Category: Korean movies (Page 12 of 31)

Hey, six of the top 10 films this week were Korean. I cannot remember the last time that happened. Not long ago, Korean dominance at the box office we usually typical, but for most of this year, there have been many fewer films released than in past years, making it harder to fill the top 10 most weeks.

Despite having six Korean films in the top 10, the top two movies last weekend were both from Hollywood. No. 1 was the Shia LaBeouf thriller EAGLE EYE. Seems like the ads have been on TV non-stop for the past couple of weeks, but I know very little about it.

No. 2 is the “Waiting for a Girl Like You” of movies, the musical MAMMA MIA. With one week’s exception, the ABBA musical has been stuck in the No. 2 spot since it opened six weeks ago. Kind of remarkable, I guess.

(Foreigner’s “Waiting” is remarkable for being the song to spend the longest at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 without ever reaching No. 1… which makes it a pretty imperfect comparison, in addition to being pretty obscure. Oh, forget about it. Sigh.)

MODERN BOY tumbles to No. 3 and looks like it will not be doing much at the box office. But its distributor, CJ Entertainment, cannot be too sad, since their films currently occupy three of the top 10, including EAGLE EYE.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Oh, some stuff about Kim Ki-duk’s DREAM that I forgot to mention in my write-up yesterday. One of the most surprising things about DREAM, given how it was released on Oct. 9, was the film’s non-appearance at this year’s Pusan International Fantastic Film Festival. I do not recall seeing it even at any industry screenings. Very odd for a director who is usually the king of the film festivals.

The story as I heard it is that Kim got upset at PIFF when they refused to give DREAM a top spot, in one of the major categories. He was so upset, in fact, that he refused to let PIFF screen his film at all.

Of course, Kim is no longer the festival darling he once was a few years ago. But, still, it seemed strange to have a Kim Ki-duk film opening in Korea in the closing days of PIFF, but the film was not on the bill at PIFF at all.

Btw, with DREAM opening on over 100 screens, that is the biggest rollout for a Kim film that I can recall. With over 50,000 admissions for DREAM since it opened, I am guessing Kim isn’t exactly crying in his haejangguk over missing PIFF.

Kim Ki-duk’s films are famous for their cruelty and violence — fishhooks, broken glass, golf clubs and good, old-fashioned beatings all feature prominently. His emotional violence is even more graphic and brutal. I think he makes fun, comic films.

Perhaps I should explain. Back when Kim and his movies were considered fashionable and trendy — some time between THE ISLE and BAD GUY — I really was not a fan at all. His callous cruelty did not excite me, and listening to film festival dorks rattle on about whatever is hot at the moment is always a turnoff.

But Kim, along with Hong Sang-soo, was one of Korea’s top art-house directors, so I suffered through his films and his regular appearance on the film festival circuit. I did my best to deflect queries from editors who asked for a story on Kim, preferring instead to profile others who were fascinating me at the time.

Gradually, Kim fell out of favor. Korean audiences disappeared after BAD GUY, finding his silent, Orientalism boring. I always am fascinated how SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER … AND SPRING was the biggest Korean film ever in the West (before D-WAR), even though it sold barely 35,000 tickets in Korea. Then international audiences grew tired of his repetitive brutalities and Orientalisms.

Around this time, I began to like his movies again. One day I was flipping around the TV dial, when I came across a re-run of BAD GUY (by far Kim’s most successful film in Korea). For some reason I left it on, and for once, instead of being annoyed at how it did not accurately represent Korean society, I thought it was funny. Not that forced prostitution, stabbings, rape and assorted trauma are funny. But when I listened to the soft musical cues and suggestive edits, I suddenly realized that, despite the film’s brutality, in fact it was at heart a romantic comedy. A sick, twisted romantic comedy, but a rom-com nonetheless.

The more I thought about his films, the more I began to rethink them all. Instead of taking them so seriously and getting upset about them, I now viewed them as parodies, violent subversions of typical Korean storytelling. I have no evidence that Kim ever intended any of his films to be parodies or funny at all, but that is how I look at them. I think it makes them much more interesting.

Which is a long way of saying that I caught the new Kim Ki-duk film, DREAM, the other night.

DREAM is about two people who become linked through their dreams. A guy named Jin (Odagiri Jo) dreams something, then Ran (Lee Na-young) sleepwalks and lives his dream. He dreams of an accident, she drives her car and gets into an accident. He dreams of meeting his old girlfriend, then Ran… well, that would be telling.

