Beijing film festival to open Aug. 22-29 The 10th Beijing International Film Festival is running from Aug. 22 to 29. XinhuaThe 10th Beijing International Film Festival, which was originally scheduled for April but postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak, is set to run from Aug. 22 to 29, according to organizers.The announcement comes as the epidemic has eased in most parts of China and movie theaters are gradually reopening in the country's low-risk areas.From May 1 to 5, the film festival held an online movie screening event on a video platform. Featuring 32 films, the online screenings opened with the Oscar-winning film "Marriage Story" and closed with the drama "Bombshell." (Xinhua) Aug 2, 2020
INTERVIEW Hwang Jung-min becomes deadly hitman in 'Deliver Us From Evil' Hwang Jung-min in a scene from the film “Deliver Us From Evil” / Courtesy of CJ EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooHwang Jung-min's charisma and inner warmth shines through in his performance in the stylish, hard-boiled action film “Deliver Us From Evil.”The flick tells a story of hitman In-nam, played by Hwang, who is set to retire after carrying out one last hit in Japan. However, he finds out he has a nine-year-old daughter he never knew existed and that she has been kidnapped by a criminal gang in Thailand. In-nam travels to Bangkok to search for his daughter, but finds himself on the run from the ruthless villain Ray, played by Lee Jung-jae, who wants to avenge the death of his brother. Hwang said playing In-nam's character was difficult because he had to repress his emotions in the film, internalizing everything that gets in the way of doing what he has to do. “In-nam feels a sense of remorse and regret, and he's upset about what he's doing. I mainly focused on expressing that anguish and helplessness so audiences would understand that he's not proud of Jul 31, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Korean cinema, politics entangled in 'cozy relations' Outpouring of 'left-leaning films' under Moon government By Kwak Yeon-sooIn South Korea, cinema and politics are inseparable. During the rule of the conservative governments, a flurry of films featuring South Korea's dramatic rise from the ashes of the Korean War to become one of Asia's most vibrant economies and productions dealing with the idea of nationalism were released.“Roaring Currents” (2014), “Ode to My Father” (2014) and “Operation Chromite” (2016) are three of the biggest box office hits that were released when conservative President Park Geun-hye was in power.These patriotism-oriented films were replaced with a flurry of retro flicks dignifying democracy fighters in the 1980s after Park was ousted from the presidency and human rights lawyer-turned-President Moon Jae-in took power in 2017.These so-called “leftist films” demonize the previous conservative governments ― particularly the military governments in the 1970s and 1980s. Human rights abuses, the massacre in the southern city of Gwangju in 1980 shortly after President Jul 30, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
When history and storytelling collide Singer-actor Jung Ji-hun, center, better known ashis stage name Rain, in a scene from the 2019 film “Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong” / Courtesy of Entertainment CelltrionFilmmakers asked to be prudent when making historical moviesBy Kang Hyun-kyungDirector Kim Yu-sung's biopic “Race to Freedom: Um Bok Dong” was met with derision in March last year, shortly after the movie about Korea's greatest cyclist hit local theaters. Movie fans mocked it, calling it “kook-ppong” (an exaggerated story to trigger nationalistic sentiment from the public).Um (1892-1951) won several major cycling championships during the 1910-45 Japanese occupation of Korea. He was the first Korean to grab a cycling championship title and defeated many Japanese rivals. He made his fellow Koreans extremely proud. But his post-retirement life was far from heroic. He was arrested and jailed for selling dozens of stolen bicycles.“Race to Freedom” ignored Um's miserable twilight years.The movie starring Jung Ji-hun, a singer and actor who performs under the stage name of Rain,Jul 29, 2020By Kang Hyun-kyung
INTERVIEW 'Steel Rain 2: Summit' offers cinematic imagining of 2 Koreas' future Jung Woo-sung, left, and Shin Jung-geun in a scene from the film “Steel Rain 2: Summit” / Courtesy of Lotte EntertainmentBy Kwak Yeon-sooDirector Yang Woo-suk said he wanted to explore possible futures for the Korean Peninsula, the Cold War's last divide, through his new action blockbuster “Steel Rain 2: Summit.”“In recent years, think tanks and security analysts have presented four possible scenarios on the future of North Korea ― going to war with South Korea, signing a peace treaty to end the Korean War, a military coup or natural calamities,” Yang said during a recent interview with The Korea Times.“I personally believe the North Korean regime is more likely to collapse due to a military-led coup rather than nuclear weapons. However, South Korea is not really prepared for a crisis within North Korea ― a coup and a civil war among warring factions. Therefore, I wanted to offer a cinematic simulation on the future of the two Koreas.”A sequel to “Steel Rain” (2017), “Steel Rain 2” dramatizes a tripartite summit Jul 27, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
