by Paweł Mizgalewicz
„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...
„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...
- 4/25/2024
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Among the high-profile filmmakers selected for this year’s Cannes Film Festival is a wave of upcoming talent from Asia and the Middle East, including the first Indian feature chosen for Competition in 30 years and the first film from Saudi Arabia to ever make the Official Selection.
While Cannes has a reputation for bringing back familiar names year after year, the line-up for the 77th edition does feature several rising filmmakers and not just in the “discovery” strands of the selection.
Making her first appearance in Competition is Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia with All We Imagine As Light. It marks...
While Cannes has a reputation for bringing back familiar names year after year, the line-up for the 77th edition does feature several rising filmmakers and not just in the “discovery” strands of the selection.
Making her first appearance in Competition is Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia with All We Imagine As Light. It marks...
- 4/12/2024
- ScreenDaily
Rights to “I, The Executioner,” which will premiere as a Midnight Screening at the Cannes Film Festival this year, have been picked up by South Korea’s Cj Enm.
The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.”
Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but Cj describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.”
Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad.
“I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned...
The crime-action film directed by Ryu Seung-wan (also written Ryoo Seung-wan) is a sequel to Ryu’s 2015 hit “Veteran” and in Korea goes by the title “Veteran 2.”
Few details of the story have yet been disclosed, but Cj describes the film as “combining Ryu’s trademark action with observations and messages about social change.” Ryu last year enjoyed major box office success with crime comedy “Smugglers.”
Hwang Jung-min, who recently enjoyed box office success in “12.12: The Day,” reprises his role from “Veteran.” He is joined in the sequel by Jung Hae-in (“Tune in for Love”) as a new member of the film’s Violent Crime Investigation Squad.
“I, The Executioner” was produced by Filmmaker R & K, the production shingle owned...
- 4/12/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Cannes announced the official selection for this year, and the Asian representation is quite strong. India finds its way back to the main competition after 30 years, with “All We Imagine as Light” while Jia Zhangke returns with “Caught By The Tides” . Also of note is the presence of the first Saudi Arabian film in the official selection with “Norah”, which premiered last year in Red Sea. Here are all the entries we know of so far. More info will be added as we get closer to the festival.
All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia (India) Caught by the Tides by Jia Zhang-Ke (China) Norah by Tawfik Alzaidi (Saudi Arabia) Black Dog by Guan Hu (China) My Sunshine by Hiroshi Okuyama (Japan) Santosh by Sandhya Suri (India) Viet and Nam by Truong Minh Quý (Vietnam) She's Got No Name by Peter Chan Ho-Sun Twilight of the Warrior Walled In...
All We Imagine as Light by Payal Kapadia (India) Caught by the Tides by Jia Zhang-Ke (China) Norah by Tawfik Alzaidi (Saudi Arabia) Black Dog by Guan Hu (China) My Sunshine by Hiroshi Okuyama (Japan) Santosh by Sandhya Suri (India) Viet and Nam by Truong Minh Quý (Vietnam) She's Got No Name by Peter Chan Ho-Sun Twilight of the Warrior Walled In...
- 4/11/2024
- by Panos Kotzathanasis
- AsianMoviePulse
Descubre las películas que estarán en Cannes 2024: una lista completa de todas las secciones.
Esta mañana, Thierry Frémaux ha anunciado la programación oficial de la 77ª edición del Festival de Cannes. La pasada edición del festival fue testigo de los estrenos mundiales de las aclamadas películas “Anatomía de una Caída”, “Killers of the Flower Moon” y “The Zone of Interest”. Unas películas que posteriormente fueron nominadas al Oscar a la mejor película, de modo que este año el listón está muy alto.
Desde su primera edición en 1946, el Festival de Cannes se ha consolidado como uno de los acontecimientos cinematográficos más importantes de la industria del cine y la edición de este año ofrece una gran variedad de películas de todo el mundo; desde directores consagrados hasta nuevas voces de la industria. Aunque, por desgracia, España no tendrá representación en el festival este año.
La presidenta del jurado de...
Esta mañana, Thierry Frémaux ha anunciado la programación oficial de la 77ª edición del Festival de Cannes. La pasada edición del festival fue testigo de los estrenos mundiales de las aclamadas películas “Anatomía de una Caída”, “Killers of the Flower Moon” y “The Zone of Interest”. Unas películas que posteriormente fueron nominadas al Oscar a la mejor película, de modo que este año el listón está muy alto.
Desde su primera edición en 1946, el Festival de Cannes se ha consolidado como uno de los acontecimientos cinematográficos más importantes de la industria del cine y la edición de este año ofrece una gran variedad de películas de todo el mundo; desde directores consagrados hasta nuevas voces de la industria. Aunque, por desgracia, España no tendrá representación en el festival este año.
La presidenta del jurado de...
- 4/11/2024
- by Marta Medina
- mundoCine
After sitting in the can for nearly four years, Dev Patel’s directorial debut, Monkey Man, was presented to a rapturous audience at SXSW last night. The film declaring loudly what the man himself was too humble to acknowledge; Dev Patel has the potential to become the future of action cinema, both behind and in front of the camera. Bringing together elements from contemporary action cinemas from around the world, most notably Korea – think The Man From Nowhere, the films of Ryoo Seung Wan, and others – and Indonesia – plenty of echoes of the pioneering cinema of Gareth Evans and Tumo Tjahjanto’s The Night Comes For Us – Monkey Man combines technical chops with savage critiques of age old divisions in India to create...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 3/12/2024
- Screen Anarchy
Hit local titles include ’12.12: The Day’ and ‘The Roundup: No Way Out’.
South Korea’s box office admissions recorded a rise of 11% in 2023, boosted by two local hits, but saw 44.8% fewer cinemagoers than in pre-Covid 2019.
There was a total of 125.1 million admissions in 2023, according to the Korea Box-office Information System (Kobis), demonstrating steady growth year-on-year.
However, with audiences still not returning to cinemas at pre-pandemic levels, the number is a 44.8% decrease from 2019, which was year before the Covid-19 outbreak but also the all-time highest box office year on record in terms of admissions and gross.
Total box office gross...
South Korea’s box office admissions recorded a rise of 11% in 2023, boosted by two local hits, but saw 44.8% fewer cinemagoers than in pre-Covid 2019.
There was a total of 125.1 million admissions in 2023, according to the Korea Box-office Information System (Kobis), demonstrating steady growth year-on-year.
However, with audiences still not returning to cinemas at pre-pandemic levels, the number is a 44.8% decrease from 2019, which was year before the Covid-19 outbreak but also the all-time highest box office year on record in terms of admissions and gross.
Total box office gross...
- 1/3/2024
- by Jean Noh
- ScreenDaily
As we have mentioned many times before, the most successful product of Asian cinema towards the US market (apart from anime) are the action/martial arts movies, and as such, it is by no surprise that the biggest industries of the continent and particularly S.Korea have invested heavily towards the particular category, with China following close by, in a genre that, most of the time, budget is the most crucial element. In that fashion, ultra violent and stylistic is the path S. Korea productions follow (this year), while China seems to be going more towards the sci-fi now that the Ip Man franchise has become somewhat preterit. Japan choose live-action adaptation or its rather famous franchises, while the duo of Tak Sakaguchi and Yudai Yamaguchi continue their effort to produce as realistic martial arts scenes as possible. China follows the stylistic martial arts approach, while India has come up...
