Thought Leaders' Corner: Remakes of Korean films

This months edition of the Thought Leader's Corner concerns remakes of Korean films. An increasing trend as Korean cinema emerges on the world stage, there are some varying opinions on how this could benefit or negatively effect the local Korean industry. Read on below to read my thoughts on this trend. You can read the full April thoughts here from a variety of Korean film experts worldwide.

MKC Thought Leaders' Corner: April 2013

How do you feel about remakes of Korean films?

Korean Film Log: June

I managed to catch 69 Korean films in the first half of 2012, some new some old, some good some bad, an intersting bunch to say the least!.

Korean Film Log 2012
31 films in January (#1-31)
3 films in February (#32-34)
7 films in March (#35-41)
16 films in April (#42-57)
5 films in May (#58-62)
7 films in June (#63-69)

June

63. My Barefoot Friend (오래된 인력거)

64. Sleepless Night (잠 못 드는 밤)

Korean Film Log 2012: May

My Korean film log for 2012 is now up to 62, as I watched a further 5 Korean feature films in May. You can see my ratings in the Film Log section of the blog located on the right hand side. Films are numbered in the order that I watched them.

Korean Film Log 2012
31 films in January (#1-31)
3 films in February (#32-34)
7 films in March (#35-41)
16 films in April (#42-57)
5 films in May (#58-62)

May

58. Nameless Gangster: Rules of the Time (범죄와의 전쟁)

59. Natural City (내츄럴 시티)

Korean Film Log 2012: April

My Korean film log for 2012 is now up to 57, as I watched a further 16 Korean feature films in April. You can see my ratings in the Film Log section of the blog located on the right hand side. Films are numbered in the order that I watched them.

Korean Film Log 2012
31 films in January (#1-31)
3 films in February (#32-34)
7 films in March (#35-41) 
16 films in April (#42-57)

April

42. Late Blossom (그대를 사랑합니다)

43. The Story of Mr. Sorry (제불찰씨 이야기)

Korean Film Downunder 3: Longing for a Ko-production

This piece was included in the White Paper on Australia in the Asian Century. Its more of my musings about Korea and Australian relations through film, though my bias in this clearly comes through! Hope you find it interesting.

The time has come for Australia to look to the powerhouse of the Asia Pacific region in regards to the entertainment industry. No longer can our focus simply be locked on to the lustrous billions of potential opportunities that China seems to hold over us. The real leader in the region, the real leader in the industry, is South Korea. 

We were close ...

Unfortunately Australia still does not have co- production agreements with key nations in Asia with respect to the film industry, namely Japan, Thailand & South Korea. With such a great focus placed on China, these other giants seem to have been left behind. After all this is the “Asian Century” and not the “Chinese Century”, so there is no reason that our focus should lie with the sleeping giant. Now the fact that Screen Australia and the Australian entertainment industry have acknowledged the potential with co-productions and distribution in China is fine, but it cannot be our sole entrance into partnering with the region. (Singapore, our only other partner in Asia, could not be classified as a powerhouse, and to date only 1 feature has resulted from that co-production agreement). There is such great potential for content to be exported in both directions, and Korea is the leader in this case. 

but not close enough

Numerous Korean television shows, movies and TV commercials continue to shoot in the beautiful locations of Australia (for a list check out Brian Yecies and Shim Aegyung’s article Hallyuwood Down Under), but the product is entirely Korean. Our endless lands and wide open golf courses are things Koreans crave, in a country that is mountainous, and space is hard to find. I believe that it needs to become a priority for Screen Australia, the Korean Film Council, and any other parties that could assist the establishment of such a co-production (such as the Australia Korea Foundation) to make a co-production a priority. 

Korean Film Log 2012: March

Another month, another entry on my Korean film log. Managed to pick it up a bit this month and April will surely pick up as programming time approaches. There were some solid entries as I took a look at a few indie dramas and interesting docos.

You can see my ratings in my Film Log section of the blog. I am going to make this a monthly entry as it's a great way to force myself to watch more! Films are numbered in the order that I watched them.

Entries
The 31 Korean films I watched in January (1-31)
The 3 Korean films I watched in February (32-34)

35. Breathless (똥파리)

Korean Film Log 2012: February

While I managed to watch 31 Korean films in January, that dropped off greatly this month as Cinema on the Park started up again as well as soccer and many other things. I only managed to catch 3, two of which I presented at COTP. I promise to watch more in March, and put up some content for the Korean blogathon!

You can see my ratings in my Film Log section of the blog. I am going to make this a monthly entry as it's a great way to force myself to watch more!

Entries
The 31 Korean Films I Watched in January  (1-31)

32. Sopyonje (서편제)

Korean Film Log 2012: January

So basically .... I watched 31 Korean feature films in the 31 days of January. Below is the list of films I watched, with the numbering from 1 to 31 representing the order that I watched them. 

You can see my ratings for the films on the right hand sidebar in the Film Log section. Here's to more Korean film in Feb!

1. Sympathy for Us (태어나서 미안해)

2. Silenced aka The Crucible (도가니)

Cinema on the Park Season 2 coming your way!

