Complex Blog » Korean Cinema

Sleeper Film of the Week: “Breathless”

donniek — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 16:00:00 +0000

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…

Your knowledge of Korean cinema might begin and end with Oldboy, but where Park Chan-wook’s masterpiece is all stylized, brutal violence, Breathless is simply…brutal. At times, it’s painful to watch. (The English title refers to how Sang-hoon’s merciless ass-whupping rages—and believe us, there are a lot of them—leave him literally breathless.) The film offers an eye-opening look at the underbelly of Seoul and poignantly illustrates the vicious, karmic cycle of abuse. (It also presents a veritable buffet of Korean curse words; you’ll be mumbling “shee-bal” for days afterward.) Not since seeing La Haine (1995) have we been so thoroughly knocked on our ass by a movie-theater experience. If you can’t make tomorrow’s afternoon screening, then keep an eye out for the import DVD. You won’t regret it.

CLICK HERE TO BUY TICKETS TO THE JULY 2 SCREENING!

WATCH THE BREATHLESS TRAILER:

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

bfred — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:00:35 +0000

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.

When Hollywood Rips Off South Korea

donniek — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 23:13:28 +0000

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.

Korean Movie: Yeopgijeogin Geunyeo (2001) (a.k.a. “My Sassy Girl”),
dir. Kwak Jae-young
Plot: A hapless college student falls in love with a pretty psycho-bitch with a traumatic past.
Remake: My Sassy Girl (2008), dir. Yann Samuell
Starring: Jesse Bradford and Elisha Cuthbert
Verdict: The O.G. broke South Korean box office records; the American adaptation was a straight-to-DVD brick, apparently because U.S. audiences couldn’t buy the concept of a loser emasculating himself to win a girl’s heart. Maybe they should’ve kept the female lead as Korean?

Korean Movie: Siworae (2000) (a.k.a. “Il Mare”), dir. Lee Hyun-seung
Plot: Two would-be lovers communicate through a magical mailbox.
Remake: The Lake House (2006), dir. Alejandro Agresti
Starring: Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock
Verdict: Koreans are experts at melodrama and the carbon-copy U.S. remake is no more cheesy or manipulative than the O.G. Still, replacing sexy “Sassy Girl” starlet Jeon Ji-hyun with Sandra Bullock definitely kills the mood.

Korean Movie: Janghwa, Hongryeon (2003) (a.k.a. “A Tale of Two Sisters”),
dir. Kim Ji-woon
Plot: Two sisters rebel against their wicked stepmother in this ghost story.
Remake: The Uninvited (out 1/30/2009), dir. Charles and Thomas Guard
Starring: Emily Browning, Arielle Kebbel and Elizabeth Banks
Verdict: The trailer for the remake features none of the O.G.’s atmospheric horror and creepiness, instead looking like a straightforward scarefest. Boo.

Korean Movie: J.S.A: Joint Security Area (2000), dir. Park Chan-wook
Plot: When a South Korean patrol guard kills two North Korean soldiers in the DMZ, an international official is sent in to investigate.
Remake: Joint Security America (no release date), dir. David Franzoni
Starring: May we suggest: Gael Garcia Bernal, Tom Hanks and Natalie Portman
Verdict: The remake, which plans to substitute the U.S.-Mexico border for the DMZ zone, actually sounds like a pretty cool idea. But the fact that the script has been on ice for so long is not a good sign. The O.G., which is Oldboy director Park’s first major film, is definitely worth Netflixing.