- 12/30/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Although the Korean movie industry recently announced that the local box office recovered to 70% of Pre-pandemic Level, largely due to the success of “12.12: The Day” which was released on November 22nd and has earned 7,729,273 admissions by December 14, the situation with local cinema is not exactly hopeful, as a number of key figures and specialists mention. Particularly the fact that the majority of talent, including movie stars and filmmakers seem to move towards the rather more popular dramas, the gap left in the movie industry is felt more than ever. At the same time, though, not everything is all bad, since the mainstream movies still find ways out in festivals, streaming and distribution, while a number of intense social dramas remind of the second reason Korean cinema reached the heights it holds now (apart from crime thrillers).
In any case, here are the best South Korean films of 2023, in reverse order.
In any case, here are the best South Korean films of 2023, in reverse order.
- 12/16/2023
- by AMP Group
- AsianMoviePulse
Originally titled Milsu, Seung-Wan Ryu’s 2023 Korean film, Smugglers, sheds light on the lives of haenyeos, who turned to illegal means to earn their livelihood. The film chronicled the lives of two female haenyeos, Choon-Ja (Kim Hye-su) and Jin-Sook (Yum Jung-ah), who earned their daily bread by scouring the deep sea for seafood and selling it on the open market. Most of the time, their luck delivered, and they earned enough to get by, but there were also days when they didn’t earn even a single penny. However, lately, luck hasn’t been on their side, as a nearby chemical factory is directly threatening their livelihoods.
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did The Haenyeos Start Smuggling Illegal Goods?
The factory dumped its chemical waste directly into the sea, resulting in dead fauna. The sight of dead fish, with their bellies facing up, had become commonplace. Thus, left with no choice, the...
Spoilers Ahead
Why Did The Haenyeos Start Smuggling Illegal Goods?
The factory dumped its chemical waste directly into the sea, resulting in dead fauna. The sight of dead fish, with their bellies facing up, had become commonplace. Thus, left with no choice, the...
- 12/5/2023
- by Rishabh Shandilya
- Film Fugitives
by Paweł Mizgalewicz
„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...
„Smugglers” is a pretty bright and fun crime film that also delivers some really insightful look at Korea as a Western-aspiring country and at the pains of poverty. Most impressing is perhaps that it manages so well to do all of it at once, without slowing down the pace. The main characters of this female-led story are far from mysterious, dark, Scorsese-like figures that would encourage us to ponder the intricacies of human psyche in its never ending lust for power. In “Smugglers”, going against the law is a pragmatic decision born out of economic despair. Struggling fisherwomen of 1970's Jeju town face the choice in the film's opening minutes – keep diving for stinky snails of diminishing quality, trying to make ends meet, or take a chance at moving Western merchandise left on the sea bottoms of the Korea Strait. American cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes and all...
- 11/28/2023
- by Guest Writer
- AsianMoviePulse
Ringing Korea’S Grand Bell
“Concrete Utopia,” South Korea’s Oscar contender, was Wednesday named best film at the country’s annual Grand Bell Awards. It also won prizes for best actor, best supporting actress, art direction, sound mixing and visual effects. A disaster movie set in a devastated Seoul, it makes an unusual Academy Awards selection, but has gained high praise from reviewers. Variety this week said the film felt like “’Earthquake’ crossed with ‘Lord of the Flies’.”
The Grand Bell’s best director award nevertheless went to Ryoo Seung-wan for “Smugglers,” while Ahn Tae-jin took the best new director award for “The Night Owl.”
In the other half of the event, Disney+’s “Moving” was named best series, earning Han Hyo-joo the best series actress award to boot.
The Grand Bell Awards, aka Daejong Film Awards, are organized by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea.
Cineasia Honors
The...
“Concrete Utopia,” South Korea’s Oscar contender, was Wednesday named best film at the country’s annual Grand Bell Awards. It also won prizes for best actor, best supporting actress, art direction, sound mixing and visual effects. A disaster movie set in a devastated Seoul, it makes an unusual Academy Awards selection, but has gained high praise from reviewers. Variety this week said the film felt like “’Earthquake’ crossed with ‘Lord of the Flies’.”
The Grand Bell’s best director award nevertheless went to Ryoo Seung-wan for “Smugglers,” while Ahn Tae-jin took the best new director award for “The Night Owl.”
In the other half of the event, Disney+’s “Moving” was named best series, earning Han Hyo-joo the best series actress award to boot.
The Grand Bell Awards, aka Daejong Film Awards, are organized by The Motion Pictures Association of Korea.
Cineasia Honors
The...
- 11/16/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Michael Mann is back at it. The director is making a triumphant return to the film world after a less-than-stellar reception to his 2015 tech thriller, Blackhat, which starred Chris Hemsworth. This year marks the release of Ferrari, his biopic of Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver, which is already generating positive word-of-mouth, including talk of a Best Supporting Actress nod for Driver’s co-star Penelope Cruz. Mann also has said that he will be moving on to a film adaptation of his crime novel sequel to his prolific 1995 drama, Heat. That project is also rumored to star Adam Driver.
According to Variety, Michael Mann is already at work on another project as he is now developing a remake of the Korean action-thriller-comedyVeteran from Ryoo Seung-wan. It is not yet known if Mann plans to direct the film or only be attached as a writer and producer. He is currently working with the U.
According to Variety, Michael Mann is already at work on another project as he is now developing a remake of the Korean action-thriller-comedyVeteran from Ryoo Seung-wan. It is not yet known if Mann plans to direct the film or only be attached as a writer and producer. He is currently working with the U.
- 11/1/2023
- by EJ Tangonan
- JoBlo.com
With Michael Mann finally returning to feature filmmaking this fall with Ferrari, which is enjoying a festival run ahead of its Christmas debut, the filmmaker is eying what to do next. It seems like an Adam Driver-led Heat 2 is very much in the cards––though one wonders if WB’s greenlit status will be dependent on the success of Ferrari. In the meantime, the director is also developing another project.
Variety reports the Miami Vice helmer is working on an adaptation of Ryoo Seung-wan’s 2015 crime thriller Veteran, a massive hit in South Korea as it is currently the 5th-highest-grossing film in the country. The crowd-pleaser follows a detective who is tracking down a young, wealthy, and privileged business owner who is running his own crime syndicate.
Currently in the development stage, it’s not decided yet if Mann will just produce and script or direct the project himself.
Variety reports the Miami Vice helmer is working on an adaptation of Ryoo Seung-wan’s 2015 crime thriller Veteran, a massive hit in South Korea as it is currently the 5th-highest-grossing film in the country. The crowd-pleaser follows a detective who is tracking down a young, wealthy, and privileged business owner who is running his own crime syndicate.
Currently in the development stage, it’s not decided yet if Mann will just produce and script or direct the project himself.
- 11/1/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Ferrari” director Michael Mann is planning to make a U.S. adaptation of South Korean crime thriller “Veteran.”
