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Although in the West the start of the summer inevitably signals a wave of mega-budget sequels and special effects heavy blockbusters, at the same time in Korea cinemagoers are bracing themselves for the annual parade of ghosts and ghouls. With the temperature rising outside, horror films certainly offer viewers a way to cool down, though of course many may well find themselves sweating with fear despite the air-conditioning. This yearly scarefest has been a relatively new phenomenon, and although horror films enjoyed popularity in 1960s Korea with the likes of Kwon Cheol Hwi's A Public Cemetery of Wol Ha, Lee Yong Min's A Devilish Homicide, and others influenced by the traditional Japanese... [read more]
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A marching band of giant frogs leads a procession of anthropomorphic kitchen appliances, Hinamatsuri dolls, and various international landmarks on a destructive trek through the streets of downtown Tokyo. A young woman dressed as the Monkey King unsuccessfully attempts to halt the proceedings. She transforms into a winged pixie and engages an enormous tree in a battle of wills. Hiding from her adversary inside a painting of Oedipus, she flees in the guise of a sphinx, only to suddenly find herself underwater, where she is now a mermaid being pursued by a giant whale... If this free-association narrative sounds like some kind of feverish dream, well, that's precisely the point. Welcome to the... [read more]
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Although the famous Shaw Brothers studio is primarily known for its martial arts films and tales of wandering swordsmen, the company also dabbled in a wide range of other genres, including comedy, romance, musicals, and perhaps most significantly of all, horror. In fact, the studio began producing films with supernatural themes even before its establishment proper back in the late 1950s, and continued to do so until its demise in the mid 1980s. Unsurprisingly, this horror output to an extent drove the early development of the genre in Hong Kong and largely held sway until the arrival of Spooky Encounters, Sammo Hung's high energy blend of martial arts and scares which revolutionised the form... [read more]
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Lee Chang Dong's films don't have the tango-like cinematic verve of Lee Myung Se, or the madly ingenious visual panache of Park Chan Wook. They're not pretty to look at, you're not likely to laugh with or at them, and even crying is not a guarantee. And yet, with only four directorial works under his belt, Lee Chang Dong has become one of Korea's foremost filmmakers. There's something about his films that feel as if a truck just hit your mind at such a speed you only realize it when the consequences flow down your synapses. From his directorial debut, Green Fish, to his recent Secret Sunshine, every film that Lee has written and/or directed comes with a brutal, emotional honesty that never... [read more]
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Director Yamada Yoji has won quite a bit of praise over the past few years for his trio of samurai dramas, The Twilight Samurai (2002), The Hidden Blade (2004), and Love and Honor (2006). These fine films are all the more remarkable given that Yamada's previous directorial efforts consist almost entirely of Tora-san movies. Between 1969 and 1996, Yamada wrote and directed over forty installments of the long-running but lightweight series which followed the adventures of a perpetually unlucky-at-love traveling salesman in contemporary Japan. When the director began work on his first jidaigeki (period drama) a few years after shooting the final Tora-san movie, he raised more than a few... [read more]
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With today's ten-million ticket sellers like Lee Joon Ik's King and The Clown and Bong Joon Ho's The Host, it may be hard to grasp the significance of Sopyonje's one million tickets, but in 1993, it was like a tsunami hitting Korean movie theaters. Back then, the situation was different. The domestic share was at an embarrassing, all-time low of 15% and prospects for the future were grim at best, as chaebol filled their VHS blanks with cheap entertainment and auteurs struggled to find their voices in an increasingly cynical film world. What director Im Kwon Taek and Sopyonje achieved in 1993 was simply amazing. It wasn't just the 196-day theater run, the wild praise, and the distinction of... [read more]
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Oscar Wilde once said life imitates art far more than art imitates life, an expression which in many ways fits Im Kwon Taek's career perfectly. He didn't have the benefit of attending a prestigious film school, didn't have connections which eased his way to the top, and it took him a good fifteen years to find his real talent. Im's road to become a legendary director respected all over the world is his greatest story, and many of his films took pages from his remarkable life. Im recently released his 100th film, Beyond the Years, a feat which will be hard to repeat in today's Chungmuro, where most directors can be considered lucky if they can shoot a film per year. Hopefully, this represents... [read more]
