So it just hit me that many great movies: The Chaser, memories of murder, old boy, the host, joint security area.. are from South Korea. I think somehow they strike a great balance between intense drama and action yet maintain a feeling of authenticity and realism. What do you think makes them great?
shareI think, the movies that go international are good ones :)
If it is bad, it stays there :D
I think I'll stick with thriller genre for this time. I avoided movie from korea before because I thought that all of them are only pretty boys and sappy love story. I had a girl co-worker that kept borrowing me that kind of movie and I politely accept (I watched fight club every week religiously for a year but she's so pretty) but only watch perhaps 5-10 minutes before giving up. I remember that the first movie that I really like is Musa: The Warrior. It's not Oldboy or Memories of murder, great, but it change my perception about the girly stuff. So I start to looking up recommended movie and man..it open up a flood gate. I tried to track every Park and Bong movies afterward. And I blown away by the unconventional theme, the execution and sheer quality of the movies. I even try for My Sassy girl and Ms Granny because of the rating and review. But nah...it's not my cup a tea. But I'm not giving up yet. And I won't as dismissive as before. Oh yeah next week Roaring Current will be open. I can wait to see it. You can't go wrong with Choi Min-Sik.
So thriller from Korea. And weird movie from Japan for me.
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IMDb boards are shutting down. Feel free to check out my YouTube channel - the Asian Movie Enthusiast - if you're interested in Asian movie reviews (see link below).
YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/anticlimacus100
The release of Park Chan-wook’s Thirst is as good a reason as any to delve into the burgeoning Korean cinema scene. Since the release of JSA in 2000, Park has been a significant player in global film, but his rise has been symbolic of a general renaissance in his home country. In the mid-90s, Korean cinema was almost completely ignored, not only internationally but also by Koreans. The democratization of the country that had occurred in the previous decade had an impact on the country’s film lovers just as it had on the rest of Korea. The direct result of this was the emergence of a new generation of directors who wished to bring change to national cinema just as it had been brought to national politics, and had a strong sense of identity and a confidence in their own voice. Korean filmmakers also began making smart, stylish films that adopted or subverted the tropes of Hollywood and Hong Kong cinema, the two biggest movie importers in Korea. By the end of the 1990s, the country’s commercial fare was becoming competitive at the box office, while the works of its auteurs were being increasingly celebrated at film festivals around the world. Korean cinema has now become so popular, in fact, that Hollywood has taken to frequently buying Korean hits and remaking them for U.S. audiences.
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Sometimes. I actually welcome it. It's very therapeutic.
My last real cry was when I dropped off my son at day care for the first time. I watched him every day/all day since his birth. Watching him saunter off into his daycare.
Just barely made it to the parking lot before Niagra Falls went off. Good lordy!
There's a lot of garbage romantic comedies that invade the theaters as well; they just don't become popular enough to be noted by Western media. When Korean directors DO decide to make dark films though, usually they're pretty on point.
Why are they great? I'm not sure. A government that helps support and promote the arts helps, as does a captive audience that wants to see great Korean films made and will support them financially by going to see them. The Korean film industry is, by all accounts, thriving. Society is very hierarchical and somewhat confining at times so maybe this is a way to let of steam for some? A kind of modern-day catharsis if you will? I'm just speculating.
Others you may like: Thirst, I Saw the Devil, The Man From Nowhere, Peppermint Candy, Silmido and Brotherhood of War, just to name a few I've seen. Doomsday Book had some decent moments too.
$§ "...and after this discourse there's a 3.6, of course it must be from Pitchfork." ~o~
The question that also needs to be asked is: How come some Korean movies are so bad?
How come Italian movies are so good?
How come French movies are so good?
How come American movies are so good?
Well svalinanikola i understand your sentiment and largely agree but from what i have seen of korean movies i got to say that many of them has been pretty amazing. i think the reason that it is so atleast to my opinion from a westerners point of view is that the korean society in many ways reminds us of our own but spiced up with alot quirkyness and with some really strong and powerfull directors that has vision and Means to realize them. besides that they have different taboos than us and in the end those Things makes the experience of watching South korean but also japanese movies a quite orriginal experience. i personally loves movies from all around the World but Hollywood movies today tends alot to go for the dollars instead of originality and artistic developement which i prefer.
shareHoly kimchi! Your writing is atrocious!!
I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!
Because you haven't watched many Korean movies. I've lived in Korea for a year and a half and trust me, most Korean movies shown in theaters were either cheap dramas or boring historical stuff, with the occasional bad comedy. It looks a lot like what is produced in Japan, strangely enough. Only the best (or the luckiest) movies have success abroad, and it's not a whole lot of them...
shareI absolutely LOVE Korean (and other "foreign") movies but one thing to keep in mind: If you live outside of South Korea, you probably don't have access to the bad Korean movies. Generally, bad movies don't get too much distribution outside of their native country. Before anyone says anything about American movies, notice I did say generally.
I don't love her.. She kicked me in the face!!
Don't miss New World, The Man from nowhere, The Client, Montage, Train to Busan, I Saw the Devil ..
knwMe ...(it's my name)
IMDb boards are shutting down. Feel free to check out my YouTube channel - the Asian Movie Enthusiast - if you're interested in Asian movie reviews (see link below).
YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/anticlimacus100
IMDb boards are shutting down. Feel free to check out my YouTube channel - the Asian Movie Enthusiast - if you're interested in Asian movie reviews (see link below).
YouTube Asian Movie Review Channel
https://www.youtube.com/user/anticlimacus100