Soon Jin and Ran figure out their connection and try to take steps to sever the unwanted bond.

At first, the audience in my theater was really put off by this story. Most of all, they disliked Kim’s main conceit, of having Jin talk in Japanese, Ran speak in Korean, but have both understand each other. The film moves slowly and illogically, too, which they did not like.

But about halfway through the film, people seemed to decide that this was also a comedy. And as soon as they started laughing, the movie was much more enjoyable. Seeing Ran struggling to avoid sleep by holding her eyelids open was pretty funny. Jin’s more extreme methods were even funnier (well, at first).

Given that the film is called DREAM (or BIMONG in Korean), it seems unfair to me to criticize the movie for its dream logic. In fact, my criticism is that it was not weird enough.

DREAM also features plenty of Gahoe-dong Korean traditional houses and exoticisms. Designed to appeal to Westerns with a “thing” for Asia, I guess. Who are these characters? No idea. Where are their friends? Backstory? Is anyone weirded out by the dream merging thing? All details that Kim glosses over in order to focus on pretty interiors and general misanthropy.

Personally, I think Kim’s high point was THE ISLE, with its gorgeous cinematography that worked with its bizarre story. Everything since then has felt like a pale imitation of that better film.

Although it is safe to say that the poster for DREAM is the most gorgeous Kim Ki-duk poster ever. Really great looking.

Btw, with about 50,000 admissions since it opened on Oct. 9, it looks like DREAM is Kim’s most successful film since BAD GUY (I think… I don’t have all his movie’s numbers in front of me, but that is what I remember).

The long-awaited, big historical drama MODERN BOY opened in the No. 1 spot. But it was not a big opening — just 330,000 admissions over the weekend (400,000 since it opened last Thursday), and 2.72 billion won ($2.06 million, thanks to the lousy exchange rate).

MAMMA MIA finally overtook THE DIVINE WEAPON, with about 3.55 million admissions. Actually, WEAPON is still slightly ahead with admissions, even though MAMMA MIA is winning at the box office.

GO-GO 70’S had a bit of a disappointing opening in third, with just $1.13 million over the weekend. Very sad to think that more people tried out MODERN BOY. With any luck, GO-GO will win out in the long run.

BABYLON AD had an even more tepid opening, with less than $800,000 since it opened.

Sad to see MY DEAR ENEMY drop to No. 9 so quickly. Would have been nice to see it get better word of mouth.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

After three weeks of being the bridesmaid, MAMMI MIA was at last the bride last weekend. Or, to be less annoyingly cute, MAMMA MIA took over the top spot in the box office after three weeks of landing in second, behind THE DIVINE WEAPON. Pretty amazing staying power for the ABBA tribute film and yet another sign of the power of the musical in Korea. Just imagine how well the film might had done if Pierce Brosnan could sing?

Just 60,000 admissions behind THE DIVINE WEAPON, could MAMMA MIA end up being the more successful film by the time their runs are over? Oh well, I guess the horserace really does not matter much… but still, it has been fun to watch.

As for new films, TRUCK, HELLBOY 2 and MY DEAR ENEMY all opened this weekend, with TRUCK doing the best. Not surprising HELLBOY 2 did not do so well, as the theater I saw it in was pretty much empty. Still, it did much better than the original HELLBOY, which opened in seventh with just $250,000, and dropped out of the top 10 less than two weeks later.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Plenty of interesting looking Korean films at the moment, but I am going to try to catch them at PIFF, I think. If I have any strong opinions about them, I will try write about them soon.

Another neck-and-neck weekend for THE DIVINE WEAPON and MAMMA MIA!, with WEAPON winning by just 12,000 admissions and only $10,000 (I guess WEAPON sold more student tickets, giving MAMMA MIA a revenue advantage). After three weeks, both films are doing quite well, both on the verge of zipping past the 3 million attendance mark.

Similarly, OUR ENGLISH TEACHER beat THE MIRROR by attendance, but since I rank by revenue, THE MIRROR came out on top. THE MIRROR is, of course, the Hollywood remake of that goofy Korean horror film INTO THE MIRROR.

I wonder how HELLBOY 2 will do in Korea. I saw it last night and the theater was just about empty.

Johnny To and Wai Ka-fai’s violent cop thriller MAD DETECTIVE opened in 15th, so did not make this chart. Just $15,000 on 8 screens.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

Much like last weekend, THE DIVINE WEAPON and MAMMA MIA! fought neck-and-neck for the top spot at the box office. And just like last weekend, THE DIVINE WEAPON won (although for some strange reason, Variety and Hollywood Reporter box office stories claimed that MAMMA MIA won. But not true).

