ACF 1269: Free screening of LEE Chang-dong's POETRY

Korean Cultural Service

presents

Korean Movie Night

Poetry/ Shi

South Korea, 2010, 139 minutes

When: Tuesday, December 20, 2011 @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

Winner - “Best Screenplay” - Cannes Film Festival

Winner - “Best Screenplay” - Asian Film Awards

“…quietly devastating…” - The New York Times

“…daring…haunting…a character study of remarkable subtlety…” - The Los Angeles Times

Lee Chang-dong (Secret Sunshine, Oasis, Peppermint Candy) delivers yet another big screen triumph with Poetry, a movie which also marks the return to the silver screen of acting legend, Yoon Jeong-Hee, who has been retired since 1994. In Lee’s film, she plays a 67 year-old grandmother, taking care of her loutish grandson and barely scraping by with a series of odd jobs.

As the movie begins, she has been given a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and so she enrolls in a poetry class in an effort to sharpen her mental faculties and delay the advance of her dementia. Simultaneously, a young girl who lives in her neighborhood commits suicide and slowly, in Lee’s expert hands, the strands of this narrative — a brute of a grandson, a tired old woman, poetry, suicide, senility — all come together to deliver yet another of Lee’s enormous, epic, subtle, sprawling portraits of the wo rld.

It’s a movie that should be compared to a novel for all of its elegance and depth, but that is also, truly, cinema: a story that could not be told any other way but in enormous, illuminated images.

For my review of Poetry, which ran on September 26, 2010, click here. The film, which was then screening at the New York Film Festival, earned the highest possible ACF Rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I've watched it again since then, and that rating holds now and will no doubt hold in the future.

ACF 1254: South Korean animation double feature coming to MAD

Aachi and Ssipak + A Coffee Vending Machine and Its Sword

When: Friday, December 2, 2011 at 7:00 pm

Where: The Museum of Arts and Design

2 Columbus Circle, NYC

$10 general / $7 members and students

Purchase tickets here, or call 1.800.838.3006

Aachi and Ssipak

Directed by Jo Beom-jin

With the voices of Yeong Hyeon, Gyu-hwa Lee and Gyu-hyeong Lee

South Korea, 2006, 90 minutes, Digital Projection

Synopsis: In the future, life is literally a pile of feces. With Earth’s resources completely depleted, only human waste is left as a fuel source. Diaper gangs and black markets vie for control of “Juicybars,” highly addictive fruit bars given as compensation for defecation. In this new landscape of limited resources, the anti-heros of Aachi and Ssipak battle against the Diaper Gangs for control over the “Juicybar” supply. Highlighting the originality in story and technical ability found in Korean animation, "Aachi and Ssipak" presents a fresh and original take on the animated feature.

ACF note: Aachi and Ssipak was my personal number one pic as the most extreme, most outrageous Asian film of all time in the special 15th anniversary issue of Asian Cult Cinema magazine (Number 57, First Quarter 2008). It garners a 4 out of 4 star rating, my highest recommendation. Don't miss this screening!

Aachi and Ssipak will be shown with:

A Coffee Vending Machine and Its Sword

2007, Dir. Hyung-Yun Chang

South Korea, 2007, 30 minutes, Digital Projection

Synopsis: After being slain in battle, Jin Yeong-yeong, a swordsman who was called Murimjeilgeom (Best Martial Sword), finds himself reincarnated. This time it's as a coffee vending machine.   After the new steel warrior experiences love-at-first-sight with Hye-mi, a sympathetic girl who enjoys drinking wine. Jin Yeong-yeong must discover his place in the new world he inhabits.

ACF 1244: Free screening of DANCING ZOO next Tuesday

 Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 6: Music Films

 

  Dancing Zoo

South Korea, 2010, 114 minutes

When: Tuesday, November 22, 2011 @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

North American Premiere

It flew under the radar when it was first released, but since then it’s picked up thousands of passionate underground fans. A riff on A Star is Born mixed with a little bit of Once, this is one of the sweetest, saddest movies about two kids with guitars who fall in love ever made. It’s a familiar story for everyone from struggling Williamsburg singer-songwriters, to Seoul’s underground rockers.

Joon-Soo and Hee-Jung meet cute when he’s singing a break-up song to a monkey in the zoo, the two fall for each other and decide to take their relationship to the next level: they start a band together. But one gets successful, while the other falls by the wayside, and it’s not clear that any number of power pop duets can keep them together. If you were ever in a band, this one’s for you.