The project is at development stage, and Mann is working with the U.S. and Korean wings of Cj Enm, Korea’s leading film and TV conglomerate. It is currently undecided whether Mann himself will direct or just take production and writing credits.
“We are developing a script with Michael Mann, but his role and our schedule are not fixed yet,” a source close to Cj Enm told Variety.
Work halted on the project during the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike and it is unclear when development will pick up in earnest.
Mann is currently focusing on the development of “Heat 2,” which he recently confirmed as his next directing outing. The project, which is set up at Warner Bros., is the sequel to his genre-defining 1995 noir “Heat.”
“Veteran” has some similarities with “Heat...
The project is at development stage, and Mann is working with the U.S. and Korean wings of Cj Enm, Korea’s leading film and TV conglomerate. It is currently undecided whether Mann himself will direct or just take production and writing credits.
“We are developing a script with Michael Mann, but his role and our schedule are not fixed yet,” a source close to Cj Enm told Variety.
Work halted on the project during the Hollywood screenwriters’ strike and it is unclear when development will pick up in earnest.
Mann is currently focusing on the development of “Heat 2,” which he recently confirmed as his next directing outing. The project, which is set up at Warner Bros., is the sequel to his genre-defining 1995 noir “Heat.”
“Veteran” has some similarities with “Heat...
- 11/1/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy and Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Kim Seong-hun and Ha Jung-woo, the director-actor combo who gave us Tunnel, reunite for the second time on the winning buddy action-comedy Ransomed, the latest in a series of high-profile films based on recent real-life stories featuring Korean characters gallivanting in third world countries. This very specific subgenre, which also includes Ryoo Seung-wan's Escape from Mogadishu, The Point Men and the Netflix series Narco-Saints, also with Ha, popped out of nowhere when all these projects were announced in late 2019. Later joining the cadre was the Choi Min-shik led Disney+ series Big Bet. Ha plays Korean diplomat Lee Min-jun in the 1980s, who volunteers to engage in a daring plot to retrieve a fellow Korean diplomat, kidnapped in Lebanon 18 months earlier but yet to...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 10/5/2023
- Screen Anarchy
Director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers has been acquired ahead of its Gala Premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival.
Flawless, along with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions, announced today their acquisition of the South Korean crime-action epic. Deadline reported in May that Flawless, co-founded by filmmaker Scott Mann (Fall), had partnered with U.S. seller and distributor XYZ Films (Run Rabbit Run) and UK producer Tea Shop Productions (47 Meters Down) to acquire rights to foreign-language films and convert them to English for distribution in English-speaking territories.
Ryoo Seung-wan has helmed some of South Korea’s most commercially-successful titles and earned seven nominations from the Grand Bell Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. Set in the 1970s, the film tells the story of a pair of haenyeo — women free divers who harvest shellfish — who are driven to underwater smuggling and must battle it out with a...
Flawless, along with XYZ Films and Tea Shop Productions, announced today their acquisition of the South Korean crime-action epic. Deadline reported in May that Flawless, co-founded by filmmaker Scott Mann (Fall), had partnered with U.S. seller and distributor XYZ Films (Run Rabbit Run) and UK producer Tea Shop Productions (47 Meters Down) to acquire rights to foreign-language films and convert them to English for distribution in English-speaking territories.
Ryoo Seung-wan has helmed some of South Korea’s most commercially-successful titles and earned seven nominations from the Grand Bell Awards, the country’s equivalent of the Academy Awards. Set in the 1970s, the film tells the story of a pair of haenyeo — women free divers who harvest shellfish — who are driven to underwater smuggling and must battle it out with a...
- 9/8/2023
- by Anthony D'Alessandro and Tom Tapp
- Deadline Film + TV
For many, Kim Seong-hun made one of the best non-serial killer South Korean thriller in “A Hard Day”. While he followed that up with the rather well-made but comparatively underwhelming “Tunnel”, he has since settled for creating a zombie-infested Joseon for Netflix's ultra-popular series “Kingdom”. For his much-awaited return to the big screen, he follows “Escape from Mogadishu” and “The Point Men” in adapting a real-life situation involving Korean diplomats finding themselves in a pickle overseas, for an action adventure feature presentation.
“Ransomed” is released by WellGo USA
Lebanon, 1986. A newly-deployed South Korean diplomat gets kidnapped and despite the government's best efforts, they are unable to find his whereabouts or even who his captives are. Without any ransom demands, the case hits a dead-end for more than a year, when suddenly one evening, Min-joon, a diplomat for the Iranian region in the Ministry of External Affairs, gets a phone...
“Ransomed” is released by WellGo USA
Lebanon, 1986. A newly-deployed South Korean diplomat gets kidnapped and despite the government's best efforts, they are unable to find his whereabouts or even who his captives are. Without any ransom demands, the case hits a dead-end for more than a year, when suddenly one evening, Min-joon, a diplomat for the Iranian region in the Ministry of External Affairs, gets a phone...
- 8/19/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi, 2023).The lineup is being unveiled for the 2023 edition of the Toronto International Film Festival, starting with 60 selections from the Gala and Special Presentations programs. The festival takes place from September 7–17, 2023.Gala PRESENTATIONSConcrete Utopia (Um Tae-Hwa)Dumb Money (Craig Gillespie)Fair Play (Chloe Domont)Flora and Son (John Carney)Hate to Love: Nickelback (Leigh Brooks)Lee (Ellen Kuras)Next Goal Wins (Taika Waititi)Nyad (Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin)Punjab ’95 (Honey Trehan)Solo (Sophie Dupuis)The End We Start From (Mahalia Belo)The Movie Emperor (Ning Hao)The New Boy (Warwick Thornton) The Royal Hotel (Kitty Green)The Holdovers.Special Presentationsa Difficult Year (Éric Toledano, Olivier Nakache)A Normal Family (Hur Jin-ho)American Fiction (Cord Jefferson)Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet)Close to You (Dominic Savage)Days of Happiness (Chloé Robichaud)The Rescue (Daniela Goggi)Ezra (Tony Goldwyn)Fingernails (Christos Nikou)Four Daughters (Kaouther Ben Hania...
- 8/14/2023
- MUBI
Back in the 1970s, when Korea was closed to the outside world, locals relied on black market dealers to get their hands on everything from American cigarettes to Ritz crackers. Though this illicit import racket was run mostly by men, it wouldn’t have been possible without half a dozen uniquely talented women — skilled divers known as haenyeo who fished the loot from the sea. At least, that’s the fresh girl-power premise floated by action maven Ryoo Seung-wan (“The Battleship Island”) in his snappy, retro-styled crime saga, “Smugglers.”
Featuring a funky Lalo Schifrin-esque score (from composer Chang Ki-ha) and more wide-collared polyester pantsuits than a “Charlie’s Angels” costume contest, the movie presents itself as a lost relic of less enlightened times, but boasts gender dynamics that are very much of this moment. In early scenes, the divers earn their living fetching oysters off the ocean floor — or at...
Featuring a funky Lalo Schifrin-esque score (from composer Chang Ki-ha) and more wide-collared polyester pantsuits than a “Charlie’s Angels” costume contest, the movie presents itself as a lost relic of less enlightened times, but boasts gender dynamics that are very much of this moment. In early scenes, the divers earn their living fetching oysters off the ocean floor — or at...
