2011 Year in Review: At the Cinema

So continuing on from 2010, where I analysed my cinema going habits, I am taking a look back at what I saw in the cinema once more. All of the references to 'films watched' below refer to 'films watched in the theatre only'. Nothing I saw on DVD, TV, Pay per view, Online etc were included. While anything seen in the theatre, outdoor cinema, at a film festival or special screening are included.

In 2010 I only managed to see half as many films compared to what I saw in 2009, and well in 2011 I've done the exact same thing. To see my reviews of the films check out the film log. While it may just look like numbers, for a Mathematician such as myself, it means so much more than just figures. Here are some of the related posts you may want to check out.

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

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

My 2011 Cinema Going Analysis

"Blue Valentine", the 1st film I saw in 2011

2011 Year in Review: Film Log

Every feature film (that I can remember) that I watched in 2011 is listed below in the order that I watched them. It totals 125 films which is rather amazingly the exact same amount as I watched in 2010, which you can read here. The percentage of films I saw in the theatre is also the exact same as 2010, rather bizarre!

My Top 10 of 2011 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, as well as 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. Enjoy!

2010 Stats

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

2011 Stats

Films watched - 125

Films seen in the theatre - 58 (46%)

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

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

Inside Out Busan: Live on the Radio!

While travelling to my first Busan International Film Festival in 2011, I received a request to take part in a local radio interview (Thanks for the recommendation, Darcy!). Basically the show had heard I was in town and that I was researching about Korean film and Korean film downunder, and swiftly hooked me up with an interview. After days of rescheduling, it was my time to take the plunge!

As the station's slogan suggests, it is covering the "English wave" coming in to Korea, rather intriguing given that I was researching the "Korean wave" coming in to English speaking territories. While a 30 minute live interview was daunting, and finding the station in the ever darkening sky of Busan by myself was a major challenge, I made in on time and had a blast.