ACF 1235: THE YELLOW SEA at The Museum of the Moving Image

The Yellow Sea

Directed by Na Hong-jin

When: Sunday, November 20, 2011 @ 4:00 PM

Where: The Museum of the Moving Image 

35th Avenue at 37th Street, Astoria
From midtown, taxi or N/Q Train outbound to 36th Avenue 

Film free with museum admission at The Museum of the Moving Image.

Next Sunday, November 20th, The Korea Society and the Museum of the Moving Image will present The Yellow Sea as part of Korean Cinema Now at MoMI. The Museum of the Moving Image and The Korea Society have impressed growing audiences in 2011 with an exciting run of new work. In The Yellow Sea, director Na Hong-jin tells a tale where, to bring his wife to Yanbian (on the border of North Korea and China) and pay off his gambling debts, protagonist Kim Gu-nam takes on an assassination job.

After a disastrous mistake, he becomes the target. A part of the 64th Cannes Un Certain Regard line-up, The Yellow Sea follows in the steps of Na’s first action-filled crime thriller, The Chaser, which received high praises in Korea as an upgraded Korean action thriller and was screened in the non-competition category of the 61th Cannes festival.

 

ACF 1223: Free screening of DREAM FACTORY on Tuesday, November 8th

 Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 6: Music Films

Dream Factory

South Korea, 2011, 80 minutes

When: Tuesday, November 8, 2011 @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, on the corner of Canal Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

North American Premiere

One part Occupy Wall Street outrage, one part rock film, this documentary focuses on the labor battles between Cort Guitars, one of the largest guitar manufacturers in the world, and their workers. Contrasting the down-to-earth, blue collar workers who make the guitars and the upper class rockers who play them, this flick follows the protest movement that grew among Cort workers after they tried to unionize in 2007. Management’s response was to shut down the plant where they worked.

One worker set himself on fire to protest, while the others started a hunger strike. Groups of workers went around the world asking the musicians who play the guitars they made to support their cause and everyone from Rage Against the Machine to Gene Simmons (who comes across REALLY poorly) get involved. Truly moving, and capturing on film some of the violent tactics Cort’s owners employed to break up the strike, it’s a documentary that speaks loudly in these restless times to the value of working with your hands to make a better life for your kids.

ACF 1211: 2nd Annual KAFFNY URBAN at Big Screen Plaza on November 13th, 2011

KAFFNY URBAN 2011 RETURNS TO BIG SCREEN PLAZA
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2011, 3:00-8:00 PM

For its 2nd annual installment, Korean American Film Festival New York (KAFFNY) is proud to partner again with Big Screen Plaza to present kaffny URBAN, an exciting program of new film, video, media art, animation and live music featuring local and international artists and filmmakers. Located near NYC’s Koreatown on 30th Street and 6th Avenue, the widely popular Big Screen Plaza is an outdoor area boasting a 30-foot LED screen behind the Eventi Hotel. kaffny URBAN takes place on November 13th, 2011 from 3:00 PM to 8:00 PM.

Program highlights include a groundbreaking video work by Nam June Paik celebrating Fluxus as part of Performa Biennale 2011’s Fluxus Weekend in collaboration with White Box; video by Korean multimedia artist Lumpens; short films by IFP emerging filmmaker Thomas Hyungkyun Kim and by popular Korean actress Ku Hye Sun; recent film and video by emerging as well critically acclaimed filmmakers and artists Gina Kim, U-Ram Choe and Helen Park as well as previews of short and feature length films to be featured at the 6th Annual KAFFNY 2012 Film Festival. Live music will include performances by Misnomer(s), Stone Forest Ensemble, Mobius Collective and Vong Pak. DJ Spooky shall host the event and perform with highly acclaimed violinist Eugenia Choi. Visit www.kaffny.com/urban for the complete program schedule and updates.

Attendees will have a variety of dining and drinking options including FoodParc, a luxury gourmet food court opening up to the plaza, and overlooking the plaza Bar Basque offers an eclectic menu and direct views of the outdoor screen. Momofuku Milk Bar will provide a special treat as well as a signed copy of the new Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook.

kaffny URBAN serves as a platform for emerging talent and established artists to gain exposure to new diverse communities in New York City and cross promote current projects.

Free admission. Open to public and for all ages.

Donations at door are tax deductible.