- 8/11/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
The programme comprises 47 films from 45 countries.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Centrepiece programme, with 47 titles screening from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
Included in the programme (previously known as Contemporary World Cinema) are Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes, getting its North American premiere; Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves, receiving its Canadian premiere; and Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, a North American premiere.
Scroll down for the full list of Centrepiece titles
TIFF also announced additional titles for its Galas, Special Presentations and Documentaries programmes, among them the world premiere of Brian Helgeland’s Finestkind.
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has unveiled the line-up for its Centrepiece programme, with 47 titles screening from filmmakers representing 45 countries.
Included in the programme (previously known as Contemporary World Cinema) are Victor Erice’s Close Your Eyes, getting its North American premiere; Aki Kaurismaki’s Fallen Leaves, receiving its Canadian premiere; and Agnieszka Holland’s Green Border, a North American premiere.
Scroll down for the full list of Centrepiece titles
TIFF also announced additional titles for its Galas, Special Presentations and Documentaries programmes, among them the world premiere of Brian Helgeland’s Finestkind.
- 8/10/2023
- by John Hazelton
- ScreenDaily
The Toronto International Film Festival has added 59 more films to the lineup of its 2023 festival, including 47 international films in the Centrepiece program, which in previous years was known as Contemporary World Cinema. New films were also added to the Galas, Special Presentations and Documentary sections.
World premieres among the new selections include “Finestkind,” a crime thriller from Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential”) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster; The Movie Teller,” a film set in Chile starring Berenice Bejo from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig; and Jessica Yu’s “Quiz Lady,” with Sandra Oh and Awkwafina.
The Centrepiece selections include a number of films from May’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “About Dry Grasses,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama,” Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy,” Joanna Arnow’s “The Feeling That the...
World premieres among the new selections include “Finestkind,” a crime thriller from Brian Helgeland (screenwriter of “L.A. Confidential”) starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ben Foster; The Movie Teller,” a film set in Chile starring Berenice Bejo from “An Education” director Lone Scherfig; and Jessica Yu’s “Quiz Lady,” with Sandra Oh and Awkwafina.
The Centrepiece selections include a number of films from May’s Cannes Film Festival, among them Wim Wenders’ “Perfect Days,” Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s “About Dry Grasses,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Ramata-Toulaye Sy’s “Banel & Adama,” Amjad Al Rasheed’s “Inshallah a Boy,” Joanna Arnow’s “The Feeling That the...
- 8/10/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Despite the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors and WGA writers strikes, the Toronto Film Festival continues to turn up the star wattage for its 48th edition, adding movies with Dakota Johnson, Bérénice Bejo, Awkwafina, Sandra Oh and Mads Mikkelsen to its lineup on Thursday.
For the Gala section, TIFF unveiled the A-list heavy crime drama Finestkind from Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind Mystic River and L.A. Confidential; and A Knight’s Tale, which stars Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones and Toby Wallace.
Also headed to Roy Thomson Hall is the South Korean drama A Normal Family, directed by Hur Jin-ho, the Korean auteur who in the past premiered Dangerous Liaisons and April Snow in Toronto. TIFF earlier tapped fellow Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers for its Special Presentations sidebar, and has now bumped that drama up to a gala screening in Toronto after a world bow in Locarno.
For the Gala section, TIFF unveiled the A-list heavy crime drama Finestkind from Brian Helgeland, the Oscar-winning writer-director behind Mystic River and L.A. Confidential; and A Knight’s Tale, which stars Ben Foster, Jenna Ortega, Tommy Lee Jones and Toby Wallace.
Also headed to Roy Thomson Hall is the South Korean drama A Normal Family, directed by Hur Jin-ho, the Korean auteur who in the past premiered Dangerous Liaisons and April Snow in Toronto. TIFF earlier tapped fellow Korean director Ryoo Seung-wan’s Smugglers for its Special Presentations sidebar, and has now bumped that drama up to a gala screening in Toronto after a world bow in Locarno.
- 8/10/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ryu Seung-wan’s female-led crime caper “Smugglers” topped the South Korean box office for a second weekend, ahead of new release title “Ransomed.”
“Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
“Ransomed,” a 1980s-set drama thriller set in Lebanon, follows the travails of a low-ranking Korean diplomat who performs heroics in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped official. The film opened in second place with $3.34 million over the weekend and $5.19 million over its full five-day opening run.
“Elemental,” the Pixar cartoon that has charmed Korea, continued in a strong third place. It earned $2.26 million over the weekend, for a cumulative of $47.5 million. That total means that it has overtaken Japanese animated...
“Smugglers” enjoyed a strong hold in its second weekend of release and commanded 42% market share. It delivered $7.09 million, a drop of only 20% on its opening weekend, giving a 12-day cumulative of $26.2 million, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
“Ransomed,” a 1980s-set drama thriller set in Lebanon, follows the travails of a low-ranking Korean diplomat who performs heroics in an attempt to rescue a kidnapped official. The film opened in second place with $3.34 million over the weekend and $5.19 million over its full five-day opening run.
“Elemental,” the Pixar cartoon that has charmed Korea, continued in a strong third place. It earned $2.26 million over the weekend, for a cumulative of $47.5 million. That total means that it has overtaken Japanese animated...
- 8/7/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
There is female empowerment in Korean cinemas, but it is coming more from local characters, than global hit “Barbie.”
Female-led crime action film “Smugglers” dominated the weekend at the South Korean box office and pushed aside “Mission: impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which had headed the chart for the previous two sessions.
“Smugglers” earned $9.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), giving it a nearly 54% market share. Over its full five opening days, the film has built up a cumulative total of $13.1 million.
Directed by stylish action specialist Ryoo Seungwan (aka Ryu Seung-wan), “Smugglers” is set in Jeju where some of the island’s famous diving women have lost their jobs. Instead they use their skills to mount a smuggling operation, collecting illegal shipments that have been dropped into the sea.
The film has already been...
Female-led crime action film “Smugglers” dominated the weekend at the South Korean box office and pushed aside “Mission: impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” which had headed the chart for the previous two sessions.
“Smugglers” earned $9.31 million between Friday and Sunday, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic), giving it a nearly 54% market share. Over its full five opening days, the film has built up a cumulative total of $13.1 million.
Directed by stylish action specialist Ryoo Seungwan (aka Ryu Seung-wan), “Smugglers” is set in Jeju where some of the island’s famous diving women have lost their jobs. Instead they use their skills to mount a smuggling operation, collecting illegal shipments that have been dropped into the sea.
The film has already been...
- 7/31/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Korea’s box office reached 70% of pre-pandemic levels of revenue in the first half of 2023, according to data released by the Korean Film Council (Kofic).
Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.
As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.
While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...
Korean action film The Roundup: No Way Out was the highest-grossing film of the period – pulling in $82M from 10.68 million admissions – followed by two Japanese animated features, Suzume and The First Slam Dunk, and U.S. titles Avatar: The Way Of Water and Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3.
Total box office for the period reached $475M (KRW607.8Bn), equivalent to 72.5% of average box office during the January-June period in 2017-2019, before Covid-19 shuttered cinemas and played havoc with release schedules.
