as korean films surf kculture wave
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Last Updated : GMT 09:40:38
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Hollywood takes notice

As Korean films surf K-culture wave

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicleAs Korean films surf K-culture wave

South Korean director Park Chan-Wook's period drama 'The Handmaiden'
Seoul - Arab Today

With K-pop and K-drama television series riding high across Asia and beyond, a trio of South Korean films with top billing at this year's Cannes film festival also shows the country's growing cinematic clout.

Leading the pack is director Park Chan-Wook, whose period drama "The Handmaiden" -- adapted from the British writer Sarah Waters' erotic crime novel "Fingersmith" -- premieres Saturday, one of 21 films competing for the festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or.

It will be Park's third entry in the main competition at Cannes, and his record so far has been impressive.

His best-known film, the dark revenge thriller "Oldboy", came away with the Grand Prix award in 2004, while his blood-and-gore vampire romance "Thirst" took the Jury Prize in 2009.

At a press screening for his new film, Park said he was surprised at being selected for the competition.
"I'm not sure if it's suitable for Cannes. It's a very straightforward film with a happy ending and no ambiguity," Park said.

"Those film festivals usually like films that make you feel uncomfortable," he added.

Na Hong-jin's supernatural police drama "The Wailing" is showing in the official out-of-competition section, while the highly-rated zombie-virus thriller by Yeon Sang-Ho "Train to Busan" has been selected for the Midnight Screenings programme.

- Passionate fanbase -

South Korea's most successful cultural exports to date have been the K-pop songs and K-drama soap operas of the so-called "Hallyu", or "Korean Wave", which have swept the rest of Asia and beyond in the last 15 years.

Korean movies have had to work harder for mainstream foreign audiences, although they have passionate genre fan bases, especially for their highly-stylised -- and often hyper-violent -- crime and horror offerings.
ontemporary Korean cinema came of age with its own "New Wave" of directors who were involved in the tumultuous pro-democracy movements of the 1980s and 1990s against military rule.

Their neo-realist offerings were socially conscious and rooted in domestic culture and politics, especially the notion of a repressed and exploited underclass.

The movies of Park Chan-Wook, who was born in 1963, post-date the movement, but the director was heavily influenced by the upheavals he witnessed as a young man.

"I saw a lot of my friends taken away by the authorities and many were tortured," Park said in a recent interview with Variety Magazine.

"I saw them fight actively against the dictatorship and they suffered as a consequence. I didn't take an active part and I felt guilty about this," he said.

"I channelled this sense of guilt into my films."

- Blockbuster mix -

Park and his contemporaries like Kim Jee-Woon and Bong Joon-Ho welded a love of Hollywood B movies to the aesthetic of the New Wave directors to produce a blend of arthouse and blockbuster cinema.
"Hollywood has certainly noticed Korean cinema's accomplishments, so there is interest in seeing what Korean directors can do in the United States," Seoul-based film critic Darcy Paquet told AFP.

Despite the language obstacles, Park and Kim were both hired to helm English-language movies that came out in 2013.

Park directed the psychological thriller "Stoker" with Nicole Kidman, while Kim was in charge of the Arnold Schwarzenegger action vehicle, "The Last Stand".

Bong, meanwhile, was in the director's chair for the science-fiction action film "Snowpiercer" -- a big-budget, English-language Korean production whose cast included Tilda Swinton and John Hurt.

"They are proven directors," South Korean film critic Jeon Chan-Il said. "For Hollywood, their past works prove their unique style and creativity."

The other two Korean filmmakers in Cannes this year, Na and Yeon, belong to a younger set of directors looking to lay down their own markers.

"The generation of filmmakers that dominate the South Korean film industry all made their debuts in the 1990s," Paquet said.

"The next generation has had a more difficult time establishing themselves, mostly because of the way the film industry is structured, so that has generated concern among many critics," he added.

Source: AFP

themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle

GMT 08:15 2018 Tuesday ,23 January

Indian states seek last-ditch film ban

GMT 08:55 2018 Monday ,22 January

South Korea in a swoon as megastar

GMT 07:15 2018 Sunday ,21 January

Will Smith hooked after Kyrgios classic

GMT 09:14 2018 Saturday ,20 January

#MeToo is 'tipping point' for Hollywood

GMT 05:50 2018 Thursday ,18 January

Lebanon reverses ban on Spielberg film

GMT 06:41 2018 Wednesday ,17 January

Actress Kruger says Hollywood changing

GMT 07:05 2018 Tuesday ,16 January

Lebanon bans Spielberg film and adventurer biopic

GMT 07:14 2018 Monday ,15 January

Famed photographer Mario Testino accused
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

as korean films surf kculture wave as korean films surf kculture wave

 



Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle

GMT 06:40 2017 Saturday ,16 December

Walker needs brains not just brawn

GMT 08:15 2017 Thursday ,07 September

US oil giant ExxonMobil plans Cyprus gas exploration

GMT 18:11 2011 Monday ,18 April

Zimbabwe and Zambia in tug of war over Vic Falls

GMT 16:05 2017 Tuesday ,31 October

Qadih calls for involving private sector

GMT 09:20 2017 Wednesday ,15 November

Qualcomm spurns $130 bn Broadcom bid for big tech tie-up

GMT 13:43 2017 Tuesday ,24 October

Stabbed Russian journalist 'in recovery'

GMT 10:26 2017 Friday ,14 April

Sock topples Haas to reach ATP Houston quarters

GMT 14:00 2017 Saturday ,25 November

Sudan condemns terrorist attack in Egypt

GMT 09:40 2017 Monday ,04 December

Stade down Racing, Clermont edge plucky Agen

GMT 08:08 2017 Thursday ,05 October

Injury jinx strikes again as Iordache exits

GMT 11:20 2017 Tuesday ,05 December

Prodigal son: Saleh Saudi overture tips Yemen balance

GMT 09:35 2013 Saturday ,31 August

Afghan suicide attack kills 6, hurts 20 in south

GMT 23:36 2016 Sunday ,11 December

Suicide attack in Istanbul claims 29 lives

GMT 18:29 2013 Sunday ,10 November

Samsung\'s Galaxy Note 3 top 5m

GMT 14:52 2013 Sunday ,24 November

Computer game opponents begin to think, feel alike
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
Themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle
 
 Themuslimchronicle Facebook,themuslimchronicle facebook  Themuslimchronicle Twitter,themuslimchronicle twitter Themuslimchronicle Rss,themuslimchronicle rss  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube  Themuslimchronicle Youtube,themuslimchronicle youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2023 ©

muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle muslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle themuslimchronicle
themuslimchronicle
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle, themuslimchronicle