ACF 1037: LEE Chang-dong's Secret Sunshine coming out in Criterion DVD and Blu-Ray editions

Well, I'd hoped for it for some time, and soon it'll be a reality. A film by LEE Chang-dong, one of my favorite directors, is getting the Criterion treatment.

Secret Sunshine, his phenomenal 2007 film -- which only recently got a belated theatrical release in the U.S. -- will be coming out in DVD and Blu-Ray editions from Criterion on August 23, 2011. Both versions can be pre-ordered from Amazon.com by clicking here. I'm going to pre-order, and if you love great cinema, you should too.

The film stars JEON Do-yeon (who won the Best Actress award at Cannes as well as other festivals) as a young widower who moves with her son to Miryang, the town where her dead husband was born. There she experiences one of life's cruelest tragedies and the film depicts her struggle and search to find a way to cope with her grief.

For my review of the Secret Sunshine, click here.

ACF 901: "Needless Collection 1" on sale in both DVD and Blu-Ray editions

NEEDLESS COLLECTION 1
DVD AND BLU-RAY EDITIONS
NOW ON SALE

Section23 Films has announced the release of the hit series NEEDLESS. The first 12 episodes plus The Secret of Saint Lilly Academy Shorts on 2 discs are available on both DVD and Blu-Ray.

Tagline: Crazy Times Call For Crazy Measures!

NEEDLESS COLLECTION 1
Running Time: 300 min.
Age Rating: TV 14 (V, L, D)
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Format: DVD
SRP: $59.98

NEEDLESS COLLECTION 1 BLU-RAY EDITION
Running Time: 300 min.
Age Rating: TV 14 (V, L, D)
Language: English & Japanese with English Subtitles
Published by: Sentai Filmworks
Distributed by: Section23 Films
Format: BD
SRP: $69.98

SYNOPSIS: They're called Needless-mutants who wield amazing powers such as super speed, the ability to change form, and some, like Blade, the power to "learn" other opponent's powers. It's Blade's greatest ability. But is it powerful enough to overcome his weakness for cute young girls in revealing little skirts? Find out in the craziest action comedy anime of the year!

ACF 820: Secret Sunshine finally gets theatrical release in U.S.

Actress Jeon Do-yeon (left) and Song Kang-ho (right)

A day or two ago I read that Korean director Lee Chang Dong's Secret Sunshine (2007) was ranked by Film Comment magazine as the 27th best movie released in 2010. (For Film Comment's list of the 50 Best Films of 2010, click here. Initially I thought they made a mistake, because it had been released, and I'd seen it at Lincoln Center, so long ago. Furthermore, I'd reviewed it in May, 2008. (For my review of Secret Sunshine, click here.) Perhaps they'd meant Lee's next and most recent film, Poetry, which played at this year's New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center.

Then I read A.O. Scott's review in the arts section of today's New York Times. There I learned that it's taken this long for this incredible movie to get it's much deserved, if belated, U.S. theatrical release. Hence it's inclusion in Film Comment's 2010 list. Well better late than never, as the saying goes.

I've sung the praises of Lee Chang-dong's films since I saw Oasis (2002), his third film. (Secret Sunshine was his fourth, made after a cinematic hiatus while he served as South Korea's minister of culture and tourism.) It was wonderful to read Scott's unstinting praise, an affirmation of my opinion of Lee by the film reviewer/critic I most respect. For Scott's review, click here. Scott also ranked the film as the number 9 Best Film of 2010 (NY Times, Dec 19th, Page 14). Manohla Darghis, who did not rank her picks, listed Secret Sunshine as one of her recommended films (Page 12 of the same issue of the Times).

The really important thing is that Secret Sunshine can now be seen for the first time in theaters in the United States, not just the few festivals and retrospective's of Lee's works that have featured it. The film's main character is Lee Shin-ae (Jeon Do yeon, who won the best female performance award at Cannes for her incredible portrayal).

She's a widower who returns with her son to Miryang (the film's title refers to an old meaning of the word), the hometown of her deceased husband. She is befriended by Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho, widely known in the U.S. for his roles in Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, The Host, Thirst and others), a tow truck operator/garage owner who tows their broken down vehicle into town.

As Scott so accurately and eloquently writes, "the full impact of this film is perhaps best experienced if its shocks are uncushioned by foreknowledge." Suffice it to say here that what starts out feeling like it might be a rom-com/drama combo, takes a turn into far different and darker territory after an unspeakable crime is committed.

And let it be said that if you are fortunate enough to be able see Secret Sunshine during this release, you owe it to yourself to do so. It's a masterpiece (and that's not a word I use lightly and one that also applies to Lee's Oasis and Poetry) by one of cinema's truly great directors.

ACF 253: Free Screening of Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine" in New York

I've been singing the praises of Korean director Lee Chang-dong since I saw Oasis, his third film, several years ago. His fourth and most recent film Secret Sunshine (Miryang) came out in 2007 and I saw it at a press screening in conjunction with that fall's New York Film Festival at Lincoln Center. I later reviewed it in my May 6, 2008 post (see ACF 109 in the May 2008 Archives).