For more information about the event, visit http://kaffny.com/urban/.

kaffny URBAN is presented in association with Big Screen Plaza, Performa 2011, White Box and Electronic Arts Intermix.

About KAFFNY (Korean American Film Festival New York)
KAFFNY is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and artist-run volunteer organization creating an innovative independent platform for other fellow artists in New York City and abroad. KAFFNY was originally founded in 2006 as an international independent film festival in New York City, starting from Korean American stories. The organization has since evolved to incorporate other art mediums and viewpoints, to further integrate the Korean American perspective and bridge

ACF 1198: Free screning of "Moss"

 Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 5: Hidden Gems of Korean Cinema, Part II

Moss

Directed by: Kang Woo-Suk

South Korea, 2010, 163 minutes

When: Monday, October 31st @ 7:00 PM
(Halloween Special Screening)

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

Kang Woo-Suk has made more blockbusters than any other Korean director
(PUBLIC ENEMY, SILMIDO, HANBANDO) and this movie, stuffed with stars, was
yet another massive critical and commercial hit for him.

A disgraced cop travels to the remote village where his estranged father has just died of "natural causes" and rapidly uncovers a conspiracy that reaches back decades and encompasses hundreds of people. An epic thriller, this unrelenting flick grabs you by the throat and doesn't let go.

ACF 1183: END OF ANIMAL reviewed

Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 5: Hidden Gems of Korean Cinema, Part II

Jang Soon-young wanders through the woods

End of Animal

Written and directed by: Jo Sung-Hee

South Korea, 2010, 114 minutes

When: Tuesday, October 11th @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served. 

Jang Soon-young, a cute, young, pregnant woman with a page-boy haircut, is taking a taxi to her mother's home where she plans to give birth to her child. Before reaching a rest area, the taxi stops and takes on another rider, an enigmatic young man with a baseball cap. He displays an uncanny knowledge of intimate details about both Soon-young and the taxi driver. His apparent omniscience suggests that he is either a psychic or a psycho, or perhaps something more.

He begins a countdown, and when he gets to zero there is a blinding white flash. Soon-young wakes up alone in the cab. The driver has left a note that he's gone to the rest area to get aide and will return. The young man is nowhere to be seen. And all things electronic - cellphones, digital watches, etc. - no longer work, as if the area has been struck by an electro-magnetic pulse.

The couple from the car and 5th grader Yang Dong-ju

Soon-young wanders down the road, finds a house, but no one is around and the phone doesn't work. She then meets Yang Dong-ju, a 5th grade boy who we have previously seen drive off an adorable white puppy by throwing stones in its direction. Soon-young and Dong-ju set off for the rest area. Along the way they meet a couple standing by their car which, like the taxi, has totally broken down in the wake of the strange pulse.

The group sets off together, then some members separate. A strange man from a nearby village comes by with his bicycle. He offer aide, but his motives turn out to be not exactly altruistic. Soon-young's attempt to get to the rest area so she can call her mother, a clearly optimistic notion given the circumstances, is thwarted by various factors, such as injury and misreadings of maps. Some of those individuals encountered along the way wander off, then reappear. Others disappear completely, except for a piece of clothing they were wearing or an accessory they were carrying. Meanwhile, Soon-young somehow keeps getting advisory messages on her cellphone or other devices from the young man with the baseball cap!

Soon-young looking a bit worse for wear from her wanderings

End of Animal is the first feature film from director Jo Sung-hee, whose prior offering was the 2009 short Don't Step Out of the House, and quite frankly I'm not sure what to make of it. It's remarkably polished and compelling for a movie made on what must have been a miniscule budget. On the other hand, I have no idea if it's an apocalyptic tale or a low budget Korean riff on Rosemary's Baby, or perhaps a combination of the two and who knows what else. For me, End of Animal makes David Lynch's films, such as Blue Velvet, Twin Peaks, and Mulholland Drive, seem almost clearly understandable in comparison.

For the first time in over eleven years of writing about Asian films, I find that I simply cannot assign a rating or give a clear recommendation. I'm glad I watched End of Animal (on a DVD screener), and perhaps I'll visit it again sometime. I definitely don't feel that it was a waste of my time. So with the caveat that it may leave you bewildered, befuddled and frustrated, I'd say check it out.

