KOFFIA 2013 Review: Pluto / 명왕성

Last year, I visited Korea for the first time and made it a priority to attend the Busan International Film Festival after hearing much about it through social media and friends. The experience was out of this world - never had I been to a festival that an entire city was in tune with in every kind of way. 

There were two films that stood out to me the most amongst all the Korean films I saw at the festival. One was Kim Ki-duk's outstanding film Pieta, which was also included in the 2013 program of KOFFIA, an excellent comeback from the elusive Korean director. The other film was from a relatively new director and a new force to be reckoned with in the Korean film industry, and was possibly the biggest surprise for me at the festival. I had not heard anything about the film, or the director, and was going with gut when I decided to grab a ticket to see it.

The film was Pluto, directed by ex-school teacher turned filmmaker Shin Su-won whose short film Circle Line (also screened as part of the K-Shorts Showcase at KOFFIA this year) was awarded the Canal+ Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 2012. For a film that was made without the support of large funding bodies, Pluto is an incredible achievement for the kind of film it is and I would gladly tell you why.

KOFFIA 2013 Review: Miracle In Cell No. 7

I have never hated myself so much for not taking tissues to a film. Never. And I am the kind of person who normally trusts your word on this. Miracle in Cell No. 7 is a film that knows exactly how to pull at your heart's strings, over and over again, and doesn't shy away from ensuring you get a good cry out of it.

Part comedy, part drama, Miracle in Cell No. 7 tells the story of Yong-gu (Ryoo Seung-ryong, Masquerade), a mentally challenged man with the capacity of a 6-year-old and his young daughter, Ye-sung (Kal So-won/Park Shin-hye). When Yong-gu is wrongly accused for the murder of a young school girl, he is sent to prison, leaving him separated from Ye-sung. When his cellmates learn of his disability and longing for his daughter, they devise a plan to sneak Ye-sung into the cell to reunite her with her father.

Review: Project 577 / 577 프로젝트 (2012)

The documentary ‘Project 577’ had an unlikely origin, with actor of the moment Ha Jung-woo vowing that if he won the best actor award at the Baeksang Arts Awards, the Korean equivalent of the Oscars, for two years running, he’d embark on a cross country trek. In 2010 he took the award for his performance in the Winter Olympics ski-jump drama ‘Take Off’ (국가대표), and in 2011 he did indeed win for a second consecutive year as a North Korean on the run in the thriller ‘The Yellow Sea’ (황해).

Modern Korean Animation: The King of Pigs / 돼지의 왕

How shaped are we by our middle school days? Do our experiences there decide how we live the rest of our lives? Are our memories of this period fond, or continue to haunt us? Can one ever let go of those experiences? 'The King Of Pigs', a harrowing and violent Korean animated drama written and directed by Yeun Sang-ho, impressively delves into these questions. 'The King of Pigs' won three awards at the Busan International Film Festival and was selected to screen in the Director's Fortnight at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival. It made its Australian premiere at the Sydney Film Festival in the Official Competition. 

Cinema Forums & Four Leaf Clovers

During the Korean Film Festival's Sydney leg I was lucky enough to attend a Cinema Forum in the Korean Culture Office. The subject was ‘Thrilling Shorts and Dark Matter’, and was to be attended by the actress Kim Kko-bbi, directors Moon Byoung-gun & Shin Su-won, & producer Lim Chung-geum.

The forum lasted for about an hour, and gave the opportunity for this years special guests at the Korean Film Festival of Australia to provide some valuable insights into what it takes to work within the Korean independent and short movie scene. Special mention has to go to Moon Byoung-gun, who thanks to embracing the spirit of Australian culture during the day through partaking in a few Aussie beers (this was revealed after the forum finished), arrived on stage fashionably late with a healthy glow and a spring in his step.

The directors discussed at length what it takes to really get a short film which doesn’t have the backing of a large studio or a significant amount of funding behind it out there to a larger audience, as they regaled us with their adventures in film festivals such as the prestigious Cannes, and their own experiences closer to home at the Busan Film Festival.