Amazo Korean Films

Absolutely beautiful! Brilliantly assembled simple story of a writer in search of his muse, told with rich colors and lots of black, dream logic, humor, inspired editing, and a soundtrack that matches it beat for beat. I wanted to applaud almost every scene. Arty without pretension and a poet's attention to detail.

sitenoise at the movies: M (2007)

This is a painful and gorgeous film. Not sad. Painful. And gorgeous. And painful. Be advised that there are a couple scenes in this film that rank up there as a couple of the most difficult scenes to endure in cinematic history. You don't actually see anything, but it's clear what's going on and it is essential to the meaning of this movie. You will squirm in your seat. Guaranteed. And if animals being harmed in the making of a film bothers you, and you consider fish and frogs animals, stay away.

An amazing love story. Outstanding performances!

Jong-du is a social misfit, heading for retarded. When his brother tells him he should think before he acts, he responds "I don't know what you mean", and he doesn't. He can't see the need to.

Gong-ju has cerebral palsy. Jong-du doesn't see it, or he sees right through it. Clearly. It registers nothing in him.

Great idea, great script, great direction; 5 for being a good film about male bonding; 5 more for the political content, and for the boundaries and taboos it broke with regards to historical Korean film; 5 more for the way the story is told. It unfolds like a classic who-dunnit. I paced around after seeing this film wondering how it could be so good.

This film stars two of my favorite Korean actors, Do-yeon Jeon and Kang-ho Song, and is written and directed by Chang-dong Lee, of OASIS fame.

The plot in a nutshell: Jeon's character moves with her son Jun to Miryang, the town where her recently killed husband was born. As she tries to start her new life another tragic event turns her world upside down. She looks for comfort in god and religiousness, and then turns a critical towards that.

The scene where Jeon's character goes to the prison to forgive the man who committed the most heinous of crimes against her is one of the strongest and smartest statements on religious belief I've seen.

It's a long, slow paced film, but the performances are extraordinary. Do-yeon Jeon won best actress at Cannes for her performance.

About a girl whose father discovers she is prostituting herself ... OR ... a movie about a guy who discovers his daughter is prostituting herself. Either way, this is a very touching film ... from Kim Ki-Duk. There are two different worlds going on trying to find bridge through pain or kindness. For those who think it starts off like an after school special, yep, that's the point. I think this is KKD in top form. Sex, Violence, Misunderstanding, Love comingling in bizarro-land.

A magnificent character study of a woman who has retreated.

This one is probably for Kim Ki-Duk completists only. It is a remarkable film in its relentless presentation of pain. Every single scene in this 2 hour film involves pain, emotional or physical.

Beautifully written, beautifully shot, beautifully acted, and bewildering

sitenoise at the movies: Spider Forest Review

It's a buddy cop comedy mystery thriller melodrama. Typically over-the-top Korean style done very very well. World of Silence peels off layer upon layer, uncovering about five film's worth of internal demons and other dramatic tragedies, but it ends, and it seems to end a few times, like a sportscaster screaming "No! No! I don't believe it! Don't ..." and then "Great shot!" when it goes in.

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sitenoise at the movies: World of Silence

After JSA, the Vengeance Trilogy was a bit of a yawner for me. This restored my faith in Park Chan-wook. Funny. Surreal.

Hye-jeong Kang is not only cute beyond words she's one of Korea's best young actresses. From "The Butterfly" and "Oldboy" to this ... Wow! "Love Phobia" is standard Korean melodrama which is very cute and funny for an hour and then slowly makes you cry for an hour without dashing your hope for a happy ending. It's executed extremely well with quirky cute bits throughout. Seung-woo Cho is also very good. If you like this kind of movie this is a home run. Interesting allegory as well.

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sitenoise at the movies: Love Phobia

A ridiculously tearful melodrama. Despite the medium grade writing and direction, picking nits with this film is useless. It is so well-acted by two beautiful Koreans it's freakish. First half is smiley RomCom, second half is face dripping, and I mean soaking wet, sad.

A gripping thriller with a bewildered sense of humor made possible by the kick-ass performance of Yun-seok Kim. Highly recommended. There are a handful of groan out loud plot moves in The Chaser, but so what. There are also more than a handful of plot moves this film doesn't do, moves that most people will be guessing it will do, that it more than makes up for it. This is a film I know I'll watch again just for the performance of it. The plot won't matter. It's that good.

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sitenoise at the movies: The Chaser

Do-yeon Jeon fans, add this one to your queue. She plays both mother and daughter in this touching film about a woman who goes back in time and befriends her mother and witnesses the courtship between her mother and father. Great location, cinematography and acting.

There are problems with this film by CHRISTMAS IN AUGUST and ONE FINE SPRING DAY director Jin-ho Hur ... virgin purity with terminal disease falls for stereotype hard-drinking jerkball guy and dies happy 'cause he's there at her deathbed ... but it's engaging, well shot and well acted.

Korean comedy, of the mildly mature kind, at its finest. The casting made this loads of fun. Jin-seo Yun as the innocent who wants an affair but comes up with a reason to postpone consummation every time is desirable in spite of it and genuinely adorable. Hye-su Kim enjoys her virginal conquest and her sexual maturity shines. Easy to share why the male characters didn't just hang up.

Thoughtful K-comedy, slightly risqué, wins with wit, good acting, and a good (award winning) screenplay filled with surprises. There is adult humor in the presence of a child so delicacy is warranted. Props to young actress Woo Seo for taking it all in stride, reminding us that kids are usually hip to the things adults think they should be protected from. Hyo-jin Kong, as the frumpy high school teacher is surprisingly accomplished in her comic timing. The director seems aware of all the cheap ways to make us laugh but instead of utilizing them he steps back and winks at them. This is smart and funny ... not a goof-ball comedy even though it plays like one on the surface. NY Asian FilmFest 2009.