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The world's oldest profession is alive and well in Hong Kong. Prostitution is legal in the territory, as long as a few rather interesting criteria are met. It is illegal for a sex worker to solicit herself to a man, but not illegal for him to solicit her. So long as a woman works out of a flat with no other women in it, she can prostitute herself with immunity from prosecution. Pimping, however, is illegal; so are brothels. This status apparently does nothing to stop their proprietors from putting large illuminated signs on sidewalks or over doors, ensuring that the police know where to go when they have their semi-annual sweeps. There are many other local aspects unique to prostitution in... [read more]
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It's a story every child in East Asia knows. The bodhisattva Guan Yin sends Tang Dynasty monk Tripitaka on an epic journey west to bring the Buddhist scriptures from India to China. Three supernatural guardians protect him along the way: Friar Sand; Pigsy; and, of course, the one-and-only Monkey King, Sun Wu Kong, the self-proclaimed "Great Sage Equal to Heaven". The four travelers encounter an endless assortment of demons and monsters, all with an appetite for Tripitaka's dharma-enriched flesh which is said to bring immortality if consumed. The friar and the pig talk big, but prove pretty useless in a pinch. Time and again it falls to Sun Wu Kong to save the day with his mix of magic powers... [read more]
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It's been ten years since Hong Kong was returned from British sovereignty to China, and it has been an eventful decade - the SARS crisis, the economic recession, numerous political scandals, and the downturn of Hong Kong cinema. The number of Hong Kong film productions has gradually decreased from a peak of over 200 a year in its heyday to just below 50 today. Hong Kong cinema has definitely seen better days. Nevertheless, many talented young filmmakers have emerged in the past decade, creating a new voice for modern Hong Kong cinema while ensuring its future as well. The Genre Boys - New Talents for Proven Formulas The "genre" label may be associated with "formula", but good directors use... [read more]
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Tales of incredibly talented artists only finding fame after their deaths abound, but sometimes lady luck allows some of them to flourish. Ahn Sung Ki is certainly one of those cases. Despite being in the limelight for decades, he never had to deal with scandals, received prestigious awards in four different decades, and starred in everything from little known independent films to incredibly expensive blockbusters. He has witnessed the Golden Age of the 60s, the censorship and cultural repression of the 70s, the social realism masterpieces of the 80s, and the boom which started in the 90s and continues today. He's seen it all, done it all. But, after all these years, Ahn Sung Ki is still... [read more]
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While homosexuality is nothing new to arthouse cinema, one can hardly find another place like Taiwan where queer-themed youth movies have earned such great mainstream popularity, following the successful formula of youth idol dramas. From the latest Spider Lilies to earlier releases like Eternal Summer, Formula 17, and Blue Gate Crossing, this gay youth film genre has been gaining momentum in recent years in Taiwan. Strictly speaking, not all of these titles fall under the category of "gay and lesbian film", which requires a close examination of sexual orientation on a personal, social, or even political level, but the prevalence of same-sex relationships in Taiwanese cinema already... [read more]
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With a history spanning close to 5000 years, Korea has always had a fascinating relationship with its roots, especially in the fields of drama and film. After over 80 years of ups and downs, sageuk, or historical drama, has regained its place in the spotlight with the enormous success of films like King and The Clown and TV series like Jumong. Let's take a look at where and when sageuk started, and how this genre got back on its feet after decades of struggle. The Origins Theories concerning the first ever Korean film vary depending on sources and standards. For instance, the first ever Korean yeonswegeuk (screen and stage play, also known as kino drama), Kim Do San's Fight for Justice, was... [read more]
