HIFF K-Fest Movie Lineup
A few days ago, HIFF announced the lineup for their annual Korean movie festival, scheduled for August 24 - 26. Looking at their lineup, I have to say they've picked some pretty good films! Here are some mini reviews of the ones I've seen so far:
For Horowitz:
Uhm Jung Hwa (Singles, My Lovely Week) plays a woman whose dreams of becoming a famous piano player never panned out. Now, all she can do is teach piano to young children in a small town. She does her work half heartedly until she discovers one young boy who displays a genius in playing the piano. She takes him under her wing and grooms him to be the famous player that she never became.
I liked this film a lot and thought the story was very well told. Great performances all around from Uhm, the little boy, as well as from Park Yong Woo who plays the everyday man who tries to get Uhm's character to like him. I'd recommend this film.
7/10
A Miracle On First Street:
This film was directed by Yoon Jae Kyoon, who's directed 2 of my favorite Korean films of all time in Sex is Zero and My Boss, My Hero so of course I was looking forward to seeing this one, especially since it reteamed the 2 stars of Sex is Zero, Ha Ji Won and Lim Chang Jung.
Lim plays Pil Jae, a gangster who is directed to go into a small slum town and force all of the residents to sign over their properties so that the gangsters can build a new apartment complex. He is a tough guy and bosses his way around the 1st street area like he owns the town. Some of the residents are awed by his abilities to make things happen while others simply despise him for trying to take away their land. Ha Ji Won plays a young female boxer in the 1st street town who takes after her famous father, a former boxing champion who's been crippled due to a beating he took in a fight when his daughter was a little girl. Ha is now dedicated to becoming Asia's female boxing champion.
This film has lots of very nice moments and the chemistry between Lim and Ha, both excellent actors, is undeniable. There are some laugh out loud moments and some sweet moments with the town's kids. Then the movie takes a very dramatic turn in the latter part as Korean films are wont to do but it still works out well. The only trouble I had with the film was the ending, which kind of makes you go "Hah?". But still, a fun and light film and I'd recommend it.
7/10
My Son:
Cha Seung Won plays Gang Sik, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. But one day, he is granted permission by the prison to be released for just one day so that he can spend some time with his son and mother, who he has not seen for 15 years since being incarcerated. His son is now 18 years old and Gang Sik has no idea what to expect out of his meeting with his boy. He is nervous about meeting his son and even tries to learn some modern slang so that he can communicate with him. But who knows what will come out of this awkward meeting between two men tied by blood but who don't know each other at all?
I just saw this film last night and I absolutely loved it. Written and directed by genius Jang Jin, I had high hopes for the film and it certainly delivered. Jang wrote and directed some of my favorite Korean films in Guns and Talks, Someone Special, and The Big Scene, and he also wrote the screenplay for the very popular Welcome to Dongmakgol. So if you're familiar with his style, you know to expect something special each time and My Son is the same. It may seem like a typical melodramatic storyline but Jang inserts his unique style into it and makes it a Jang Jin film.
Also, I'm not sure how to explain it, but the film has a very "Korean" feel to it. Things that are very significant to Korean culture are on display in this film and I'd highly recommend this movie if you want to see a "Korean" type of film. Not to mention that the two actors who play father and son are both very good.
Please check this film out.
9/10
The above 3 are the only films I've seen thus far from the HIFF K-Fest lineup. I'll try to post up some more reviews if I catch the movies by then.
For Horowitz:
Uhm Jung Hwa (Singles, My Lovely Week) plays a woman whose dreams of becoming a famous piano player never panned out. Now, all she can do is teach piano to young children in a small town. She does her work half heartedly until she discovers one young boy who displays a genius in playing the piano. She takes him under her wing and grooms him to be the famous player that she never became.I liked this film a lot and thought the story was very well told. Great performances all around from Uhm, the little boy, as well as from Park Yong Woo who plays the everyday man who tries to get Uhm's character to like him. I'd recommend this film.
7/10
A Miracle On First Street:
This film was directed by Yoon Jae Kyoon, who's directed 2 of my favorite Korean films of all time in Sex is Zero and My Boss, My Hero so of course I was looking forward to seeing this one, especially since it reteamed the 2 stars of Sex is Zero, Ha Ji Won and Lim Chang Jung.Lim plays Pil Jae, a gangster who is directed to go into a small slum town and force all of the residents to sign over their properties so that the gangsters can build a new apartment complex. He is a tough guy and bosses his way around the 1st street area like he owns the town. Some of the residents are awed by his abilities to make things happen while others simply despise him for trying to take away their land. Ha Ji Won plays a young female boxer in the 1st street town who takes after her famous father, a former boxing champion who's been crippled due to a beating he took in a fight when his daughter was a little girl. Ha is now dedicated to becoming Asia's female boxing champion.
This film has lots of very nice moments and the chemistry between Lim and Ha, both excellent actors, is undeniable. There are some laugh out loud moments and some sweet moments with the town's kids. Then the movie takes a very dramatic turn in the latter part as Korean films are wont to do but it still works out well. The only trouble I had with the film was the ending, which kind of makes you go "Hah?". But still, a fun and light film and I'd recommend it.
7/10
My Son:
Cha Seung Won plays Gang Sik, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence. But one day, he is granted permission by the prison to be released for just one day so that he can spend some time with his son and mother, who he has not seen for 15 years since being incarcerated. His son is now 18 years old and Gang Sik has no idea what to expect out of his meeting with his boy. He is nervous about meeting his son and even tries to learn some modern slang so that he can communicate with him. But who knows what will come out of this awkward meeting between two men tied by blood but who don't know each other at all?I just saw this film last night and I absolutely loved it. Written and directed by genius Jang Jin, I had high hopes for the film and it certainly delivered. Jang wrote and directed some of my favorite Korean films in Guns and Talks, Someone Special, and The Big Scene, and he also wrote the screenplay for the very popular Welcome to Dongmakgol. So if you're familiar with his style, you know to expect something special each time and My Son is the same. It may seem like a typical melodramatic storyline but Jang inserts his unique style into it and makes it a Jang Jin film.
Also, I'm not sure how to explain it, but the film has a very "Korean" feel to it. Things that are very significant to Korean culture are on display in this film and I'd highly recommend this movie if you want to see a "Korean" type of film. Not to mention that the two actors who play father and son are both very good.
Please check this film out.
9/10
The above 3 are the only films I've seen thus far from the HIFF K-Fest lineup. I'll try to post up some more reviews if I catch the movies by then.
posted by Myong Choi at 11:01 AM
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