The film is about Lee Shin-ae (actress Jeon Do-yeon) who moves with her young son to Miryang, the rural Korean city where her late husband was from. Kim Jong-chan( actor Song Kang-ho) is the owner of a garage who tows their broken-down vehicle into town and falls for Sin-ae. The film seems to be a romantic comedy at first, then a crime thriller, before finally settling into its true raison d'etre, an absolutely amazing consideration of grief and the search for spiritual solace.

Jeon Do-yeon won awards at the Cannes Film Festival, the Asian Film Awards, the Blue Dragon Awards, the South Korea Grand Bell Awards for her role as Shin-ae. Awards most well-deserved, as were the film's other nominations and wins.

In my opinion, Secret Sunshine, like Oasis, will hold its own in comparisons with the best works of the greatest international driectors: Ozu, Kurosawa, Fellini, Antonioni, Truffaut, etc. It is absolutely not to be missed by anyone who cares about great cinema.

The film will be shown free at the ImaginAsian Theatre, 239 East 59th Street, New York, NY. The screening is presented by Korean Cultural Service NY as part of its ChungMuRo Express: Classic Korean Cinema series. Although admission is free, you must RSVP at 212.759.9550 to have your name placed on the guest list.

ACF 109: Lee Chang-dong Retrospective - Secret Sunshine

Jeon Do-yeon (left) and Song Kang-ho (right)

The Asia Society's Lee Chang-dong retrospective continues tomorrow night with a screening of Secret Sunshine, his fourth and most recent film, made after he served as Korean Minister of Culture and Tourism from 2002 until 2004.

Lee Shin-ae ( actress Jeon Do-yeon) and her young son move to Miryang, the rural Korean city which her deceased husband was from and which gives the film its name. There she hopes to start a new life giving piano lessons. When their car breaks down, Kim Jong-chan (Song Kang-ho), who owns a garage, brings them and their car into town.

It's immediately obvious that he's attracted to her and that she is indifferent to his interest. Perhaps because I'm so accustomed to what Hollywood would do with such a situation, the film seemed to be starting out as a romantic comedy. You know, the guy keeps after the woman until she finally realizes that he's her "Mister Right."

Then a crime takes place. My initial reaction was that perhaps this was an incident that was gong to play into the thwarted romance. But it soon turned out to be for real, and to have dire consequences for Lee Shin-ae. The remainder of the film is an incredibly powerful exploration of human suffering, as Shin-ae searches for spiritual peace in the face of one of the worst tragedies that can befall a person. Throughout it all, Jong-chan continues to be there for her.


Like all of Lee Chang-dong's films, Secret Sunshine has won numerous festival awards. Last year at Cannes, Jeon Do-yeon received the award for best actress. Her performance, like Moon So-ri's in Oasis, is one of those rare, magnificent thespian tour-de-forces that I can only term "beyond incredible."

At the inaugural Asian Film Awards earlier this year, the movie won for best film, best director, and best actress. And Song Kang-ho has not come away empty handed. He won the prize for best actor at the 2008 Palm Springs International Film Festival. Complete info about the film's wins and nominations can be found at this link to imdb.com.


Secret Sunshine further solidifies Lee Chang-dong's place in my list of great film directors. Though an emotionally demanding film to watch, it deserves to be seen by anyone who appreciates magnificent film making and story telling.

Screenings for it and the two other remaining films in this retrospective are at Asia Society, 725 Park Ave (at 70th Street), Manhattan. The schedule for the three remaining films, each of which will be shown at 7:00 pm, is:

Secret Sunshine
2007, 142 min
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
- This screening is co-sponsored by The School of Visual Arts
- Director Lee is scheduled to be present

Peppermint Candy
2000, 127 min
Thursday, May 8, 2008

Green Fish
1997, 111 min
Monday, May 12, 2008

For more information or to order tickets, click here.

ACF 108: Lee Chang-dong E-Interview

Renowned South Korean Film Director Lee Chang-dong

In conjunction with the retrospective of his four films at Asia Society in New York, which begins Monday, May 5th, I was given the opportunity to submit an email with some questions for director Lee Chang-dong. This method does not allow for follow-ups or for asking about things that come up in a response, as a normal face-to-face interview does, but I think it worked pretty well nonetheless.

At the end of this post, after my questions and his responses, I've provided a link to the Asia Society webpage about the series.

ACF: I understand that you had achieved success as a writer, then, when you were not yet 40 years old, did your first work on film as one of the screenwriters of Director Park Kang-soo's To the Starry Island.

How did your involvement with that film come about?

Lee: Actually at that time, I was in considerable doubt both as a writer and as a person stepping into his late 30s. Perhaps you could say I wanted to punish myself. And so I wanted to do something like hard physical labor, and what I chose was to work as an Assistant Director. Director Park Kwang-soo had just suggested that I do the scenario[script] for 'To the Starry Island,' and I made a kind of 'deal' with him to use me as an Assistant Director. Of course at the time, my filmmaking experience was nonexistent and I was in no way qualified to AD. In a way what made me a director today is very much indebted to Park Kwang-soo's gamble to use me as First Assistant Director.

