Toronto Film Fest reflects current trends in Korean cinema
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A still from “The Age of Shadows / Courtesy of Warner Bros. Korea
By Jason Bechervaise
It’s been a strong year for Korean films thus far, both on the domestic front and international festival circuit ― so much so that 2016 could be hailed as one of the best in years.
Na Hong-jin’s “The Wailing” received critical acclaim in Cannes and its box office performance followed suit, accumulating more than 6.8 million admissions in May.
“Train to Busan” went even further, surpassing 11 million admissions during the busy summer box office season, repeating its rapturous response in Cannes and performing well in a number of international markets, including Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.
Other features such as Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden,” Kim Seong-hoon’s “Tunnel” and Lee Joon-ik’s “Dong-ju: The Portrait of a Poet” have also been popular with audiences and critics alike.
Turning now to the fall festival season, which includes Venice and Toronto, Korean films remain a prominent fixture in this year’s line-ups, further illustrating the strength of the local industry.
At the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), which kicks off Sept. 8, five Korean features have been invited this year.
A still from “Asura: The City of Madness” / Courtesy of CJ Entertainment
Kim Jee-woon’s occupation-era espionage thriller “The Age of Shadows,” which premiered in Venice last week and hits local screens Sept. 7, will have its first public screening in North America in TIFF’s Special Presentations section Sept. 17.
Having already garnered strong reviews in Venice, it’s set to solidify Kim’s reputation as one of Korea’s leading genre filmmakers.
But much like “The Wailing,” “The Age of Shadows” was produced and funded by a Hollywood studio rather than a local one -- a further sign that the industry is changing.
In an interview with The Korea Times, TIFF programmer Giovanna Fulvi said, “it's too bad for Hollywood that they did not pay attention earlier because Korea has been producing very good films for many years. That shows that Hollywood lacks creativity.”
Interestingly the film comes at a time when a number of films set during the Japanese occupation of Korea (1910-45) have already hit screens this year including “The Handmaiden,” “The Last Princess” and “Spirits’ Homecoming.”
“My goal is to reflect current trends in Korean cinema,” Fulvi said.
This trend along with another popular theme that continues to crop up in current Korean cinema is “corruption.”
“It seems that this year these themes ― Japanese occupation, corruption ― are important to major filmmakers,” said Fulvi, making reference to Park Chan-wook’s colonial lesbian thriller “The Handmaiden” that is also screening at the festival, and Woo Min-ho’s political thriller “Inside Men.”
At this year’s festival, Kim Sung-soo’s crime-action feature “Asura: The City of Madness,” which will have its world premiere in Toronto, appears to share much in common with “Inside Men,” “A Violent Prosecutor” and “Veteran” which all tackle the issue of corruption.
Starring Jung Woo-sung, Hwang Jung-min and Kwak Do-won, it follows a detective who does the dirty work for a local mayor in order to pay the medical bills for his gravely ill wife. But when a prosecutor is determined to take down the politician and forces the detective to corroborate, he is stuck in the middle.
Also invited to the festival this year are the latest films from other well-established auteurs: Kim Ki-duk and Hong Sang-soo.
Kim Ki-duk’s “The Net,” which also debuted in Venice last week and screens in TIFF’s Master’s strand, follows a North Korean fisherman played by Ryoo Seung-bum who inadvertently finds himself in South Korean waters and is questioned by the local authorities. He is encouraged to defect, but that would mean leaving his wife and daughter behind.
The latest film from Hong Sang-soo, “Yourself and Yours,” will have its world premiere at TIFF in the same section. Kim Ju-hyeok plays a painter searching for his girlfriend (Lee Yoo-young) following an argument over another man whom she met.
Speaking about the number of films from Korean auteurs at TIFF this year, and how these filmmakers can provide the industry with exposure on the global stage, Fulvi said, “We are very lucky that the stars have aligned and TIFF has been able to spotlight many films by these masters at the same time. These directors will bring a lot of international attention to Korean cinema in general, enabling the many emerging new voices to be heard.”
Commenting on the strong lineup of Korean films this year, he said, “As someone who has been paying attention to Korean cinema for many years, it is honestly not that surprising that this is another great year for Korean cinema. And I am happy that major film festivals have the space and interest to showcase contemporary Korean cinema.”
Also showing at TIFF this year is the Jeonju Cinema Project “A Decent Woman” by Lukas Valenta Rinner and the Korean short “Bargain” by Lee Chung-hyun about a young woman who meets a man in a hotel room.
TIFF runs from Sept. 8 to 18.
Jason Bechervaise is a film columnist for The Korea Times. He can be reached at jase@koreanfilm.org.uk.