2013 Year in Review: Film Log

Tully's Recall Year in Review Year by Year

2010 Film Log, At the Cinema, Top 10 

2011 Film Log, At the Cinema, Top 10

2012 Film Log, Korean Cinema, Top 10

2013 Film Log, Top 10 Features (coming soon)

Every film (that I can remember) that I watched in 2013 is listed below in the order that I watched them. It totals 136 features films (down almost 50 films from last year), and 181 short films (an increase in 50% from the previous year, indicating my more recent interests in the short film format). The percentage of films I saw in the theatre did increase though, as I managed to make it out to many more film festivals and art house screenings than i managed in 2012.

My Top 10 of 2013 will be up shortly, of which this year I will be posting both a look at features and shorts. Films seen in the theatre are Bolded. Red highlights are for films of ratings of 8 or higher out of 10. Short films are listed in "Inverted Commas". Enjoy!

2010 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125

Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 27 (22%)

2011 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125

Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 14 (11%)

2012 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 184

Films seen in the theatre - 54 (29%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 19 (10%)

2013 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 136

Films seen in the theatre - 57 (42%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 17 (13%)

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?

2012 Year in Review: Film Log

Other Articles
2010 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10 
2011 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10
2012 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: Korean Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

Every film (that I can remember) that I watched in 2012 is listed below in the order that I watched them. It totals 184 features films, which is about 150% of the total number I watched in 2011, and 121 short films. The percentage of films I saw in the theatre dropped, as I didn't manage to make it to MIFF and a few other festivals this year.

My Top 10 of 2012 will be up shortly, though below is a good guide to what I enjoyed. This list includes films seen in the theatre or at festivals which are Bolded, or those seen on screeners or any other method. Red highlights are for films of ratings of 8 or higher out of 10 and are my highlights of the year, and don't forget to look out for some great "short films" also. Enjoy!

2010 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125
Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)
Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 27 ( 22%)

2011 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 125

Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 14 (11%)

2012 Stats (Features only)

Films watched - 184

Films seen in the theatre - 54 (29%)

Films of 8 or higher out of 10 - 19 (10%)

The 120 Korean Films I Watched in 2012

Other Articles
2010 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10 

2011 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: At the Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

2012 Year in Review: Film Log, Year in Review: Korean Cinema, Year in Review: Top 10

Below is a list of all the Korean films I watched in 2012, some new, some old. Films here refers to feature films only, and while I did manage to see a good amount of shorts I haven't included them here. 

This year I managed to balance work with watching films like I used to a few years ago, so I managed to get in a few more films this year. I will be doing a list of my top 10 shortly, so stay tuned for that. I already have a huge stack of Korean films to watch in the New Year, so here's to more Korean film in 2013! 

Yearly Film Stats
2012: 184 films watched, 120 of which were Korean films (representing 65%)
2011: 125 films watched, 73 of which were Korean films (representing 58%)
2010: 125 films watched, 22 of which were Korean films (representing 18%)

The 120 Korean Feature Films I Watched in 2012

Korean Film Log: November

The year is almost over and November saw my Korean film log pass the century mark. I should have a bit of free time to watch a few more in December, where I will do my final film log blog and a Top 10 of the year. Enjoy!

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)
4 films in August (#70-73)
3 films in September (#74-76)
19 films in October (#77-95)
14 films in November (#96-109)

November

96. Haeundae (해운대)


97. Miss Conspirator (미쓰 GO)

Korean Film Log: October

Well the yearly film log has almost hit the century of Korean films, with this months intake boosted by my trip to the Busan International Film Festival. Hopefully I haven't left any out as there were quite a few i saw. Some of the newer films dont have posters yet but when they become available I will edit this blog and update them. Enjoy!

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)
4 films in August (#70-73)
3 films in September (#74-76)
19 films in October (#77-95)

October

77. Beyond School (학교너머)

 
78. Sunshine Boys (1999, 면회)

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)

A Look Back: My 1st Interview

As a bit of a celebration of Tully's Recall hitting the milesonte of 10,000 views (thanks for following!), I decided to look back at my first ever radio interview. It was probably the first occassion that made me realise that my journey into the world of Korean cinema was actually happening, and was thus quite daunting!

 Pic from my interview in 2011, but you get the point :)

It was great to get it done though, and made me start to believe that I did actually know something about Korean film! Thanks to the lovely Jenna Yoon at SBS Radio for the file, which you can download here. (4 mins long)

It's interesting even for myself to listen to, hearing how I had no idea how to pronounce the Director's names back in the day, how things have changed (I hope!). Thanks everyone for reading (and listening) and I hope to keep content coming throughout the year. 

Kieran

Follow me @TullysRecall

Add me as a friend @KieranTully

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. 

2011 Year in Review: My Top 10

And now for my Top 10 Films of 2011, and even though this 3 part series has been a look at all the films I saw in the theatre in 2011, I have decided not to include classic films such as "The Terminator" and "Joint Security Area", both of which would have been in this list otherwise.

Overall the quality of films I saw dropped this year. In 2010 I gave 22% of the films I saw an 8 or higher out of 10, that was halved in 2011 with just 11% of films receiving similar ratings. A few close cuts include "Amador" and "Win Win", 2 films that I hated for parts (largely due to the State Theatre audience), but eventually came around to thoroughly enjoying.  

"The King's Speech" was the final film I cut, simply because the ending speech was a let down. Interesting tid-bit: I saw all 10 of the following films at film festivals! (4 @BIFF, 3 @MIFF, 2 @SFF and 1 @JFF)

10. "The Town's Children", Japan, Event George St @JFF - 27/11/11

By no means a masterpiece, just short and sweet. It is kind of pretentious in parts, but it worked for me overall and it was an enjoyable night out in Kobe with the 2 characters. A lot of the dialogue seemed to be filled with exposition, so lucky I don't speak Japanese!

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!

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)