near you.

There’s an excellent cast assembled here too. Uhm-Ji Won (The Master) has a laconic vibe that throws shade like a hooded lamp. Rising star Jung Ga-Ram (The Poet and the Boy) has fun playing against type, as his deteriorating body displays a physicality to his comedic and dramatic presence.

Lee Min-jae concludes with a time jump that leaves us in a very different environment to the tranquillity at the start of the film, either conclusively bringing his saga to a close or leaving the door wide open for more adventures to come. It’s the kind of film that could easily go on in the vein of Zombieland, continuing to follow this small group of people across the wastelands of Korea if it so chose. Either way, this is a movie that does what it says it’s going to do on the side of the tin, but also manages to surprise and delight throughout.

2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Lee Min-jae | WRITERS: Lee Min-jae | CAST: Park In-hwan, Jung Ga-ram, Lee Soo-kyung, Uhm Ji-won, Kim Nam-gil, Jung Jae-young | DISTRIBUTOR: Korean Film Festival in Australia 2019 (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 112 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 1-18 August 2019 (KOFFIA)

August 20, 2019
KOFFIA 2019: 7 films to see at the Korean Film Festival in Australia

Korean cinema is having a pretty good year. For the first time in its history, the Cannes Film Festival awarded the prestigious Palme d’Or to Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite. That film, along with almost two dozen others, will form the backbone of the 10th anniversary of the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA).

Throughout August and September, KOFFIA will screen in Sydney (22-31 August), Canberra (22-25 August), Brisbane (5-8 September) and Melbourne (5-12 September). Along with our picks below, there’s a few that we’ve already loved in cinemas this year including thriller The Spy Gone North, the action packed Extreme Job, and the historical epic The Great Battle. There’s also a Bong Joon-ho retrospective which you should most definitely check out.

The Reel Bits has long been a supporter of KOFFIA, having previously served as a media partner. We will continue to cover the festival as part of our Asia in Focus stream this year. For now, here’s 7 films we reckon you shouldn’t miss at this year’s festival. You can find the full program and purchase tickets from the official site at koffia.com.au.

Parasite (기생충)

Bong Joon-ho draws on his considerable talents to explore the divide between rich and poor. A film you’ll be digesting for a while, before planning to see it again. But you know what they say about plans… Read our full review.

Another Child (미성년)

A coming of age film about two teenage classmates who unite when they discover an affair between their parents. A quietly emotional film that relies on the performances of its two young leads. The directorial debut of actor Kim Yun-Seok (1987: When The Day Comes, Dark Figure of Crime – among many others), it’s got some beautiful visuals as well.

The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil (악인전)

Director/writer Lee Won-Tae follows up his 2017 period piece Man of Will with this sharply contemporary thriller. A slick cat-and-mouse film with enough twists, cool set pieces, and solid performances to make it better than the average bear. Read our full review.

The Odd Family: Zombie On Sale (기묘한 가족)

As the title would imply, this is a zombie film about a deeply odd family. A fresh, albeit chaotic, take on the zom com genre, with enough points of difference from Rampart or Train to Busan to keep us chuckling (or at least laughing) for the duration.

Hotel by the River (강변호텔)

It’s a legal tradition that a Hong Sang-soo film is included annually on the program of any Australian film festival. For good reason too: the filmmaker has made a self-sustaining industry of quiet gems that speak not only to his own experiences but wink at a knowing film savvy audience. This one is about an ageing poet in the titular hotel by the Han.

Extreme Job (극한직업)

This action comedy was one of the biggest box office successes of the year in Korea, following a group of cops that go undercover by starting a chicken restaurant to bust a drug ring, but soon become famous for their food. It sounds a little but like Hong Kong’s Lobster Cop, but with a less deceptive title.

Underdog (언더독)

We don’t often get to see a lot of Korean animation outside of the country, but Oh Seong-yun delivers his long-awaited follow-up to Leafie, A Hen into the Wild. Featuring the voices of Do Kyung-soo (Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days) Park Cheol-min (Inseparable Bros, KOFFIA 2019), and Park So-dam (Parasite), here’s a festival film where you can take the whole family.

August 4, 2019
Review: Parasite

“It’s a family movie,” South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho told audiences at the Sydney Film Festival this year. “It’s an R-rated family movie.” Which shouldn’t surprise anyone familiar with Bong’s filmography, one that’s run the gamut from crime drama Memories of a Murder to environmentalist pig-caper Okja.

