Let’s be honest: 2021 was one of the worst years Korean cinema had in recent times. One would’ve hoped that they would have built upon the brilliant couple years that 2019 ad 2020 were but sadly that wasn’t to be. The pandemic situation did not help, with many production houses deciding to pull scheduled releases, halting production or waiting on things to calm down before releasing some projects that have big money riding on them. Even on the indie cinema front, which actually thrived in 2021 due to the lack of mainstream releases, did not manage to impress with what little out there was.
Things however do seem to be on the up with this year, as a few postponed releases are finally getting rescheduled and seeing theatrical releases. New releases are also being talked about and promotional material for some long gestating projects is also being circulated. Without further ado,...
Things however do seem to be on the up with this year, as a few postponed releases are finally getting rescheduled and seeing theatrical releases. New releases are also being talked about and promotional material for some long gestating projects is also being circulated. Without further ado,...
- 2/19/2022
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
During the original J-horror boom of the late 1990s and early 2000s, South Korea had its own spurt of ghostly genre fare at the time with the “Whispering Corridors” films leading the charge. When the first film arrived in 1998, it was concurrent with the Japanese wave being produced at the time and carried along nicely as a fine counterbalance as it eventually ended up spawning several non-related follow-ups that centered around ghostly happenings at an all-girls school. After a few years of inactivity, now first-time director Lee Mi-young resurrects the franchise with enjoyable results in this latest entry.
Arriving at Gwangju High School for girls, students Ha-yeon (Kim Hyun-soo), Ye-ji (Lee Ji-won), So-yeon (Choi Ri), Mi-seok (Seo Hye-won), and Jae-yun (Park Se-hyun) meet up with Noh Eun-hee (Kim Seo-hyeong) the new vice principal to the school. It doesn’t take long for the girls to discover that she has connections...
Arriving at Gwangju High School for girls, students Ha-yeon (Kim Hyun-soo), Ye-ji (Lee Ji-won), So-yeon (Choi Ri), Mi-seok (Seo Hye-won), and Jae-yun (Park Se-hyun) meet up with Noh Eun-hee (Kim Seo-hyeong) the new vice principal to the school. It doesn’t take long for the girls to discover that she has connections...
- 10/31/2021
- by Don Anelli
- AsianMoviePulse
The global popularity of “Parasite” star Song Kang-ho has turned sports drama “One Win” into a major calling card for Korean film sales company K-Movie Entertainment. The film, still in post-production, has drawn pre-sales interest to the new titles being launched by the company at Busan’s Asian Contents & Film Market.
“One Win,” sees Song star as a former volleyball player who is now coaching a young women’s team ‘Pink Storm’ with an unenviable record as the worst in the league. The team’s owner stymies the coach’s efforts to earn a victory by repeatedly trading out the best players.
The film, directed by Shin Yeon-shick and co-starring Park Jeong-min, Park Myung-hoon and Jang Yoon-ju, is produced by Luz Y Sonidos and is set for a 2022 delivery. K-Movie will screen a new promo version at its Acfm virtual booth.
New sales slate addition “Portrait of a Family” sees...
“One Win,” sees Song star as a former volleyball player who is now coaching a young women’s team ‘Pink Storm’ with an unenviable record as the worst in the league. The team’s owner stymies the coach’s efforts to earn a victory by repeatedly trading out the best players.
The film, directed by Shin Yeon-shick and co-starring Park Jeong-min, Park Myung-hoon and Jang Yoon-ju, is produced by Luz Y Sonidos and is set for a 2022 delivery. K-Movie will screen a new promo version at its Acfm virtual booth.
New sales slate addition “Portrait of a Family” sees...
- 10/11/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Leading South Korean film sales firm Finecut has boarded “Toxic,” a fact-based drama-thriller about a mysterious outbreak that killed thousands. The firm, which is also representing Hong Sang-soo’s Berlin competition title “Introduction,” will unveil the new title to buyers at next month’s European Film Market.