As in many other territories, the recovery was partly due to ticket price increases, as admissions totalled 58.39 million, which is only 57.8% of the pre-pandemic average in the same period during 2017-2019.
While the top-grossing film in the first half was Korean, local films achieved only 54% of their pre-pandemic average,...
- 7/27/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Margot Robbie, America Ferrera and director Greta Gerwig visited South Korea early on the promotional tour for ‘Barbie’ (without Ryan Gosling). But their charm failed to translate into strong box office performance in the country and the film opened anonymously in fourth place over the weekend.
“Barbie” earned just $1.19 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.91 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Worth just 8% of the nationwide weekend total, “Barbie’s” scores were barely better than fellow new release title “Insidious: the Red Door.” That earned $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.90 million over five days.
Indeed, the weekend’s highest opener, landing in third ahead of “Barbie” and “Insidious,” was Japanese animation title “Detective Conan the Movie: Black Iron Submarine.” Releasing on Thursday, it earned $1.80 million over the weekend and $2.66 million over its opening four days.
“Barbie” earned just $1.19 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.91 million over its opening five days, according to data from Kobis, the tracking service operated by the Korean Film Council (Kofic). Worth just 8% of the nationwide weekend total, “Barbie’s” scores were barely better than fellow new release title “Insidious: the Red Door.” That earned $1.17 million between Friday and Sunday and $1.90 million over five days.
Indeed, the weekend’s highest opener, landing in third ahead of “Barbie” and “Insidious,” was Japanese animation title “Detective Conan the Movie: Black Iron Submarine.” Releasing on Thursday, it earned $1.80 million over the weekend and $2.66 million over its opening four days.
- 7/24/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude).The lineup for the 76th edition of the festival has been announced, including new films by Eduardo Williams, Leonor Teles, Lav Diaz, Radu Jude, and others.Concorso INTERNAZIONALEAnimal (Sofia Exarchou)Critical Zone (Ali Ahmadzadeh)Essential Truths of the Lake (Lav Diaz)Home (Leonor Teles)The Human Surge 3 (Eduardo Williams)The Invisible Fight (Rainer Sarnet)Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World (Radu Jude)Lousy Carter (Bob Byington)Manga D’Terra (Basil Da Cunha)Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où (Sylvain George)Patagonia (Simone Bozzelli)The Permanent Picture (Laura Ferrés)Rossosperanza (Annarita Zambrano)Stepne (Maryna Vroda)Sweet Dreams (Ena Sendijarević)The Vanishing Soldier (Dani Rosenberg)Yannick (Quentin Dupieux)Excursion (Una Gunjak).Concorso Cineasti Del PRESENTECamping du Lac (Eléonore Saintagnan)Ein Schöner Ort (Katharina Huber)Excursion (Una Gunjak)Family Portrait (Lucy Kerr)Dreaming...
- 7/6/2023
- MUBI
A stellar precursor to the busy fall film festival season, Locarno Film Festival annually premieres some of the year’s most exciting cinema and 2023 looks to be no different. Taking place from August 2-12 in the Swiss town, the festival has now unveiled its lineup for the 76th edition. Highlights include Eduardo Williams’ The Human Surge 3 (brilliantly forgoing a second film), Radu Jude’s Do Not Expect Too Much Of The End Of The World, Lav Diaz’s Essential Truths of the Lake, Sylvain George’s Nuit Obscure – Au Revoir Ici, N’Importe Où, and Quentin Dupieux’s Yannick.
Speaking to its main section, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “From Quentin Dupieux and his edgy surrealism to Lav Diaz. From the sarcastic humor of Radu Jude to the night poetry of Sylvain Georges. From the mad inventions of Rainer Sarnet to the abstract psychedelia of Eduardo Williams.
Speaking to its main section, Giona A. Nazzaro, artistic director of the Locarno Film Festival, said, “From Quentin Dupieux and his edgy surrealism to Lav Diaz. From the sarcastic humor of Radu Jude to the night poetry of Sylvain Georges. From the mad inventions of Rainer Sarnet to the abstract psychedelia of Eduardo Williams.
- 7/5/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
The Locarno International Film Festival unveiled the full program for 2023 on Wednesday, with dozens of world premieres set to screen in the 76th edition of the Swiss festival.
Locarno’s main Piazza Grande section will include several of this season’s festival favorites, among them Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from French director Justine Triet starring Sandra Hüller; Ken Loach’s latest (and possibly last) feature, The Old Oak; Noora Niasari’s Sundance audience award winner Shayda, featuring Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s comedy Theater Camp, which won a special jury prize at Sundance. Other highlights include U.S. horror feature Falling Stars by directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki; Dammi from 71′ and White Boy Rick-helmer Yann Demange; and Magnetic Continent, the new nature documentary from March of the Penguins‘ filmmaker Luc Jacquet about the continent of Antarctica.
Locarno’s main Piazza Grande section will include several of this season’s festival favorites, among them Cannes Palme d’Or winner Anatomy of a Fall from French director Justine Triet starring Sandra Hüller; Ken Loach’s latest (and possibly last) feature, The Old Oak; Noora Niasari’s Sundance audience award winner Shayda, featuring Holy Spider star Zar Amir Ebrahimi; and Molly Gordon and Nick Lieberman’s comedy Theater Camp, which won a special jury prize at Sundance. Other highlights include U.S. horror feature Falling Stars by directors Richard Karpala and Gabriel Bienczycki; Dammi from 71′ and White Boy Rick-helmer Yann Demange; and Magnetic Continent, the new nature documentary from March of the Penguins‘ filmmaker Luc Jacquet about the continent of Antarctica.
- 7/5/2023
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Ryoo Seung-wan likes to keep busy. Even as his film “Escape from Mogadishu” was still ruling the box office in 2021, he was already busy shooting his next, “Smugglers”. His third period film in a row, “Smugglers” is a change of sorts for him. Where all his films are sometimes labelled as too macho, with female characters and actresses serving a secondary, almost throwaway part, “Smugglers” is the first time a Ryoo Seung-wan production is centred around female characters.
Synopsis
In 1970s, at Guncheon (a small village near sea), there were Haenyeos (women divers who are able to dive w/o equipments), including two best friends Chun-ja and Jin-sook, Jin-sook`s brother and Jangdori. They always collected seafood under water for living. But, as few factories started to be built near beach, Haenyeos started to have trouble with what they were doing for living. Without any choice, the ship crews decided...
Synopsis
In 1970s, at Guncheon (a small village near sea), there were Haenyeos (women divers who are able to dive w/o equipments), including two best friends Chun-ja and Jin-sook, Jin-sook`s brother and Jangdori. They always collected seafood under water for living. But, as few factories started to be built near beach, Haenyeos started to have trouble with what they were doing for living. Without any choice, the ship crews decided...
- 1/27/2023
- by Rhythm Zaveri
- AsianMoviePulse
Click here to read the full article.