In his first solely Korean production since 2009’s Mother, Bong introduces us to Kim Ki-taek (Song Kang-ho), an unemployed driver, who lives with his wife Choong Sook (Jang Hye-jin) in a sub-basement with their two adult children, stealing WiFi and putting together pizza boxes for cash. After his son Ki-tae (Choi Woo-shik) gets a job tutoring for the well-to-do Park family, the entire clan soon scams their way into employment in the household. For a while they ride the gravy train. Then things get weird.

To reveal much more about the film’s plot would be criminal. In fact, director Bong wrote a lovely open letter to reviewers to refrain from revealing anything beyond this point. “Your considerate refrain will be a wonderful gift to the audience and the team that made this film possible.” Who am I to deprive the world of this gift? Some kind of Grinch? Not today, Satan. Not today.

If Okja drew parallels with The Host, then PARASITE traces its comparisons right back to the earliest days of Bong’s career. While the title might imply some kind of creature feature, the horror comes entirely from people interacting with other people. Partly a missive on the relationship between the rich and the working poor, there’s a perpetual tension lurking under the surface that comes to the fore in spectacular fashion.

Bong shows his craftsmanship as a filmmaker with impeccable visuals, from the perfectly staged mise en scène of the slickly modern Park house to the basement view of Kim’s family. For the latter, Bong cheekily stages the view of the outside world through the submerged window looking onto an alley, typically filled with people urinating on their way home from a drunken night. Contrast this with the bright greens and open spaces of the Park’s backyard, and it’s a visual reminder of the economic divide between the classes.

PARASITE is the first South Korean film to win the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, only a year after the Festival’s recognition of Japan’s sublime Shoplifters for the same award. It’s not simply a recognition of Hirokazu Kore-eda and Bong, but of the entire Japanese and Korean film industries. So, while Bong’s work has been more nuanced or high-concept in the past – and the finale lingers a little too long – this film represents everything that is good about Korean filmmaking and will hopefully introduce more audience to its unique charms.

2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Bong Joon-ho | WRITERS: Bong Joon-ho, Han Jin-won | CAST: Song Kang-ho, Lee Sun-kyun, Cho Yeo-jeong, Choi Woo-shik, Park So-dam | DISTRIBUTOR: Madman Entertainment| RUNNING TIME: 132 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 27 June 2019 (AUS)

June 23, 2019
Review: The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil

Following an out of competition screening at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, THE GANGSTER, THE COP, THE DEVIL (악인전) makes its way to local cinemas. A follow up to director/writer Lee Won-Tae’s 2017 period piece Man of Will, his latest effort is a sharply contemporary thriller.

A serial killer (Kim Sung-Kyu) is stalking is going around stabbing businessmen after rear-ending them with his car. Hothead Detective Jung Tae-Seok (Kim Moo-Yeol) is having trouble convincing his bosses that there’s a connection between the killings. When mob boss Jang Dong-Soo (Ma Dong-Seok) is the only person to survive an attack, it’s a race against the clock to catch the killer before the mob does – at least until Jung puts aside his hatred for gangs and works with him.

Allegedly based on a true story, the thriller takes place in August 2005 against the backdrop of gangs running illegal slots in Korea. Despite the ‘period’ setting, or perhaps because of it, director Lee delivers something that feels both entirely modern in its approach while being a throwback to a kind of kitchen-sink serial killer thriller that could’ve come out of the late 1990s.

Amidst the typical investigative montages and Se7en inspired sprawling-yet-precise notebooks of a serial killer, Lee stages some impressive action as well. There’s at least two top-notch car chase sequences, and one on foot that takes us into the surprisingly tense environment of a karaoke parlour. Lee also uses the physicality of Ma Dong-Seok at every opportunity, whether it’s lauding over his minions like a kingpin in an expensive suit, using a foe as a punching bag, or fighting off a horde of minions alongside Kim Moo-Yul.

Crafted as a showcase for the two main leads, there’s a good bit of chemistry in their interactions. The prolific and multitalented Ma Dong-Seok would be interesting in a bathrobe, and his role his as a villain with a heart of gold is made for him. Kim Mool-Yeol (fresh off the remake of Illang: The Wolf Brigade) is equally charismatic as another anti-hero, a cop with integrity but also a short fuse.

While Lee’s film may have a far too convenient ending, exchanging realism for some dramatic courtroom hijinks, the overall execution is slick one. Indeed, Sylvester Stallone’s production company has already hired Ma for the US remake. So, even if Se7en meets Heat formula may be well worn, but this is proof positive that there’s still room for engaging entertainment with those time-honoured narratives.

