Korean Film Wears Brave Face at Berlin Market
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Triumph and pain were bedfellows last year for the Korean film industry. But Berlin’s European Film Market and the imminent Hong Kong FilMart see Korean companies putting on a brave face.
Korean cinemas were in defensive mode early on in the coronavirus pandemic, as a population familiar with epidemics chose to stay away from crowded places. Social distancing regulation caught up and then was wound down again in summer. That allowed for the successful theatrical releases of “Deliver Us From Evil,” which scored $34.4 million, “Peninsula,” which grossed $29.5 million and the year’s top Hollywood film “Tenet” ($16.4 million).
Introduction Review: A Narrow but Deceptively Deep Cut of Hong Sangsoo Simplicity Introduction Review: A Narrow but Deceptively Deep Cut of Hong Sangsoo Simplicity
The Korean auteur s latest modest miniature makes no demands of the viewer, but beneath its pleasant, placid surface wait rich rewards.
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Director: Hong Sangsoo
With: Shin Seokho, Park Miso, Kim Youngho, Ki Joobong, Seo Younghwa, Kim Minhee, Cho Yunhee, Ye Jiwon, Ha Seongguk.
Running time: Running time: 66 MIN.
Courtesy of Jeonwonsa Film Co. Prod.
Like cracking a window in a stuffy room, it sometimes feels as if Hong Sangsoo’s films are where festival lineups go when they need to breathe. The 2021 Berlin Film Festival takes a quick, deep lungful with “Introduction,” an airy 66-minute sampler of everything the Korean director’s fans admire, which is coincidentally everything his detractors dislike. But despite the familiarly strange, gossamer-spiderweb patt
Berlin Market: The Medium Thai Horror Film Unites Banjong Pisanthanakun and Korea s Na Hong-jin
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Top Thai director Banjong Pisanthanakun and Korean director-turned-producer Na Hong-jin (“The Chaser”) have teamed to create new Thai horror film “The Medium.”
Now in post-production, “The Medium” is a horrifying story of a shaman’s inheritance in the Isan region of Thailand. But the goddess that appears to have taken possession of a family member turns out not be as benevolent as it first appears.
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The film (aka “Rang-Zong”) was developed by Na with the backing of Korean studio Showbox. Local production is by Thailand’s GDH 559. Co-production is by Na’s company Northern Cross, with the film marking Na’s debut as a producer.