South Korea
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Slick Korean revenge thriller starring So Ji-sub as a stylish, yet solitary assassin, whose company operates behind the facade of a legitimate metal merchant. When he fails to liquidate a… Read More
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Kim’s output reaches a stunning climax here in a film that marries strong characterization with glossy production values in a story that could only come from this singular filmmaker. A… Read More
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When a highschooler’s efforts to prostitute her best friend end in tragedy, Yeo-jin (Kwak Ji-min) resolves to sleep with the clients herself and return their money. But when her cop… Read More
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Kim addresses faith, human nature and free will head on in this beautiful film, which charts the evolution of a Buddhist monk through the different chapters of his life. Located… Read More
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In Kim’s most extreme portrayal of “tough love”, a low-level pimp (Jo Jae-hyeon) targets a respectable college student (Seo Won), forcing her into a life of prostitution, only to become… Read More
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At a remote fishing resort, the beautiful yet mute Hee-jin (Suh Jung) services her guests with tackle, alcohol and even sex, for the right price. When she intervenes to stop… Read More
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The last film in my Park Chan-wook retrospective is his utterly bonkers vampire film from 2009. Song Kang-ho plays Sang-hyun, a Catholic priest who volunteers to help find a cure… Read More
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Early on in Stoker, South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s English language debut, a series of lap dissolves shows us the identical pairs of shoes our heroine, India (played by Mia… Read More
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Following the international success of his “Vengeance Trilogy”, Park Chan-wook shifts gears completely with this good natured, day-glo coloured romantic comedy set in a mental institute. Lim Su-jeong plays a… Read More
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South Korean director Park Chan-wook’s English language debut is a sultry and languid noir set in the American Deep South. At the funeral of her father, who died on her… Read More
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Lee Young-ae stars as a convicted child murderer, released from prison after 13 years, who heads out on a trail of revenge against the man she believes really committed the… Read More
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Re-watching this film for the first time since it played at the HK Asian Film Festival in 2005, I was finally able to check out the “Fade to Black &… Read More
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When a South Korean soldier (Lee Byung-hun) stationed with the garrison that guards the 38th Parallel on the North/South border staggers back across from the other side with a bullet… Read More
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As part of a future (as-yet undisclosed) project, I’m currently re-visiting the films of Korean director Park Chan-wook. I was planning to begin with JSA: Joint Security Area, but neither… Read More
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Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in his first leading role in almost a decade, as a veteran small-town sheriff forced into action by a South American drug lord, who is heading for… Read More
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After an extended hiatus we have returned! In our latest dispatch Fernando and I discuss the many cinematic delights of this year’s PiFan Film Festival in South Korea, highlightng films… Read More
The James Marsh film review archive 