'Peninsula' extends local box office lead, reaches No. 1 in six Asian markets "Peninsula," director Yeon Sang-ho's zombie apocalypse blockbuster, extended its winning streak to a second weekend at South Korean cinemas while also leading the box office race in six other Asian markets, according to data and the film's distributor Monday.According to data by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), "Peninsula" drew 470,026 moviegoers over the Saturday-Sunday period, with the combined number of viewers reaching 2,862,894 since its July 15 opening.The film's closest competitor was "Aladdin," the 2019 live-action adaptation of Walt Disney Picture's 1992 animated film, re-released at South Korean cinemas this summer, attracting 33,739 attendees over the weekend. According to distributor NEW, "Peninsula," has been on top of the box offices in six other Asian countries ― Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand and Mongolia. The film has been sold to 185 nations and territories in total.Starring Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun, "Peninsula" is the long-awaited sequel to "Train to Busan," the top-grossing film in South Korea in 2016. "Peninsula" was selected for the officiJul 27, 2020
Zombie blockbuster 'Peninsula' breaks even Gang Dong-won stars in the zombie blockbuster “Peninsula.” Courtesy of New Entertainment WorldBy Dong Sun-hwaKorean Zombie blockbuster “Peninsula” broke even on Saturday, the 11th day of its run. The film has had an accumulated 2.65 million audience nationwide as of Saturday, according to the Korean Film Council (KOFIC), Sunday. Given that the production cost for “Peninsula” was around 19 billion won ($15.8 million,) the movie initially needed an audience of about 5.3 million to break even. But this dropped to 2.5 million after the blockbuster was sold to 185 countries ― including Thailand, Japan, France and Russia ― ahead of its release. In Korea, the movie has been topping the box office for 11 days since its premiere. It also set the highest first-day number (350,000 viewers) this year and became the first movie to draw more than two million theatergoers since Feb. 23, when the Korean government raised its alert level against the COVID-19 to “highest.” “Peninsula,” starring Gang Dong-won and Lee Jung-hyun, is the sequel tJul 26, 2020By Dong Sun-hwa
Actor Lee Jung-jae to make directorial debut Lee Jung-jae debuted in 1993 in the TV series “Dinosaur Teacher.” Courtesy of Artist CompanyBy Lee Gyu-leeActor Lee Jung-jae, known for his roles in diverse genre films such as the crime action “The Thieves” (2012) and the historical drama “Assassination” (2015), is to add directing to his repertoire. Local film distributor Megabox Plus M announced Friday that he would be director and lead actor for its upcoming project “Hunt” (working title), set to begin filming in 2021.The spy action film will revolve around two national security agents Park Pyong-ho and Kim Jung-do, who chase after the head of North Korea's espionage operation. Lee will play agent Park who works under the agency's overseas division. This film's production started three years ago, under the working title “Namsan.” After reading the synopsis, Lee decided to take part in writing the scripts and producing it along with director Han Jae-rim in 2017.However, the project was put on hold when Han decided to leave before production began. Lee continued to work onJul 26, 2020By Lee Gyu-lee
Shim Eun-kyung plays comic relief character in 'Blue Hour' Actress Shim Eun-kyung in a scene from the film “Blue Hour” / Courtesy of AUD By Kwak Yeon-sooActress Shim Eun-kyung plays a charming and fun supporting character in Japanese film “Blue Hour” alongside Japanese actress Kaho. The star duo jointly received the Best Actress award at the 34th Takasaki Film Festival in March.The film title “Blue Hour” refers to the time of a day when the sky fills with blue light right before dawn, according to director Yuko Hakota. In “Blue Hour,” Kaho plays Sunada, a successful but exhausted TV commercial director, and Shim plays Kiyoura, who is Sunada's unemployed childhood friend. Experiencing burnout, Sunada decides to visit her rural hometown in Ibaraki with her friend Kiyoura. Kiyoura appears to be a lighthearted character who clings to simple pleasures in life ― a familiar trait to Shim because she has played similar roles before in “Miss Granny” and “The Princess and the Matchmaker.” However, the 26-year-old actress explained thJul 21, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
Zombie blockbuster shows the way Posters for “Peninsula” are on display at a theater in Seoul, Sunday. The zombie blockbuster surpassed 1 million admissions in Korea on Saturday, the fourth day of its run, according to its distributor Next Entertainment World. / YonhapJul 19, 2020By Kwak Yeon-soo