Lee Sang-yong’s 2022 feature, The Roundup, had many twists and turns before it was finally released in South Korean theaters in May. The production originally began in 2019, but filming was temporarily postponed, as location permits did not come through in Vietnam, where the story is mostly set, because of the pandemic. The industry’s old saying that “no sequel is better than its prequel” put even more pressure on Lee, who was an assistant director on the film’s precursor, 2017’s The Outlaws, about an old-school detective taking down a ruthless gangster in Seoul’s Chinatown.
“I really didn’t think the movie would turn out this well,” says Lee, whose feature became a smash hit, beating its predecessor at the box office. “I’m just stunned and grateful. It’s the result of the hard work of many actors and staff for over three years,...
Lee Sang-yong’s 2022 feature, The Roundup, had many twists and turns before it was finally released in South Korean theaters in May. The production originally began in 2019, but filming was temporarily postponed, as location permits did not come through in Vietnam, where the story is mostly set, because of the pandemic. The industry’s old saying that “no sequel is better than its prequel” put even more pressure on Lee, who was an assistant director on the film’s precursor, 2017’s The Outlaws, about an old-school detective taking down a ruthless gangster in Seoul’s Chinatown.
“I really didn’t think the movie would turn out this well,” says Lee, whose feature became a smash hit, beating its predecessor at the box office. “I’m just stunned and grateful. It’s the result of the hard work of many actors and staff for over three years,...
- 11/2/2022
- by Soomee Park
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Click here to read the full article.
Creative Artists Agency has promoted six graduates of its CAA Elevate agents and executives training program to full-fledged agents.
Chris Burrus becomes an agent in the music touring department, based in Nashville. He joined CAA in 2018 as an assistant and earlier held internships at ole Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group and Yep Roc Music Group.
Based in Los Angeles, new agent Inder Gill will serve on the media finance team, with a focus on representing indie financed films. Gill, who started out in CAA’s mailroom in 2017, helped sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean survival drama Squid Game.
And Sophie Kavanagh has been promoted to agent in the commercial endorsements department, based in the New York office. She joined CAA in 2018 as an assistant in commercial endorsements, before boarding the CAA Elevate program in June 2021.
And London-based...
Creative Artists Agency has promoted six graduates of its CAA Elevate agents and executives training program to full-fledged agents.
Chris Burrus becomes an agent in the music touring department, based in Nashville. He joined CAA in 2018 as an assistant and earlier held internships at ole Publishing, Capitol Christian Music Group and Yep Roc Music Group.
Based in Los Angeles, new agent Inder Gill will serve on the media finance team, with a focus on representing indie financed films. Gill, who started out in CAA’s mailroom in 2017, helped sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean survival drama Squid Game.
And Sophie Kavanagh has been promoted to agent in the commercial endorsements department, based in the New York office. She joined CAA in 2018 as an assistant in commercial endorsements, before boarding the CAA Elevate program in June 2021.
And London-based...
- 6/22/2022
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
CAA has promoted Chris Burrus, Inder Gill, Sophie Kavanagh, Zakaria Laaboudi, Arlen Papazian and Kara Petit to Agent following the participation of each in CAA Elevate, the agency’s program for agents and executives in training.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
The Nashville-based Burrus will work within CAA’s Music Touring department. He represents many of the world’s leading musicians, including Nate Smith, Tyler Booth, Erin Kinsey and After Midtown, and is on the teams that support Jake Owen, Matt Koziol and Brandon Ratcliff.
Gill will serve on the Media Finance team, led by Roeg Sutherland and Benjamin Kramer, specializing in the representation of independently financed films. He was one of the lead agents helping to sign Anupam Tripathi, who played Ali Abdul in Netflix’s South Korean smash Squid Game, and is based in Los Angeles.
Kavanagh has been promoted to Agent in the Commercial Endorsements department, and will be based in the agency’s New York office.
- 6/22/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Known as an action director for two decades, Seung-Wan Ryoo broke the traditional genre boundaries and won the Fipresci Prize at the 58th…
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
Continue reading on SydneysBuzz The Blog »...
- 12/10/2021
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
Korean-made action film “Escape From Mogadishu” overcame new release “Jungle Cruise” and holdover “Boss Baby 2” to dominate the South Korean box office over the weekend.
“Mogadishu,” directed by the consistently successful Ryoo Seung-wan, played on 1,688 screens nationwide and earned $4.93 million between Friday and Sunday. That gave it a 57% share of the total weekend box office.
Having launched on Wednesday, its five-day cumulative stood at $6.54 million as of Sunday night, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service.
The film stars popular actors Kim Yun-seok and Zo In-sung. It is based on real events in 1991 that saw both South Korean and North Korean diplomatic missions trying to escape from the Somalian capital city and civil war.
The strong opening was more than double last week’s debut by “Boss Baby 2” which managed only $2.08 million for a 32% market share.
The strong opening helped lift the nationwide Korean box...
“Mogadishu,” directed by the consistently successful Ryoo Seung-wan, played on 1,688 screens nationwide and earned $4.93 million between Friday and Sunday. That gave it a 57% share of the total weekend box office.
Having launched on Wednesday, its five-day cumulative stood at $6.54 million as of Sunday night, according to data from the Korean Film Council’s Kobis tracking service.
The film stars popular actors Kim Yun-seok and Zo In-sung. It is based on real events in 1991 that saw both South Korean and North Korean diplomatic missions trying to escape from the Somalian capital city and civil war.
The strong opening was more than double last week’s debut by “Boss Baby 2” which managed only $2.08 million for a 32% market share.
The strong opening helped lift the nationwide Korean box...
- 8/2/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
"The people in Seoul don't even know what's happening to us, right?" Well Go USA has released an official US trailer for a Korean film called Escape from Mogadishu, originally known as just Mogadishu. This is debuting in early August in the US in select theaters, just a few weeks after it opens in Korea first, which is a quick turnaround for a Korean film. Based on a true story: as civil war rages in Mogadishu, rival North and South Korean diplomats are left trapped. With no aid from either government, their only shot at survival may require uniting with bitter adversaries to escape. The cast of Escape from Mogadishu includes Kim Yoon-seok, Huh Joon-ho, Zo In-sung, Koo Kyo-hwan, Joung Man-sik, and Kim So-jin. This is an intense trailer, with brutal shots of civil war violence included uncensored, as they try to make it out safely. Here's the official US...
- 7/19/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The New York Asian Film Foundation and Film at Lincoln Center will unspool the 2021 edition Aug. 6-22 at Flc, kicking off with the premiere of “Escape From Mogadishu,” directed by Ryoo Seung-wa.
In all, 60 films will screen to audiences in person and virtually, with premieres of first and second features from directors for the feature film competition: “Anima”, “City of Lost Things”, “Hand Rolled Cigarette”, “Joint”, “Ten Months” and “Tiong Bahru Social Club”.
Hong Kong new wave director Ann Hui will receive the Variety Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award, and the festival will screen her film “The Story of Woo Viet” and Man Lim Chung’s pic on Hui, “Keep Rolling.”
The festival will introduce the section Asian American Focus, which will feature films including Aimee Long’s “A Shot Through the Wall.” The team behind the film will be present at the festival.
“Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?...
In all, 60 films will screen to audiences in person and virtually, with premieres of first and second features from directors for the feature film competition: “Anima”, “City of Lost Things”, “Hand Rolled Cigarette”, “Joint”, “Ten Months” and “Tiong Bahru Social Club”.
