Busan Film Festival 2011: The Reviews

In October 2011, just upon the completion of running a festival in 2 states and working for 75 days in a row for about 15 hours a day, I decided to take a rest. By watching endless films in Busan!!! So no, it wasn't really a rest but it was a great experience and was the first time I have attended the Busan International Film Festival, so I thought I would recap my experience here on the blog.

I am going to be doing 2 entries to cover my experience, 1 in terms of reviewing the films I saw, and 1 of the experience of the festival and country itself. (The 2nd entry will likely be posted post-blogathon). If you are involved with Asian cinema or festivals it is highly recommended to attend, what has become the biggest film festival in Asia, sometime in your lifetime. Read on to see my thoughts on the films, guests and festival happenings! (apologies for my piss poor blackberry photos!)

The BIFF history lines the beach front

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)

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)