The film is the dramatization of events between 1994 and 2011 in which at least 1,600, and possibly as many as 14,000, people in Korea died. Consumer goods companies including the U.K.’s Reckitt-Benckiser sold tens of millions of humidifier-disinfectants for everyday use. Some included medicinal claims such as the suggestion that they would be good for people suffering from the common cold. Instead, with possible government complicity, the products skipped proper testing and were later found to contain chemicals that caused irreversible lung damage.
The film centers on an ER doctor whose wife may have lost her life because of the product. Along with other victims,...
The film is the dramatization of events between 1994 and 2011 in which at least 1,600, and possibly as many as 14,000, people in Korea died. Consumer goods companies including the U.K.’s Reckitt-Benckiser sold tens of millions of humidifier-disinfectants for everyday use. Some included medicinal claims such as the suggestion that they would be good for people suffering from the common cold. Instead, with possible government complicity, the products skipped proper testing and were later found to contain chemicals that caused irreversible lung damage.
The film centers on an ER doctor whose wife may have lost her life because of the product. Along with other victims,...
- 2/19/2021
- Variety Film + TV
A disaster caused by man’s negligence, personal protective gears, humans clamouring and climbing over each other for a commodity that would otherwise be taken for granted and a dangerous outdoors. Sounds familiar? Welcome to Chung Jae-hoon’s powerful “Fall Out”. The short made its debut at the 24th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, where it played in the Korean Fantastic Shorts segment.
“Fall Out” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
In an apocalyptic future, a nuclear disaster has rendered New Town uninhabitable, yet those that survive try to brave through the excessive heat, frequent earthquakes and a toxic outdoors that causes bloody skin rashes all over the body. With no electricity and water, the only respite is ice, which is rationed heavily and has people fighting over it to obtain. In an apartment building in New Town live Hyo-jin (Lee Ji-won), her mother Jong-bok (Song Ah-young) and little...
“Fall Out” is screening at Fantasia International Film Festival
In an apocalyptic future, a nuclear disaster has rendered New Town uninhabitable, yet those that survive try to brave through the excessive heat, frequent earthquakes and a toxic outdoors that causes bloody skin rashes all over the body. With no electricity and water, the only respite is ice, which is rationed heavily and has people fighting over it to obtain. In an apartment building in New Town live Hyo-jin (Lee Ji-won), her mother Jong-bok (Song Ah-young) and little...
- 8/28/2020
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Jun is a top class South Korean secret agent working for the Nis (National Intelligence Service) which is a counter terrorism agency. However, he’s not happy with his current situation because all he wants to do is to draw comics for the web. His love of drawing is obvious as we always see him sketching away not only in the briefing room but even while he’s doing his field work.
Accordingly, in order to follow his dreams, he decides to fake his own death during a stormy night while on a mission. Making sure that his parachute will not open, he dives into the raging ocean while his colleagues watch and he never resurfaces. Needless to say, they all believe that he’s dead; even though they don’t have his body, they still hold a funeral to farewell him.
Fast forward fifteen years, we discover that Jun...
Accordingly, in order to follow his dreams, he decides to fake his own death during a stormy night while on a mission. Making sure that his parachute will not open, he dives into the raging ocean while his colleagues watch and he never resurfaces. Needless to say, they all believe that he’s dead; even though they don’t have his body, they still hold a funeral to farewell him.
Fast forward fifteen years, we discover that Jun...
- 7/6/2020
- by David Chew
- AsianMoviePulse
The physical abuse of children at the hands of parents or trusting relatives is a very real problem, which is reflected in official figures. More often than not, such cases are not reported or are swiftly mopped under the carpet by both the culprits and authorities, the latter brushing most off as strict parenting. Hoping to bring a change to that attitude with her debut film is director Lee Ji-won, whose film “Miss Baek”, based on a true story, went on to outperform major Hollywood releases like “A Star is Born” at the domestic box office, eventually winning its lead Han Ji-min Best Actress awards at the Blue Dragon Film Awards as well as the Korean Association of Film Critics Awards.
“Miss Baek” is screening at the New York Asian Film Festival Winter Showcase 2019
Baek Sang-ah, or “Miss Baek”, as she prefers to be called, knows one thing better than most: survival.