Hong Kong new wave director Ann Hui will receive the Variety Star Asia Lifetime Achievement Award, and the festival will screen her film “The Story of Woo Viet” and Man Lim Chung’s pic on Hui, “Keep Rolling.”
The festival will introduce the section Asian American Focus, which will feature films including Aimee Long’s “A Shot Through the Wall.” The team behind the film will be present at the festival.
“Sensei, Would You Sit Beside Me?...
- 7/16/2021
- by Shalini Dore
- Variety Film + TV
The Battleship Island Trailer Seung-wan Ryoo‘s The Battleship Island (2017) movie trailer stars Joong-ki Song, Jung-min Hwang, Ji-seob So, Su-an Kim, and Jung-hyun Lee. The Battleship Island‘s plot synopsis: “The 1940s-set historical thriller tells a fictional story, yet details are drawn from real life. During the end of WWII, approximately 400-700 Korean civilians [...]
Continue reading: The Battleship Island (2017) Movie Trailer: 400 Prisoners Attempt Escape During WWII...
Continue reading: The Battleship Island (2017) Movie Trailer: 400 Prisoners Attempt Escape During WWII...
- 7/6/2017
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Thirty four Asian films will be screen during the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival here is the complete list.
Created in 1983 the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifff) focus on horror, thriller, and science fiction films. This year the festival will take place from March 29th until April 10th in the city of Brussels (Belgium). This year thirty four Asian movies will be presented during the festival. This year South Korean movies are predominant as there will be thirteen Korean films. Some of the highlights are Baahubali: The Beginning (S.S. Rajamouli), Veteran (Seung-wan Ryoo), Memories of the Sword (Park Heung-sik), Tag (Sion Sono), The Deal (Son Yong-Ho) and The Priests (Jae-hyun Jang).
Asian Movies
Arahan by Ryoo Seung-Wan – South Korea | 2004
Assassination Classroom by Eiichiro Hasumi – Japan | 2015
Assassination Classroom: The Graduation by Eiichiro Hasumi – Japan | 2016
Attack on the Lederhosen Zombies by Dominik Hartl – Australia | 2016
Baahubali: The Beginning by S.S. Rajamouli – India...
Created in 1983 the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival (Bifff) focus on horror, thriller, and science fiction films. This year the festival will take place from March 29th until April 10th in the city of Brussels (Belgium). This year thirty four Asian movies will be presented during the festival. This year South Korean movies are predominant as there will be thirteen Korean films. Some of the highlights are Baahubali: The Beginning (S.S. Rajamouli), Veteran (Seung-wan Ryoo), Memories of the Sword (Park Heung-sik), Tag (Sion Sono), The Deal (Son Yong-Ho) and The Priests (Jae-hyun Jang).
Asian Movies
Arahan by Ryoo Seung-Wan – South Korea | 2004
Assassination Classroom by Eiichiro Hasumi – Japan | 2015
Assassination Classroom: The Graduation by Eiichiro Hasumi – Japan | 2016
Attack on the Lederhosen Zombies by Dominik Hartl – Australia | 2016
Baahubali: The Beginning by S.S. Rajamouli – India...
- 3/20/2016
- by Sebastian Nadilo
- AsianMoviePulse
Following close on the heels of last week’s open letter penned by Spanish filmmakers including Pedro Almodovar, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz, a handful of Korean movie-biz professionals and others have added their voices to the chorus in calling for an end to the violence in Gaza. In a letter titled “Peace in Palestine!” and posted to the website of non-profit peace organization Nanum Munhwa, Korean filmmakers including Oldboy director Park Chan-wook, The Attorney producer Jae-Won Choi and The Berlin File helmer Seung-wan Ryoo want Israel’s “massacre” of civilians to be “stopped immediately.” The petition demands that Israel’s “indiscriminate slaughter […]...
- 8/5/2014
- Deadline
Plot75% Acting85% Directing80% Music75%Agile, cool spy thriller with great action scenes and interesting story development.A bit too shallow and safe. 79%Overall Score Reader Rating: (3 Votes)98%
I can’t say I’m disappointed in ‘The Berlin File’. Seung-wan Ryoo, its director, did everything I expected… but not everything that I wanted. And I can hardly blame him. Although espionage is nothing more than the dark side of politics, real politics are rarely addressed in spy movies, at least in a non-standardized and meaningful way. But, if you can ignore that, then it’s not a problem, really. So, why take the chance? Nobody expects to see politics in a movie, anyway. For me it was like watching a juggler flip three power saws… without turning them on. You can’t expect him to do it, but then again, why use power saws if not for the added risk? I don’t expect it,...
I can’t say I’m disappointed in ‘The Berlin File’. Seung-wan Ryoo, its director, did everything I expected… but not everything that I wanted. And I can hardly blame him. Although espionage is nothing more than the dark side of politics, real politics are rarely addressed in spy movies, at least in a non-standardized and meaningful way. But, if you can ignore that, then it’s not a problem, really. So, why take the chance? Nobody expects to see politics in a movie, anyway. For me it was like watching a juggler flip three power saws… without turning them on. You can’t expect him to do it, but then again, why use power saws if not for the added risk? I don’t expect it,...
- 11/24/2013
- by Miguel Angel Aijon
- AsianMoviePulse
★★☆☆☆ Missions, murders and conspiracies: the basic recipe for almost all of Seung-wan Ryoo's films. His ninth feature, The Berlin File (2013), borrows a similarly seething framework to Dachimawa Lee (2008), all about spies and the threat of North Korea. This is certainly timely given Western paranoia over a nuclear Pyongyang, but Ryoo's new piece is a failed attempt at disentangling the complex web of corruption and browbeating politics cooked up between the military and government. Plotting this film is basically folly, as it clings to the idea that the action sequences will be so mesmerising you won't need to know what's going on.
Pyo (Jung-woo Ha), a North Korean secret agent, is sent undercover to expose an illegal arms deal but is soon caught up in a North-South espionage nightmare, where traitors defect and then re-defect, cameras film other cameras and Pyo is left wondering who has betrayed him: his wife or his political overlords.
Pyo (Jung-woo Ha), a North Korean secret agent, is sent undercover to expose an illegal arms deal but is soon caught up in a North-South espionage nightmare, where traitors defect and then re-defect, cameras film other cameras and Pyo is left wondering who has betrayed him: his wife or his political overlords.
- 6/23/2013
- by CineVue UK
- CineVue
The South Korean writer, director and producer behind the popular Vengeance trilogy, whose new movie, Stoker, is out next week, picks his cultural highlights
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean writer, director and producer. Born in Seoul, Chan-wook worked as a film critic before filmmaking. Best known here for his Vengeance trilogy – Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005) – Chan-wook is a master of dark, violent films. Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes the year that Quentin Tarantino (a fan of Chan-wook) was head judge. Chan-wook's English-language debut, Stoker, is a psychological thriller inspired by Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. It opens in cinemas on Friday.
Technology
Leica M-e digital camera
I'm a long-time Leica user, even from the analogue film camera days. I own four Leicas.They are the perfect combination of function and aesthetics. The M-e is very sturdy and the lens is extraordinary. I'm a...
