Movies Sleeper Film of the Week: “Breathless”

TITLE: Breathless a.k.a. Ddongpari

COUNTRY: Korea

GENRE: (Violent) drama

SCREENING: Thursday, July 2 at 2 p.m. at the IFC Center, NYC as part of the New York Asian Film Festival

FUN FACT: Lead actor Yang Ik-June wrote, produced, and directed this independent movie, which has racked up awards at several international film festivals.

WHY COMPLEX IS CO-SIGNING IT: We’re all for consuming media via BitTorrent, Hulu, and YouTube, but nothing beats getting your mind blown by a powerful movie on the big-screen. Last week, we were lucky enough to attend the NY premiere of the Korean film Ddongpari (literally translated: “Shit-Fly”; American title: Breathless)—and honestly, we haven’t stopped thinking about it since. The movie follows the exploits of a debt-collector/thug named Sang-hoon whose first, second, and last resort is violence. After Sang-hoon crosses paths (violently) with an equally pugnacious high-school girl, the odd couple form a strange bond that provides glimmers of light in the dark chaos of their respective lives. Along the way, we learn how Sang-hoon’s past has marred his present and future…

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE REVIEW & WATCH THE TRAILER!

Wake N' Watch Wake N’ Watch: Park Chan-Wook’s Vampire Movie “Thirst”

Korea’s illest director Park Chan-Wook—the man responsible for the insanity that was 2003’s Oldboy—is about to drop another gem on us in the form of Thirst, his twisted take on the vampire genre. And no, this isn’t some teen-girl-wet-dream-Twilight bullshit—the movie debuted at Cannes, where it won the Jury Prize. Thirst hits U.S. theaters on July 31, and IGN debuted the American trailer (restricted!) last night. Finish up that Bloody Mary before you watch.

Movies When Hollywood Rips Off South Korea

So Variety is reporting that Steven Spielberg and Will Smith are in talks to remake South Korean film Oldboy, a.k.a. the greatest mind-fuck movie ever. We’ve already shown you how Korea’s fast becoming the new Japan for cars, girls and tech, so it should be no surprise that Hollywood’s pilfering ideas from the Land of the Morning Calm.

The rumored Oldboy project won’t be the first (or last) time that a Korean flick has gotten the ol’ Hollywood whitewash. Luckily for you, we at Complex are certified Korean cinema experts. Here’s a look at American remakes of Korean movies from the past, present and future.