ACF: After writing another screenplay (for A Single Spark, 1995), you wrote and directed your fist film, Green Fish (1996).

How did you come to direct? Was it something you had been considering for some time? Did you want to make a personal statement rather than have another director produce his own interpretation?

Lee: How I came to be a director results from a few unexpected coincidences. Because I wanted to 'punish myself' I worked very hard on the set, and it seems that made a good impression on some of the staff and cast members that I didn't expect. After that, those people kept suggesting that I become a director, and eventually helped me to debut as one. Of course, it's not as though I had never had the desire to become a director. I had always been curious about the distance between film and reality, and had questions about the apathy of movies (whether commercial movies so-called art films) that were growing farther and farther detached from reality. I wanted to make films that closed the distance a little, between film and reality.

ACF: Both Green Fish and Peppermint Candy, which followed, allude to the economic and political situation in South Korea. While they, like all your films are primarily about individuals and their stories, did you deliberately set out in Green Fish and Peppermint Candy to portray the economic and political problems that South Koreans faced in the 80s an d 90s?

Lee: There's no question that 'Green Fish' and 'Peppermint Candy' draw on the political and economic problems of Korea. But they weren't my main focus. My main interest has always been human beings. I believe film is the best medium to show something about human beings. But people can't be separated from the environment (including the political and economical reality) that surrounds them. Man is affected by his reality, and in fighting against it finds meaning in his life. Those are the kinds of things I wanted to show.

ACF: I loved the train footage used between segments of Peppermint Candy. As I recall, they were filmed from the back of the train as it traveled forward, but the film was run backwards in the movie so it looks like we're going forward, but we're actually going back time, in terms of the train's "real movement." How did this idea for using this device come about?

Lee: 'Peppermint Candy' is a film about a sort of time travel. And so I needed a way to visualize time. That's the train. Actually, time and trains have several similarities. You could say that mankind's perception of time changed with the invention of the train. Film is, of course, a medium that deals with time, and in that sense, the fact that one of the first films ever made is the Lumiere Brothers’ 'Arrival of a Train' is very symbolic. Trains are also linked with memory. That's probably why the image of a ‘train journeying to the past’ came to mind.

ACF: In both Green Fish and Oasis, there are characters with Cerebral Palsy, though the male in Green Fish is of far lesser plot significance than Moon So-ri's Han Gong-ju in Oasis. In Green Fish the character is cared for and loved by his family, whereas in Oasis, Gong-ju is exploited or ignored. Does this have to do with your belief in a difference in approach to family in more traditional, rural-rooted families (Green Fish) vs urbanized, Westernized families (Oasis)?

Lee: It's possible. Another reason could be that there is a mother in 'Green Fish,' and in 'Oasis' there are no parents. I think it's very difficult, a strain for brothers and sisters to care for a sibling with cerebral palsy, even more so than for parents to care for such a person. But I don't think the two individuals with cerebral palsy in the films are in such different circumstances from each other.

ACF: You have been described as "an actor's director," much as Sidney Lumet has. While your films all tell compelling stories, and tell them marvelously, you have clearly elicited incredible performances from your actors and actresses, who have been nominated for and won numerous awards. [I personally thought that both Moon So-ri, for Oasis, and Jeon Do-yeon, for Secret Sunshine, should have at least received Oscar nominations, but such are the vagaries of Hollywood.]

Are you comfortable with being considered "an actor's director"? Are their certain things about your approach to filmmaking that you think especially contribute to such outstanding performances?

Lee: Though I'm not exactly sure what 'an actor's director' means, it's clear to me that of the many things shown on the screen, the human being is the most important thing. There are probably a million things a director can do to draw out an actor’s performance. These words also mean that there is no particular method to it at all. I often tell my actors "Don't act." I tell them instead to instead "experience" the character's emotions. I only help them to the extent that they can feel and experience those emotions.

ACF: Are there any things that you accomplished as Minister of Culture and Tourism about which you are particularly proud?

Lee: Though I did my best as a Minister, I’d prefer not to talk about it right now. Others will be able to judge the things I did.

ACF: The publicity materials for Secret Sunshine indicate that you were planning Peppermint Candy even before Green Fish had been released, and that Secret Sunshine had been, as you put it, "in my head ever since 2002." after Oasis came out.

Is something already in the works for your next project? If so, can you say something about what it will be about?

Lee: There is something I'm thinking about. But I don't think it’s the right time to reveal it yet. Before I start any film, I ask myself 'Why do we need this film right now?' I'm looking for the answer to that question these days.

Most sincere thanks to Director Lee for taking his time to consider and respond to my queries, to Ernest Woo for his terrific job translating the questions and answers, and to Helen Koh of Asia Society and Jenny Lawhorn of fatdot.net for arranging this interview.

For more information about the Lee Chang-dong film retrospective or to order tickets, click here.