2019 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Lee Won-Tae | WRITERS: Lee Won-Tae | CAST: Ma Dong-Seok, Kim Moo-Yeol, Kim Sung-Kyu | DISTRIBUTOR: Kiwi Media Group| RUNNING TIME: 110 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 5 June 2019 (AUS)

June 10, 2019
CineAsia wages ‘The Great Battle’ in Australia/NZ in October

South Korean epic THE GREAT BATTLE (안시성) has been announced for an Australian and New Zealand theatrical run from 4 October 2018 from distributor CineAsia Oz. The historical battle picture comes with a new trailer, which you can check out below.

Directed by Kim Kwang-sik, THE GREAT BATTLE tells the true story of General Yang Man Chun and other soldiers who fought and defended the Ansi Fortress for 88 days against 500,000 invaders of the Tang Dynasty. In 645AD, the Tang Dynasty’s emperor Li starts his invasion into Goguryeo, one of the ancient kingdoms of Korea. One victory after another, the Tang army marches into Ansi, protected by General Yang, the lord of the fortress. Abandoned by his country and outnumbered by thousands, the brave general gathers his men and women to fact the Tang army on his own.

The film stars Zo In-sung (The King), Nam Joo-hyuk (The Spy Gone North), and Park Sung-woong (Monstrum).

If you are interested in Korean cinema, be sure to check out our ongoing reviews and news from Hallyuwood. The Reel Bits also has a feature section called Asia in Focus.

August 13, 2018
Review: Champion

With Korean arm-wrestling movie CHAMPION (챔피언), you may be forgiven for thinking we’ve reached the fringes of what sports films can offer us. Yet we’re 16 years north of Australian lawn-bowling film Crackerjack, and a good three decades on from Sylvester Stallone’s Over the Top, a film some would argue is the quintessential piece of arm-wrestling cinema.

Mark (Ma Dong-Seok), a Korean raised in the US, is a disgraced arm-wrestler who now works as a bouncer. His old friend Jin-ki (Kwon Yul) convinces him to return to fight for money in Korean, albeit with the intent of making money off fixed matches. Mark is also hoping to reconnect with his birth mother, but after discovering she has already passed, begins a relationship with a widowed half-sister (Han Ye-Ri) and her kids.

Writer/director Kim Yong-Wan doesn’t stray too far from the comeback kid formula, with Mark chasing his “last chance at competing” right down to the letter of the trope. There’s even a training and clubbing montage, showing Mark’s determination to prove he’s better at keeping other men’s arms horizontal. Ma Dong-Seok (aka Don Lee) was an excellent choice to go the distance. His physicality convincingly says ‘wrestler,’ while his jovial personality (including a recurring joke about him being ‘cute’) carries much of the lighthearted emotional core of the film.

Case in point is the secondary plot of Mark getting to know a family he didn’t realise existed. As his relationship to this small clan isn’t clear from the start, Han Ye-Ri’s character seems like she’s wandered in from another film at times. Indeed, much of the saccharine tone of these moments is incongruous with a film that is primarily about arm-wrestling and underground gambling dens. Yet without this sidebar, how else would Kim Yong-Wan include an inspirational hand-holding montage during the film’s climax?

Even with these wide tonal swings, CHAMPION is unquestionably a film that knows its audience. Primarily a showcase for Ma Dong-Seok, and while he plays a better variation on this theme in Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days, it still works for his core fanbase. Much the same way that The Pacifier works for Vin Diesel’s rabid fans, right? Which now begs the question: who would win in a fight between Sly Stallone, Vin Diesel, and Ma Dong-Seok?

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | South Korea | DIR: Kim Yong-Wan | WRITER: Kim Yong-Wan | CAST: Ma Dong-Seok, Kwon Yul, Han Ye-Ri | RUNNING TIME: 108 minutes | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. (KOR), Fantasia International Film Festival (Canada), KOFFIA (AUS) | RELEASE DATE: 15 July 2018 (Fantasia), 10 August 2018 (KOFFIA/AUS)[/stextbox]

August 8, 2018
Review: Along with the Gods: The Last 49 Days

Continuing the adaptation of the webcomic series by Joo Ho-Min, ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS (신과함께-인과 연) represents one of the biggest box office successes in South Korean history. Breaking pre-sale records and doubling the first day audience of Along with the Gods: The Two Worlds, it’s undoubtedly the largest Korean blockbuster on the 2018 calendar. As a bonus, it’s ridiculously fun as well.