ACF 1172: END OF ANIMAL next Korean Movie Night film

Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 5: Hidden Gems of Korean Cinema, Part II

End of Animal

Written and directed by: Jo Sung-Hee

South Korea, 2011, 114 minutes

When: Tuesday, October 11th @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

The first feature film from Jo Sung-Hee, whose horrifying DON'T GO OUT OF THE HOUSE! electrified film festival audiences, END OF ANIMAL is an apocalyptic flick that worms its way under your skin and then totally creeps you out.

Pregnant Soon-Young is in a cab on her way to her mom¹s house when awhite flash causes every electrical device in Korea to fail. Night iscoming, and she¹s trapped in the middle of nowhere as end-of-the-world feverturns all humans into nothing more than beasts.

ACF 1168: Rolling Home with a Bull

Lee Hyun-soo (left) and Choi Sun-ho

Rolling Home with a Bull / So-wa Ham-kke Yeo-haeng-ha-neun Beop

Directed by Yim Soon-rye

With Kim Young-pil, Kong Hyo-jin, Mek- bo

South Korea, 2010, 108 minutes

Rolling Home with a Bull, also known as “Travel with a Cow,” is a most unusual Road Movie in that it's about a man and his bull.

Choi Sun-ho (Kim Young-pil) is an unmarried man in his late thrities who works on his parents' farm. Educated and a writer of poetry, he's fed up with having to care for and clean up after the family's bull, which is used for plowing the family's hillside fields. He urges that they sell the bull and buy a tractor to modernize their farming, but his father adamantly refuses.

So Sun-ho makes off with the bull in the family truck early one morning, just as his father wakes up, sees what is happening, and gives ineffectual chase on foot. While on the road, Sun-ho hears from Lee Hyun-soo (Kong Hyo-jin), a woman he knew in his youth but last saw seven or eight years earlier. She tells him that her husband Peter has just died in an accident. He joins her at the wake where it's just the two of them. Hyun-soo at times calls Sun-ho "Paul." Seems that at one time all three were good friends and they took on the names of the American folk group Peter, Paul, and Mary. Sun-ho/Paul had loved Hyun-soo/Mary and never really got over the her marrying Peter.

Sun-ho continues his journey, trying to get the best price for the bull, which gets "car sick" and weak from standing in the back of the truck for hours. The grand-daughter of the veterinarian who diagnosed the creatures infirmity asks Sun-ho his family name, then names the bull Choi Han-soo.

Leading Han-soo through the streets of a city

Sun-ho and Choi Han-soo are forced to interrupt their travels so Han-soo can rest periodically, as well as for vehicular repairs and other setbacks. Hyun-soo, dressed in mourning black keeps re-entering their lives, as does a religious personage from the "Oh My God Temple." There are also calls from Sun-ho's father, who calls him a cattle thief and demands that he immediately return home with the bull.

With dream sequences and fantasies, Sun-ho's quest becomes more and more bewildering, and he finds it increasingly difficult to actually sell dear old Choi Han-soo.

Rolling Home With a Bull is an off-beat comedy, to be sure. It's also delightful and touching.

ACF Rating: 3 out of 4 stars, a good, solid film that's well worth a viewing. 

Rolling Home With a Bull was a co-presentation of The Korea Society and MoMA as part of the film series Yeonghwa: Korean Film Today, 2011, which runs through this Sunday, Ocotober 2nd. For the schedule, individual film descriptions, and to order tickets, visit either The Korea Society or MoMA.

ACF 1139: Free screening of Yoon Sung-Hyun's "Bleak Night" on Tuesday, September 6th

Korean Cultural Service NY

presents

Korean Movie Night

Series 5: Hidden Gems of Korean Cinema, Part II

Bleak Night / Pasuggun

Directed by: Yoon Sung-Hyun

South Korea, 2011, 117 minutes

When: Tuesday, September 6th @ 7:00 PM

Doors open: 6:30 PM

Where: Tribeca Cinemas

54 Varick Street, NYC

Near the A, C, E @ #1 Canal Street subway stops

Admission: FREE!!!

All seating is first-come, first served.

The Hollywood Reporter heralds director Yoon Sung-Hyun as one of the best new Korean filmmakers and director Bong Joon-Ho (The Host) calls his first movie “astonishing.” Yoon’s award-winning Bleak Night was the talk of the Rotterdam Film Festival and 2011’s indie break-out film in Korea, and it’s easy to see why. Leaping back and forth through time, the movie follows a grieving father as he tries to solve the mystery of his teenaged son’s suicide. Suffused with sadness, it’s one of the toughest movies about high school friendship ever made.