Korean Cinema

[Steeltemplar]

Is anyone else here a fan of Korean cinema?

If you haven't tapped into this fantastic source of innovative movies, I highly recommend it. Hollywood's kinda tired these days. If you're interested, you can rent them online at Niche Flix.

Some of my favorites:

Silmido
Taegukgi
My Sassy Girl
Please Teach Me English
Attack the Gas Station
Once Upon a Time in High School: Spirit of Jeet Kune Do
Oldboy
Nowhere to Hide

[Locke]

I love Korean Movies! Do you watch the dramas as well?

My Sassy Girl Is my all time favorite though xD

[Arnobius]

I've only seen "Shiri" which wasn't bad. I have to get around to "2009" and saw a few others that looked interesting.

[Joshua Christopher]

I've seen Whasango(SP).

[ClosetOtaku]

I would be the first to agree that Korean cinema generally exceeds Hollywood in terms of quality and story line. That's not to say that it's not without its cliches: if I see another story that ends with the hero (or heroine's) beloved die in a hail of bullets, I think I'll scream.

But Hollywood seems to have an obsession with "wrapping things up" in a tidy little bow, sort of the Happily Ever After complex. Movies that don't end on this note in Hollywood are hailed for their innovation. But those movies usually end pretty brutally (any of the David Lynch films come immediately to mind).

I haven't seen too many Korean flicks that are obsessed with this notion (most of the romance stories notwithstanding, where a happy ending is de rigueur). Rather, the Korean story tells of life with its challenges, and when the movie ends, you are left with the impression: life goes on. No happily ever after per se, but not so depressing that you leave the theater (or turn off the TV) and wished you'd spent the last two hours doing something more constructive, like counting paper clips.

I've seen a couple films recently (including Silmido and The President's Barber) which show a great deal of the reflection that the people of South Korea are doing over their 20th century history. Where that will lead is uncertain, but the cinema is having a definite impact on the people's attitudes here.

Glad you liked Silmido, and would encourage anyone interested in a little dose of how South Korea worked back in those days to watch it.

[CDLviking]

I haven't seen any yet, but one of the Korean seminarians here has a few he wants me to see. I have one right now that I'll probably get around to over the weekend, but I have no idea what it's called because the whole box is in Korean. Apparently it's the director's cut of a romantic comedy, and he says it's really good, and it may have won some awards.

[blkmage]

I've yet to see a Korean movie, but people at my church keep on talking about My Sassy Girl.

[Joshua Christopher]

I haven't seen any yet, but one of the Korean seminarians here has a few he wants me to see. I have one right now that I'll probably get around to over the weekend, but I have no idea what it's called because the whole box is in Korean. Apparently it's the director's cut of a romantic comedy, and he says it's really good, and it may have won some awards.

Let's just hope it's not Miike's "Audition", even though that's a Japanese film.

[Steeltemplar]

Let's just hope it's not Miike's "Audition", even though that's a Japanese film.

Actually, "Audition" sounded intriguing to me from what I've heard of it.

Locke - which ones would you define as "dramas"?

In general - anyone who is contemplating seeing My Sassy Girl, it could well be one of the greatest romantic comedies ever. I'm a big fan.

Silmido was awesome as well. Extremely moving.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I hate to gravedig. But yes I like some ^^;; My parents watch a lot of korean damas. So I watch with them sometimes.

I really need to see Oldboy. it's a classic I hear

You may also want to check out the movie "Marathon". It's about an autistic korean boy who wants to run. And its real good drama.

[Puguni]

[quote="Mr. SmartyPants"]I hate to gravedig. But yes I like some ^^]

My mom was disturbed by Oldboy, but I don't know why.

[Mr. SmartyPants]

Here are some other favorites of mine!
Welcome to Dongmankgol - EXCELLENT Movie. I loved it.
Marathon
Fighter in the Wind

(Steeltemplar, all of them can be found on nicheflicks.com)

[Mr. SmartyPants]

My mom was disturbed by Oldboy, but I don't know why.

I saw Oldboy today. If you've seen it, you would be very disturbed. (It was quite disturbing, but plotwise excellent) I highly enjoyed it.

[shojoiscool2]

I have seen Il Mare which to be honest I hated. It was too slow and hard to understand. But I'm sure that was a fluke, since I adore Korean Dramas so much.

Right now I'm watching Goodbye My Love

I would watch more movies, but Blockbuster doesn't carry many foreign films.

[Ashley]

On a plane ride from Los Angeles to Taipei, Taiwan, I had LOTS of opportunities to watch foreign movies. One of my very favorites though was The Beast and the Beauty; a hilarious romantic comedy that was quite entertaining. I highly recommend!

[Mr. SmartyPants]

I've never seen The Beast and the Beauty, but it sounds pretty good.

I recently watched A Bittersweet Life, Joint Security Area (my avatar), Funny Movie (action movie parodying all these other movies, including Shiri, Attack the Gas Station, etc) and Sympathy for Mr. Vengence, ALL of them incredibly amazing.