My First Date with Korean Cinema
Rituparna Chatterjee recently stumbled across a treasure-trove of fresh Korean films. She was stupefied; read on and you’ll see why.
The last place you are expecting a film festival is at a height of over 30,000 feet, a temperature of minus 45 degrees and a journey that is 24 hours long. But this is exactly where Korean cinema and I finally met face to face. Sure, we had heard a lot about each other…err correction: Korean cinema of course had never heard of petty li’l me. I however, had gone almost deaf (or was it the aircraft engine sneezing?) hearing about this latest darling of film festival circuits. Yet, nothing had prepared me for the historic event. Snippets from my first time:
Once Upon A Time In Korea
Ok, so I kicked off to a lousy start. There is nothing I would recommend about this easily forgettable rubbish film. But the next one Lovers of Six Years was definitely worth a watch. As the title tells you, it is a story about a couple. Da-in (Kim Ha-neul) is an awfully diligent editor in a publishing company. Her boyfriend Jae-young (Yoon Gye-sang) works equally hard as a TV producer. They began to see each other six years ago and are now next-door neighbours practically living together. They know each other too well; their bond has lost its magic and is crumbling fast.
Love stories have been the most popular subject for film-making forever. But Lovers of Six Years is not a film you forget that easily. It is terribly realistic, digging into all the tiny pleasant and unpleasant aspects of a modern relationship. And thus, the film digs into your heart reminding you of all the subtle elements that caused your perfect relationship to go from sweet to sour to sorry.
Translations aren’t exactly a strong point of Korean cinema. “Lost in translation” would more be it. While the subtitles are bearable, the films’ titles in English are confusing even more so in the next film. I’m not quite sure whether it is The Miracle of the Good Fool or The Miracle of the Giving Fool or Miracle of Giving Fool. Ok, it might not matter much to you but since I have little to do in life except write and watch films and eat dessert, I can’t help being confused with petty grammar issues. The director (Kim Jeong-Kwon) and actor names (Cha Tae-Hyeon, Ha Ji-Won and Park Hee-Sun) would come in handier in getting this touching film (that is if you manage to remember them). I’m afraid I don’t remember the characters’ names. I’ll happily give you my share of kimchi in apology. But it is a touching tale revolving around an ever-smiling autistic orphan (Cha Tae-Hyeon) who grows up on his own, cooks and sells “stupid toast” for a living and infects everybody with his simple goodness. His childhood crush (Ha Ji-Won) is a talented pianist who returns home from Europe after a decade. She can’t help but fall in love with him for his genuine simple ways. The title sums up the film’s story. Tae-Hyeon unconsciously becomes a miracle saving his best friend’s (Park Hee-Sun) life and adding meaning to the lives of the other characters. Meanwhile, the protagonist himself dies painfully in the process, although the smile on his face stays put as always. A powerful film that is so moving and credible it can move weary passengers and festival viewers alike, to tears.
A Man was Superman or A Man Once Superman
Camera work and direction are just about ok - not too great, not too bad - in the kind of Korean cinema I’ve had a slice of. Acting too, is neither too legendary nor is it poorly, it’s just about good enough to be convincing. Tae-Hyeon’s fantastic acting in Miracle of the Giving Fool is the only exception. Editing on the other hand, is more or less smooth, reflecting the flow of the screenplay. But one thing is clear. The primary focus of Korean cinema is to tell a remarkable story, to tell it compellingly and to make the entire packaging appetizing for all kinds of viewers. It is a tricky feat that very few films manage to do successfully. Moreover, few films today seem to do as tremendous a job at the original objective of cinema - storytelling. Also Korean films manage to hold you to your seat without you grunting, even on long weary flights.
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Hi Rituparna, haven’t much seen of Korean cinema except Oldboy, that was unusual. However, have noticed the sudden surge in both interest and availability. Your piece really helps to open doors to this new world…
Thanks Bikas! Korean cinema is simple, refreshing and so diverse. There is this unique touch to all their themes and angles that makes you rethink the entire subject, even if it has been done to death (for example romance). The names and credits are awfully hard to remember though
Yes, and besides there is no standard English titles, that create confusion.
Oldboy was mind opening……..Chan-wook Park, seems a promising director.
True! And even worse are Bollywood films that mindlessly rip off mind-opening films like Oldboy. Wasn’t it Zinda?
Atrocious!! see what Bollywood is capable. Maybe only to look for possible sources of “inspiration”, they watch films from all over the world!!! And then rip them apart in the rip offs..
I am not surprised that the author was not aware of vibrant Korean Cinema. Most of the people in the Indian subcontinent are into masala (songs and dance) films. That is why we do not get to see much. Korean films have impacted Korean diaspora (and other far eastern nations) so much that now France has an agreement with South Korea where both countries regard each other’s films as their own (for investment and limits on foreign films purposes). Korean actors are getting many roles in Hollywood films (though they are often depicted as someone from Hong Kong or China).
I think we have a lot to learn from Korea and Japan as well.
I
I think it is unfair to blame Bollywood. Though film makers develop tastes of audience, audience also have an impact on film making trends. Parallel cinema has failed to even recover costs in the subcontinent. Even worse is true about Pakistani films (apart from a few exceptions!). There are capable individuals, but they are hiding to keep their ‘izzat’ (honour) intact from commercial rubbish that is being churned out at such a speed that more trashy films destroy business of less trashy ones!
Here in London, we see Indians/Pakistanis who are born and brought up here and have never watched any foreign film. They prefer Bollywood films and only watch a few high budget Hollywood films (such as Spiderman) in order to use that knowledge to make conversation with someone from other ethnic background. They simply ignore foreign language films. While Cinemas in Asian dominated areas are running 12 daily shows of Kismat Connection, City of Men (Brazilian film) has to find screening in white middle class areas.
Thankfully things are changing rapidly in India. Lebanese and French films are currently running in theatres, there’s one 24 hrs world movies channel, two more are in the pipeline. Besides, there about 50 DVDs titles legally available now and 1000 waiting to come. I think this generation and the next would be difficult to satisfy for “typical” Bollywood producers who aren’t ready to change.
Korean films are widely available through piracy route in all major Indian cities and now they’re also running on “world movies” channel.