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Although many top Hong Kong talents have started off in exploitation films, few can match the real-life Cinderella story of Shu Qi, whose career has seen her rise from porno starlet to internationally recognized A-list actress. Her fairy tale transformation has not been an easy one, and has in fact been the result of many years of hard work, as she gradually and determinedly worked her way up through thankless roles in Category III-rated sex comedies and as eye candy in action films, to her recent starring roles in the likes of Confession of Pain and My Wife is a Gangster 3. In addition to establishing herself as a popular blockbuster mainstay, she has also acted in a number of arthouse... [read more]
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On March 20, 2007, the Asian Film Awards held its inaugural Awards Gala in Hong Kong. Organized by the Hong Kong International Film Festival (HKIFF) and held in conjunction with the territory's third Entertainment Expo - the umbrella event name for the HKIFF, the Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART), and the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF) - the Asian Film Awards (AFA) is certainly an unprecedented affair. While there are many homegrown awards honoring the best and brightest of Asia's individual film industries, the AFA is the first to throw every territory's products into one big free-for-all battle royale, each vying for recognition not as the best from their own... [read more]
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Around 2002, the Hong Kong film industry was plagued with a dilemma - it needed new talent. Film studios were relying heavily on tried-and-true formulas from veteran filmmakers such as Benny Chan, Johnnie To, and Andrew Lau. With only a handful of names breaking through in recent years, the industry was looking for new blood, new stories. But in the end, it would be another veteran - Derek Yee Tung Sing - who would bring a potent kick to Hong Kong cinema. Away from the director's chair for four years, Yee returned at just the right time when Hong Kong needed reliable storytellers the most. One of the most consistent commercial filmmakers in Hong Kong, Yee is perhaps best known... [read more]
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What's the most important thing to an actor? Longevity? Charisma? Popularity? For Jeon Do Yeon, one of Korea's most respected and beloved actresses, the answer is versatility. She once said her goal was to become a colorless actress, someone able to convey every character in all their shades of colors. It might sound like a cliche, but Jeon Do Yeon's path to stardom began completely by accident. Jeon was a college student who had a lucky break when she was spotted on the street and became a model for a teen magazine. That appearance paved the way for a few advertisement contracts for the young star, who finally debuted on television in 1990 with the campus drama Our Paradise. As a genre,... [read more]
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Just as the country is itself emerging as one of the major players in the global economy, Mainland Chinese cinema is growing in international stature and recognition. Whilst in the past the film factory that is Hong Kong had dominated Chinese cinema, at least in export terms, in recent years many of the key productions which have earned worldwide release have in fact come from the Mainland, such as Zhang Yimou's Curse of the Golden Flower. Although these big budget epics have proved popular and have helped to greater establish Chinese cinema on the international stage, they have also been criticized for favoring excess and style over content, and for pandering to Western expectations.... [read more]
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Wherever you go in the world today, it's hard to avoid seeing Gong Li's face. The mainland China actress has now all but achieved world domination, having not only won the hearts of audiences at home and the admiration of the notoriously fickle film critics of Europe, but also conquering the Hollywood box office, with roles in the big budget blockbusters Memoirs of a Geisha and Miami Vice. Despite being more than forty years of age, it is her, rather than younger starlets such as Zhang Ziyi, who has emerged as China's top acting export, after a career spanning nearly twenty years which has seen her working with all of the country's top directors, including Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Wong... [read more]
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Many of the major cinematic works of Japan are based on some type of literary source. Classic films such as Rashomon and popular modern films such as Battle Royale are derived from well-known novels. Recently, a new type of literary adaptation has emerged in Japanese cinema - the manga adaptation. Popular manga - or Japanese comics - are certainly no stranger to adaptation as they are often turned into anime - or animation - usually weekly TV series. In turn, popular anime series then go to cinemas as feature-length animated films. Popular examples of these adaptations are Pokemon, Doraemon, and Gundam, just to name a few. Attempts to bring manga adaptations to the big screen as live-action... [read more]
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