ACf 215: Korean Films Made During Japanese Occupation Concludes at MoMA

The fascinating and significant series entitled Korean Films Made During Japanese Occupation concludes today with two screenings. Jointly presented by The Korea Society and The Museum of Modern Art, the series has presented seven films that were only recently discovered in China and subsequently restored in new 355mm prints by The Korean Film Archive. Both screenings will be at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters at MoMA.

Fisherman's Fire and Volunteer will be shown starting at 1:00 PM. (Again sorry, I have no images from these two films.) Fisherman's Fire, made in 1939, tells the story of a fisherman who has fallen on hard times and has to make difficult choices about his daughter's future. Volunteer (1941) is about a simple Korean farmer's son who longs to leave the countryside and fight for Japan. he finally gets his chance when the colonial authorities enact a draft. The two films are 52 and 55 minutes long, respectively.

The final program will also consist of two films. Sweet Dream, pictured above, was Korean cinema's first talkie. It shocked audiences with its scandalous melodrama about a wife who abandons her family to live with another man. Made in 1936 and running 46 minutes, it will be shown at 3:30 PM.

Military Train (1938, 66 minutes) will be the final film screened. When his sister is forced into prostitution, a man who works on a Japanese military train must choose between his duty to his family and his duty to Japanese authorities.

After today's screenings, the films will return to Korean archives. So if all possible, try to catch at least one program of these important and historically significant movies.

Further information about the series and admission terms are available at moma.org and at koreasociety.org.