FINAL CUT, the movie-within-a-movie tale of gangsters in the film business, had an okay opening, landing in third. Kim Soo-ro’s latest comedy was fourth.

Two Japanese films in the top 10 — 20TH CENTURY BOYS in sixth and BOYS OVER FLOWERS in seventh.

Looks like THE DARK KNIGHT is pretty much finished. But it did crawl past 4 million admissions, for a solid showing (although far, far from the records it set in North America).

WALL-E fell out of the top 10 this week, coming in at 11th. WALL-E’s run in the theaters is nearly finished, but at least the film topped 1 million admissions. Would be a crime for a film that good to have done anything less.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)

I was pleasantly surprised a couple of nights ago when I suddenly started to see a flurry of ads on TV for HELLBOY 2. I was getting worried the film might not be released in Korea.

Anyhow, here is a little list of some notable films coming out in the next couple of months:
Sept. 18
– Mad Detective

Sept. 25
– Hellboy 2
– My Dear Enemy (the new Jeon Do-yeon film)

Oct. 2
– Burn After Reading
– Gogo 70s
– Modern Boy

Oct. 8
– Dream (the new Kim Ki-duk film)

Oct. 16
– Sagwa (will the three-year-old film finally see the light of day?)

Oct. 23
– Body of Lies

Nov. 5
– Quantum of Solace

Btw, I am really curious about a lot of the coming Korean films. MY DEAR ENEMY is the latest by Lee Yoon-ki, who directed the much praised THIS CHARMING GIRL and the absolutely lousy LOVE TALK (and AD-LIB NIGHT, but I did not see that). So I consider MY DEAR ENEMY to be something of a tie-breaker. In ENEMY, Jeon Do-yeon plays a jobless, broke 30-year-old who tries to collect some money from an ex-boyfriend. But he is broke, too, so together they meet up with his various ex-girlfriends and try to get money from them. Intriguing set up and Jeon looks great in the trailer.

Why MODERN BOY and GO-GO 70’S are being released head-to-head, I have no idea. They are both looks back at Korea’s past — MODERN BOY at the 1930s and GO-GO 70’S at the 1970s (obviously).

I was really looking forward to MODERN BOY when I first saw some still images in the spring. Plus I quite like its director Song Hae-sung (FAILAN) Chung Ji-woo (HAPPY END). However, advanced word I heard from the film was not good, which is allegedly why the film’s release was delayed five months. Regardless, I think the trailer for MODERN BOY looks pretty promising — great cgi of Seoul from the 1930s, great clothes and production design. I still have hope for this film.

The trailer for GO-GO 70’S does not inspire confidence. The music sounds way more like Korea’s 1980s music than 1970s. And the clothes and concert scene looks like a hyperactive cabaret. Very, very dubious.

As for SAGWA, I saw it at the Tokyo Filmex in 2005 and quite enjoyed it. Not a great film, but definitely worth a watch. Moon So-ri is great, as always. No idea why it took Chungeorahm so long to get it into the theaters.

Whoops. Forgot to click “Publish” after writing this post. It has been sitting on my browser for hours.

Anyhow, CJ Entertainment’s historical drama THE DIVINE WEAPON was the top film in its opening weekend, taking in a respectable $4 million. Well, quasi-historical. The hwacha was a pretty interesting piece of military hardware that was cooked up in the 15th century. But it was not terribly effective on the battlefield. Personally, I was more impressed by those big wooden spike cannons that the Joseon armies used to use.

THE DIVINE WEAPON has now topped 1 million admissions, including the advanced screenings that were held last weekend. With Chuseok holiday weekend coming and no major competitors on their way, THE DIVINE WEAPON could end up a decent haul.

The screechy giggle-fest MAMMA MIA! also had a pretty decent opening (and, like THE DIVINE WEAPON, had many advanced screenings the previous weekend), with $3.5 million over the weekend to bring its total to $5.3 million. But I have ABBA bred in the bone, so I enjoyed it. Especially the encores at the end (Pierce Bronson’s voice, not so much).

I was pleasantly surprised to see the documentary EARTH open in No. 4. Few documentaries do well in Korea these days, so it was nice to see do well. If you like that sort of thing, be sure to check out the EBS Documentary Film Festival, opening Sept. 22.

(Source: KOBIS – Figures represent 98% of nationwide box office)