Picking up moments after the first film, afterlife guardians Gang-rim (Ha Jung-woo), Hae Won Maek (Ju Ji-Hoon), and Duk Choon (Kim Hyang-Gi) bring former vengeful spirit Soo-Hong (Kim Dong-Wook) to trial as their new paragon. While Gang-rim guides him through the various hells, Hae Won and Duk Choon must ascend an elderly man who is overdue on his lifespan. Unfortunately for them, the man and his grandson are fiercely guarded by the artistic God of House (Ma Dong-Seok). In the process, they all learn some shocking secrets about their own past lives.

Produced at the same time as the first entry, it follows some of the wash/rinse/repeat structure of its predecessor, especially as we revisit Injustice Hell and Murder Hell with Gang-rim and Soo-Hong. The main difference is that Kim Dong-Wook, unlike the paragon played by Cha Tae-hyun in the first chapter, is pretty nonplussed and laid-back about everything he encounters. In this way, it mirrors the original web comic’s sense of humour.

The biggest addition, in every sense of the word, is Ma Dong-Seok. Having just rolled off the arm-wrestling film Champion, the muscle-bound star is charming and charismatic. His interactions with the guardians, and attempts to secure a future for a young ward, take the series into very different territory. It’s a much lighter subplot that the military murder of the previous film, allowing Ma Dong-Seok’s natural inclination for comedy to shine through. It’s also where we get a lot more backstory for the three main guardians, including a complex tale of war a millennia old, one that links the trio of guardians with King Yeomra (Lee Jung-Jae).

It’s here that writer/director Kim Yong-Hwa’s film takes on a bigger sense of scale, leading audiences high into the mountains, across ancient battlefields, and into courtly intrigue. The impressively lensed sequences are only matched by the outstanding special effects, developed by director Kim’s Dexter Studios. Directly referencing Jurassic Park, Gang-rim and Soo-Hong are chased by raptors in a fun sequence, and later ride in the belly of a dinosaur. Despite a comparatively smaller budget than its Hollywood inspiration, it’s as slick as the films that inspired it.

Kim Yong-Hwa still has a keen sense for melodrama, and the emotional roller coaster of the possibly overlong second and third acts will test the patience of some. Yet a payoff to that complicated story comes in a mid-credits sequence, revealing a massive bombshell that will ensure you want to go back and watch the film again for clues. Heavily hinting at a possible story for a third chapter, ALONG WITH THE GODS: THE LAST 49 DAYS is still a mostly satisfying follow-up to one of Korea’s biggest home-grown cinema franchises.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Kim Yong-Hwa | WRITERS: Kim Yong-Hwa (based on the webcomic by Joo Ho-min) | CAST: Ha Jung-woo, Ju Ji-hoon, Kim Hyang-gi, Ma Dong-seok, Kim Dong-wook | DISTRIBUTOR: Tangren Cultural Film Group (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 141 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 2 August 2018 (AUS) [/stextbox]

August 3, 2018
Review: Herstory

Inspired by the ‘Gwanbu Trial’ during the 1990s, HERSTORY (허스토리) follows the struggles of a group of Korean ‘comfort women’ who attempted to attain visibility and an admission of responsibility from the Japanese government. Based on this emotionally fraught story, Min Kyu-Dong’s (The Treacherous, Horror Stories series) film takes place over 6 years, chronicling the 23 trials as the legal battles and fierce debate that surrounded this issue.

‘Comfort women’ is of course the euphemism used for the women forced into sex slavery in the Japanese occupied territories during the Second World War. Last year’s documentary Twenty-Two dealt with the surviving Chinese women who have had to live with this legacy. Min’s fictionalised account of the Korean group action is no less emotionally charged, albeit sometimes deliberately so.

Min (with co-writers Jung Gyeo-woon and Seo Hye-rim-I) structures his story around Busan-based travel agent Moon Jung-Sook (Kim Hee-Ae), who in 1991 is accused of running prostitution tours thanks to a dodgy manager. During her business’ closure, she rallies her Women’s Association to start a local call centre for the group of ‘grannies’ who want to make a case against Japan. During the process, she discovers that her housekeeper Bae Jung-Kil (Kim Hae-Sook) was once a Japanese sex slave. Taking it personally, she and Attorney Lee Sang-Il (Kim Joon-Han) begin a process that takes over a decade to see through.