In what is clear self promotion, I am doing a short post about the film night I host in Sydney called Cinema on the Park. Its a free weekly Korean film night, so if you happen to read my blogs on Korean cinema and are based down under please try and come along. It would be great to develop the dialogue around Korean film in this country, something that has long been ignored.

It wasn't easy trying to encapsulate the many fascets of Korean film in 1 program, but I think we managed to do it. From art house directors Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo, Im Sang-soo and Kim Ki-duk, to the mainstream masters of Bong Joon-ho, Park Chan-wook, Kim Ji-woon, Na Hong-jin and Ryoo Seung-wan. From some of the most successful female directors in Im Soon-rye, Lee Jeong-hyang and Park Chan-ok, to those classic men that ruled in the early days before the Korean wave Kwak Kyung-taek and Kang Je-kyu. To a man who has lead Korean film in the Oceania region Park Ki-yong, to the most prominent Korean director ever, Im Kwon-taek, we have it all! And that's just the first half of the year!

The History of Korean Cinema .... on screen

The fact of the matter is, outside of Korea, Korean cinema is still a very 'new' thing. Generally most people may have seen your Oldboy's and My Sassy Girl's but outside of that the earliest film that those in the West will have likely seen would probably be JSA (2000) or Shiri (1999). This puts Korean cinema in an interesting position of only being around 14 years old (15 using the Korean birthday system!). For a national cinema so young, it really has come along leaps and bounds, but the more interesting thing to me is what was it like before this point.

Does anyone know who the fuck this chick is and what she 

has to do with Shiri? I still can't figure it out!

We produced a video montage in the lead up to the film festival last year (KOFFIA), which covered a short history of Korean cinema. It proved to be very popular upon release, both with local and international audiences. It was rare to see coverage of films prior to this BH date (BH: Before Hallyuwood). It was beautifully edited by Kevin Park and with an equally delightful score by Samuel Choi, both who were just beginning to ply their trades. I thought I would reproduce it here on the blog as it really deserves to get as much exposure as possible. And yes, even it reflects the state of Korean cinema exposure, given only 6 films featured were released before the BH point, and 10 after it. But it gives a short glimpse into the history and progress the Korean industry has made, and maybe one day an extrapolated version would be produced by others fans around the world. Check it out below!

'The History of Korean Cinema', Thanks Kevin and Sam

Korean Perspectives at Sydney Film School

To celebrate the festive season, in what is a time for sharing, I am going to share with you the speech I delivered earlier this month at the 15th Sydney Film School Festival. The speech mentions trends currently apparent in the Korean industry, but also aimed to hopefully inspire the graduating students by comparing the school to conditions in Korea with KAFA. You can read more about the developments of the famous Korean film school which I previously discussed with SBS and Sandy George, or in more recent developments, an update from CJ E&M, CJ CGV and KAFA about their partnership. It is an intriguing filmmaking process that Australia should look closer at. Otherwise, Merry Christmas and I hope you enjoy the speech! Thanks again to Ira Keller, Ben Ferris and SFS. 

"Good evening students, teachers, family and friends. I would first like to thank Sydney Film School for offering the Korean Cultural Office and myself to take part in today’s proceedings. I am speaking today on behalf of my Director Kim Young-soo, who is currently very busy preparing for the Closing Performance of the Australia-Korea Year of Friendship, which takes place this Friday. I have personally attended a number of Sydney Film School Festivals before which focused on other national cinemas, and I always wondered when would be the day that Korea cinema was the main event. Well today is that today and I am delighted to be standing here before you. (See the International Perspectives program on Korea here)

Observing Kim Ki-duk Part 2: The Trailer

As I have not yet had the time to get around to the 2nd full entry into my analysis of Kim Ki-duk, (you can read part 1 here), I've decided to put together a quick entry to hopefully get you into thinking more about his career and auteur style. Inspired by Christopher J. Wheeler's poster montage seen here, I thought I would compile together something similar.

Christopher is a KOFFIA Blog contributor and HanCinema reviewer

Ideas about Editing: El Chop

(Note: An edited version of this post was previously submitted for my AFTRS Screen Culture course, Ideas about Editing, October 2010)

When I think editing, I think Robert Rodriguez. Not just because he does his own editing, but for the rhythm and flow he creates through his editing methods. There is no doubt that his films would be completely different with a different editor. I decided to analyse the origin of his technique by looking closely at his debut feature "El Mariachi", to see how it came about and what impact it has on story and style.

Rodrigues Film School: Part 1

Korean Film Downunder 1: Genre and Distribution

This post was originally published over on the KOFFIA Blog, Hungry for Drama?, as part of the Korean Blogathon. I've replicated it here as I feel its quite an interesting time to take a look at the state of Korean cinema in Australia, given it's presence here has not always been as good as it looks today. In this 1st edition I look at Korean DVDs, Genre and Co-productions. At this point in time almost 50 Korean films have been released on DVD, which may not be anywhere near the amount of Japanese films, but is gradually improving. 