Park Chan-wook is a South Korean writer, director and producer. Born in Seoul, Chan-wook worked as a film critic before filmmaking. Best known here for his Vengeance trilogy – Sympathy for Mr Vengeance (2002), Oldboy (2003) and Lady Vengeance (2005) – Chan-wook is a master of dark, violent films. Oldboy won the Grand Prix at Cannes the year that Quentin Tarantino (a fan of Chan-wook) was head judge. Chan-wook's English-language debut, Stoker, is a psychological thriller inspired by Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt. It opens in cinemas on Friday.
Technology
Leica M-e digital camera
I'm a long-time Leica user, even from the analogue film camera days. I own four Leicas.They are the perfect combination of function and aesthetics. The M-e is very sturdy and the lens is extraordinary. I'm a...
- 2/24/2013
- by Corinne Jones
- The Guardian - Film News
"A ghost?" Thanks to a tip from Quint on AICN, there's a trailer to watch for a spy-action-thriller film called The Berlin File, directed by Seung-wan Ryoo of films like The City of Violence, Crying Fist and No Blood No Tears. It pretty much looks like an action-packed Korean mix of Jason Bourne and James Bond in the tone of Infernal Affairs, which they sort of briefly make fun of anyway with that line about "arms deals, spying, assassination, deception." The cast includes Jung-woo Ha, Han Suk Kyu, Ryoo Seung-bum and Gianna Jun. It looks good, but the funniest part is the "revenge is a dish best served cold" line. Enjoy! Watch the official Us trailer for Seung-wan Ryoo's The Berlin File, on YouTube (via AICN): Action auteur Seung-wan Ryoo (Die Bad, No Blood No Tears, Crying Fist, The City of Violence) comes back to the genre with...
- 1/29/2013
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
In case you haven’t been keeping up, take another look at director Seung-wan Ryoo’s spy thriller “The Berlin File”, easily my most anticipated South Korean film in a long time. Sure, I still indulge in a South Korean flick every now and then, but it wasn’t like in the olden days when I couldn’t get enough of this stuff. “The Berlin File”, though, looks pretty damn good, and this new, full trailer has completely sold me. A tense illegal arms deal in a Berlin hotel suddenly descends into mayhem after a “ghost” agent named Jong-seong appears on the scene. Secretly watching the deal go down is embattled South Korean intelligence chief Jin-soo, the North Koreans and the Us CIA, who are all left trying to decode whether the ghost is a double-agent or taking the fall for a more insidious plot. Myung-soo a young but notorious...
- 1/25/2013
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
“Arahan” and “Crying Fist” director Seung-wan Ryoo hops into the deadly spy game with the new South Korean actioner “The Berlin File”, starring some of South Korea’s powerhouse actors. The action doesn’t look too bad, either. Check out a brief 30-second teaser trailer for the film, which is set on location in Berlin, Germany, and from the looks of it, is going to be one intense thrill ride. The plot goes something like this: Exposed by their government, a North Korean spy and his wife attempt to escape pursuing Korean agents as they flee Berlin. The film stars Gianna Jun (of “Blood: The Last Vampire” fame, though she’s still much more famous worldwide for the romcom hit “My Sassy Girl”), Jung-woo Ha, Seung-beom Ryu, and Han Suk Kyu (no stranger to spy movies himself with hits like “Shiri” and “Double Agent” under his belt). South Korea gets...
- 1/14/2013
- by Nix
- Beyond Hollywood
The Koffia (Korean Film Festival in Australia) starts next week in Sydney. The Unjust is Seung-wan Ryoo's newest film and will be screening on opening night at Koffia with director in attendance! I caught his second last feature The City of Violence which is out on DVD, and it is a lovely precursor for the cinematic delights to come at Koffia, hold on tight! Detective Tae-su (Doo-hong Jung), returns to his hometown for his child hood friend Wang-jae's (Kil-Kang Ahn) funeral. At the funeral he runs into his old gang; Pil-ho (Beom-su Lee), Dong-hwan (Seok-yong Jeong) and Seok-hwan (Seung-wan Ryoo). Suspecting something odd about Wang-jae's death, Tae-su and Seok-hwan start investigating in their own unique way, and uncover a dodgy land development project that hits...
- 8/17/2011
- Screen Anarchy
The Unjust (Bu-dang-geo-rae)
Written by Hoon-jung Park
Directed by Seung-wan Ryoo
South Korea, 2010
“That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” -Matthew 5:45
There is a sequence in Hergé’s Tintin adventure Flight 714 when Captain Haddock has a problem with a piece of sticking plaster and when he finally gets rid of it, the band-aid makes it way from stewardess to passenger to crew to pilot and back again to Haddock, until everyone in the plane has had some kind of run-in with the sticky thing. While that slapstick sequence is played for laughs and The Unjust is one of the grimmest, darkest crime dramas ever made, like the passengers of Flight 714, the passengers of The Unjust are stuck, not with a band-aid, but with...
Written by Hoon-jung Park
Directed by Seung-wan Ryoo
South Korea, 2010
“That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.” -Matthew 5:45
There is a sequence in Hergé’s Tintin adventure Flight 714 when Captain Haddock has a problem with a piece of sticking plaster and when he finally gets rid of it, the band-aid makes it way from stewardess to passenger to crew to pilot and back again to Haddock, until everyone in the plane has had some kind of run-in with the sticky thing. While that slapstick sequence is played for laughs and The Unjust is one of the grimmest, darkest crime dramas ever made, like the passengers of Flight 714, the passengers of The Unjust are stuck, not with a band-aid, but with...
- 7/18/2011
- by Michael Ryan
- SoundOnSight
South Korean director Seung-wan Ryoo‘s The Unjust is an entertaining, unwieldy crime thriller, throwing flawed cops, power-hungry prosecutors and vicious mobsters into a pressure cooker of steely action and way too many plot twists.
A serial killer has been preying on the schoolchildren of Seoul. The President of South Korea demands results, and a plausible suspect is cornered, shot and killed. Case closed – but not everyone is satisfied. Enter Captain Choi Cheol-gi, (Hwang Jung-min), who is charged with making a media spectacle of the case. In return, he’ll get the fat promotion he’s been repeatedly denied. Having made it a mission of his to crack down on corrupt businessmen and landowners, Choi now has to turn to Jang Seok-gu (Yoo Hae-jin,who plays the role like a snarling hyena), a mobster who bought his way into the upper echelons of respectable property tycoons. Jang provides Choi with more suspects,...
A serial killer has been preying on the schoolchildren of Seoul. The President of South Korea demands results, and a plausible suspect is cornered, shot and killed. Case closed – but not everyone is satisfied. Enter Captain Choi Cheol-gi, (Hwang Jung-min), who is charged with making a media spectacle of the case. In return, he’ll get the fat promotion he’s been repeatedly denied. Having made it a mission of his to crack down on corrupt businessmen and landowners, Choi now has to turn to Jang Seok-gu (Yoo Hae-jin,who plays the role like a snarling hyena), a mobster who bought his way into the upper echelons of respectable property tycoons. Jang provides Choi with more suspects,...
- 7/14/2011
- by Anthony Vieira
- The Film Stage
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