The Gwabnu Trials were a massively complicated constitutional law matter couched in a history of intergovernmental negotiations that began in 1951. For decades, Japan denied any wrongdoing: in 2007 Shinzō Abe claimed there was no evidence that the Japanese military had used sex slaves. By reducing it to a courtroom drama, Min reminds us of this emotional animosity between nations, and how divisive it remains.

Kim Hee-Ae is fierce as the nominal lead, a lightning rod in the middle of some fine performances from a mixture of veterans. Kim Hae-Sook (Along With the Gods: The Two Worlds) has some very powerful moments, especially breaking down during courtroom speeches, and balancing some difficult truths about her past. Moon Sook (Keys To The Heart) lays herself bare as another ‘granny.’ Lee Yong-Nyeo (Microhabitat) is as nutty as a fruitbat, and while it is an excellent performance, the writing of it steers a little too close to archetype for the film’s own good.

HERSTORY may not be the final word on the Gwanbu Trial, or the broader implications of national moral culpability. In fact, it wasn’t until 2015 that Abe and South Korean President Park Geun-hye reached a formal agreement on the matter. Indeed, recent global border policies around the world remind us that universal human rights appear to be optional depending on who the regime is. If nothing else, films like this hopefully bring us one step close to it never happening again.

[stextbox id=”grey” bgcolor=”F2F2F2″ mleft=”5″ mright=”5″ image=”null”]2018 | South Korea | DIRECTOR: Min Kyu-Dong | WRITERS: Jung Gyeo-woon, Min Kyu-Dong, Seo Hye-rim-I | CAST: Kim Hee-Ae, Kim Hae-Sook, Ye Soo-Jung, Moon Sook, Lee Yong-Nyeo | DISTRIBUTOR: Cine Asia (AUS) | RUNNING TIME: 121 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 26 July 2018 (AUS)[/stextbox]

July 27, 2018
KOFFIA 2018: 5 films to see at Korean Film Festival in Australia

The best of Hallyuwood returns for a whopping 9th year as the Korean Film Festival in Australia (KOFFIA) returns for 2018. With 22 films on offer, it represents Australia’s largest collection of South Korean cinema in one place.

Well, four places actually. Throughout August and September, KOFFIA will screen in Sydney (9-18 August), Brisbane(15-16 August), Melbourne (6-13 September) and Canberra (21-23). In addition to the films listed below, there’s a few we’ve already seen that the festival highlights for their Australian showcase: comedic drama Keys to the Heart, wrong man thriller Golden Slumber, gritty crime thriller Believer, buddy cop comedy Midnight Runners, found footage horror film Gonjiam: Haunted Asylum, and time travel love story Be With You.

The Reel Bits has long been a supporter of KOFFIA, having previously served as a media partner. We will continue to cover the festival as part of our Asia in Focus stream this year. For now, here’s 5 films we reckon you shouldn’t miss at this year’s festival. You can find the full program and purchase tickets from the official site at koffia.com.au.

Microhabitat

Coming off playing at NYAFF in competition, debut director Jeon Go-Woon’s Closing Night film explores the struggle inside us all: buy booze and smokes or pay the rent? A tragicomedy of dreams unfulfilled, principals tested, and friendships not being what they appear. Esom gives an award-worthy performance as the messy Miso. READ FULL REVIEW >>>

Little Forest (리틀 포레스트)

Kim Tae-ri from The Handmaiden does very little in the country and cooks a lot of food. What is there not to like about that? It’s actually a remake of two Japanese films from Junichi Mori, both of which were based on Daisuke Igarashi’s manga. READ FULL REVIEW >>>

A Taxi Driver (택시 운전사)

The Gwangju Democratic Movement gets a sharp new focus in this raw slice of history that Jang Hoon brings to life in a way that alternates between charming and gritty. Unlike certain world leaders, this film does not claim that there was blame to be had “on all sides,” instead squarely pointing a finger at the strong arm of the government and their ability to subvert the truth. As relevant and powerful today as it was over 30 years ago. If you missed it in Australian cinemas late last year, take the opportunity to visit this excellent film. READ FULL REVIEW >>>

A Haunting Hitchhike (히치하이크)

Jeong Hee-jae directorial debut follows the lonely, but hopeful, journey of one teenage girl seeking out her long-lost mother. The film won Jeong the special Audience Award at the Seoul International Women’s Film Festival.

Champion

Everybody loves a sports movie, right? The always watchable Ma Dong-Seok stars as an arm wrestler who dreams of being a champion, as the title would imply. After being kicked out of the tournament, he eventually makes his way home to Korea where he reconnects with his half-sister and her two kids.

July 17, 2018