“Miss Baek” is screening at the New York Asian Film Festival Winter Showcase 2019
Baek Sang-ah, or “Miss Baek”, as she prefers to be called, knows one thing better than most: survival.
- 2/11/2019
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
As huge fans of the Nyaff, we are ecstatic to hear that the festival is branching out further, launching its very first Winter Showcase this coming February. Launching off the back of last year’s Crazy Rich Asians fever, the inaugural event throws a light on the continent's less ostentatious inhabitants, with a range of films from the entertaining to the introspective. Spanning two consecutive weekends, February 1-3 and 8-10, the showcase kicks off with Lee Ji-won's Miss Baek, starring the wonderful Han Ji-min, who also serves as the festival’s ambassador and will be in attendance. Other highlights include a celebration of Indonesian martial arts sensation Iko Uwais, with screenings of his early breakout offerings, Merantau and The Raid: Redemption. A total of 15 films...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 1/14/2019
- Screen Anarchy
A jaded child abuse survivor tries to save a young girl from suffering the same fate in Miss Baek, Lee Ji-won’s first feature, which has been doing brisk business since its domestic release in South Korea on Oct. 11.
With double the box-office gross of A Star Is Born (which bowed two days earlier on just a fraction fewer screens) during both films’ opening weekend in the country, the indie drama is now just a whisker away from overtaking Lee Chang-dong’s much more critically acclaimed Burning in terms of total revenue.
While offering hardly a subversive take on films about ...
With double the box-office gross of A Star Is Born (which bowed two days earlier on just a fraction fewer screens) during both films’ opening weekend in the country, the indie drama is now just a whisker away from overtaking Lee Chang-dong’s much more critically acclaimed Burning in terms of total revenue.
While offering hardly a subversive take on films about ...
- 10/24/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
A jaded child abuse survivor tries to save a young girl from suffering the same fate in Miss Baek, Lee Ji-won’s first feature, which has been doing brisk business since its domestic release in South Korea on Oct. 11.
With double the box-office gross of A Star Is Born (which bowed two days earlier on just a fraction fewer screens) during both films’ opening weekend in the country, the indie drama is now just a whisker away from overtaking Lee Chang-dong’s much more critically acclaimed Burning in terms of total revenue.
While offering hardly a subversive take on films about ...
With double the box-office gross of A Star Is Born (which bowed two days earlier on just a fraction fewer screens) during both films’ opening weekend in the country, the indie drama is now just a whisker away from overtaking Lee Chang-dong’s much more critically acclaimed Burning in terms of total revenue.
While offering hardly a subversive take on films about ...
- 10/24/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Local crime drama, “Dark Figure of Crime” jumped to top spot at the South Korean box office, toppling the previous week’s winner, “Venom.” The Showbox release earned $4.42 million from 553,000 admissions between Friday and Sunday for a total of $22.0 million from 2.83 million admissions after two weekends.
“Venom,” incurred a week-on-week drop of 58% and slipped to second place. The Sony release earned $3.93 million between Friday and Sunday for a two-week total of $25.4 million.
Opening on Thursday, Korean drama “Miss Baek” landed in third. The Little Big Pictures release earned $1.5 million over its opening four days. Starring Han Ji-min the drama is Lee Ji-won’s directorial debut feature. It sees the story of an ex-convict woman who meets a girl that reminds her of her own childhood. The woman decides to save the youngster from domestic violence.
Musical drama, “A Star is Born” opened on Tuesday and landed in fourth. The Warner Bors.
“Venom,” incurred a week-on-week drop of 58% and slipped to second place. The Sony release earned $3.93 million between Friday and Sunday for a two-week total of $25.4 million.
Opening on Thursday, Korean drama “Miss Baek” landed in third. The Little Big Pictures release earned $1.5 million over its opening four days. Starring Han Ji-min the drama is Lee Ji-won’s directorial debut feature. It sees the story of an ex-convict woman who meets a girl that reminds her of her own childhood. The woman decides to save the youngster from domestic violence.
Musical drama, “A Star is Born” opened on Tuesday and landed in fourth. The Warner Bors.
- 10/15/2018
- by Sonia Kil
- Variety Film + TV
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