 

Observing Kim Ki-duk Part 1: Auteur Origin

When I was instructed to choose a figure to analyse for a voice and vision task as part of my Screen Culture course at AFTRS, a few names immediately came to mind. The one that stuck was the enigmatic unique figure of Kim Ki-duk. An anomaly not only in Korean cinema but in world cinema, I applied the same approach of analysis and pattern recognition on his career as I have on many other directors. Tarantino once stated that the thing he enjoyed doing most was analysing the change in style and quality of a film director over their career, and I am no different. One day I may get around to posting those other analyses here, but for now my look at Kim Ki-duk will have to do. 

2010 Year in Review: My Top 10

The final piece in my 2010 Year in Review, which includes my Film Log of every film I saw, and my At the Cinema analysis for films watched .. at the cinema, is my Top 10 Films of 2010.

Even though the analysis post looked at all the films I saw in the theatre, I have decided not to include classic films such as "Small Soldiers", "Once Upon a Time in the West" and "The Blues Brothers", all of which would have been in this list otherwise. Enjoy!

10. "Shutter Island", USA, Event George St - 19/03/10

I am by no means a Scorsese fan, in fact I despised "The Departed", but apart from a slightly poor ending, I thoroughly enjoyed the mood he established here.

Dr Horrible's Screen Culture Blog

(Note: An edited version of this post was previously submitted for my AFTRS Screen Culture course, Distribution Task, June 2010) 

In the ever changing marketplace of media consumption, one element has remained constant for over 50 years, the cinema. Cinema goers have been and still are having the cinematic experience down at their local art-house theatre or regional multiplex. Ticket prices have drastically increased, screens have grown in size, an extra visual dimension has been added and luxury food and seats are furnished for the viewer’s pleasure.

Despite all this, 2010 was a record year for cinematic attendances. Since 1998 the total number of tickets sold in the Domestic (and of course by domestic I refer to the United States) has largely unchanged, while box office intake has grown as prices have inflated. Yet amongst this, there is a belief that cinema is dying. Its the ageing distribution plan that is no longer applicable to today’s market. Indieflix unveiled an indie distribution plan at Cannes and more and more plans such as this are beginning to pop up as cinema, distribution and story evolve with the times.

Story Analysis: Serenity and the Verse

(Note: An edited version of this post was previously submitted for my AFTRS Screen Culture course, Story Task, April 2010)

A Space Western from 2005, I thought that Serenity would be an intriguing choice to compare against the Classical Hollywood narrative system. Furthermore, “Serenity” is an adaptation, as it spawns from the 'failed' television show “Firefly”, and thus felt it was suitable to look at considering today’s market.

Trailer for "Serenity"

A Space Western is a world which resembles the past, but where futuristic technology exists. Set 500 years in the future and yet focusing on the ‘frontier’ elements of society as Earth’s resources have since depleted, this is precisely what “Serenity” is. Specifically, it resembles the Westerns of the 60’s and 70’s, those that took a pessimistic view on society and often featured an anti-hero at its core. Thus “Serenity” has a World that lies deep in the root of the Classical Hollywood but as we will see it is what is created in that world that begins to clash with the Classical Hollywood narrative system.

Genre Cinema: Rule Governed Postcode

(Note: An edited version of this post was previously submitted for my AFTRS Screen Culture course, Genre Task, August 2010)

Genre Film has long pushed the boundaries of the cinematic medium. It may be presented in strange forms from gore-ridden horror to alien infested sci-fi or even to more highly regarded streams such as film noir. Despite its different forms and conventions in each case it is essentially used as a mould by filmmakers to ask questions of humanity and reflect societies self-conscious. The result is a mirror image of our world, which has been sifted through a particular genre's iconography. As adaptations and franchises become ever more popular, genre has become less of a dirty word but unfortunately its reputation is still not crystal clean.

The Black President

While 2008 marked the year that the 1st official African-American president was elected to govern the United States of America, Barak Obama was far from the 1st in popular culture. As I sit here with 1998's Science Fiction film "Deep Impact" playing on the TV, it is none more present than through Morgan Freeman's portrayal of President Tom Beck, an entire decade before Obama was sworn in. Sci-Fi films have themes, plots and characters that are a direct response to social anxieties. They not only push the boundaries in terms of fictional science, they also push the boundaries of story telling.

Eternal Night of the Blogless Mind

Well yes, I have finally managed to blog again! Let's hope I can still 'Recall' my opinions and replicate them here for you. Following on from my blog entry about 'experimental film', and the fact that despite its appearance, it still heavily relies on a set pattern of elements and common form, I now extend this discussion by analysing Alternatives to the 'Classical Hollywood Narrative'.

In the 'Story' module of the Screen Culture course that I am undertaking at AFTRS, Michel Gondry's "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" was a prime source of defining Alternatives to the Classical Hollywood Narrative. Gondry's take on Charlie Kaufman's script is exactly that, a piece of multiform narrative that seems completely detached from the Classical Hollywood and yet upon closer inspection matches the Classical almost to a tee.