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“Roaring Currents”: Korean Propaganda?

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The country that brought us Samsung and LG, Korea has been absolutely killing it when it comes to technological advances and modernization. The latest talk in the film industry is the 2014 Korean production Roaring Currents, whose trailer is below:

Directed by Kim Han-min, whose short films won many accolades in Film Festivals around the world, is getting much international attention because of this, his latest film on the 1597 Battle of Myeongnyang, which saw an important Korean naval victory against Japanese invaders.
It’s the kind of story with universal appeal, a David vs Goliath tale of Korea’s paltry 12 ships defeating Japan’s 330 ships. However, many of the film’s detractors are calling it anti-Japanese, with online commenters going so far as to call it Korean propaganda.
An understandable assumption; tensions between Korea and Japan are at an all-time high, centering mostly on the issue of comfort women- something which, ironically, Korea itself is fighting among its locals, with news of a group of US comfort women filing a lawsuit against the South Korean government for forcing them into sexual slavery for the American military based in Korea.
Roaring Currents reportedly had the highest weekend receipt in South Korean cinema history:

In the five days since it hit screens, it has earned around 36.8 billion won, according to the Korean Film Council’s official tally. On both Saturday and Sunday, more than one million paying customers went to watch the movie, the first time that level was broken. (Source: Wall Street Journal)

Actor Choi Min-sik won Actor of the Year at the Asia Star Awards as well as Best Actor at the Buil Film Awards this year. The film had its US opening last August.

Review: The Flowers of War

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If there’s one highly acclaimed movie about the Second World War, it has to be The Flowers of War. Inspired by a novel based on a personal account of the wartime events, the film delves on the experiences of women when China was invaded by the Japanese and how the Nanking massacre occurred.
Directed by Zhang Yimou, the movie featured English actor Christian Bale on the lead role playing the character of a mortician named John Miller who found refuge in a group of women including school girls and prostitues and helped them escape from the Japanese soldiers. Filming took place right in Nanjing, China and lasted for six months.
Flowers-Of-War-poster
Geling Yan, the author of the novel that inspired the film, is a Chinese-American who happened to read a personal account of the war by an American missionary named Minnie Vautrin. The missionary was managing a college in Nanjing at that time. Yan, for her part, said she was so inspired by the account prompting her to write a novel based on the perspective of a 13-year-old girl. [Read more…]

Bong joon-ho’s Mother

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The Korean film industry is making really serious inroads in world cinema. Many of its directors are considered darlings of the critics and while some even manage to bring that elusive balance of critical and box office hit.
Director Bong Joon-ho, is one of those rare directors that have managed to create a movie that made tons at the box office but was also listed as one of the better movies made in that year. His movie, The Host, expertly melded the creature feature with that of a very touching story about family.
Three years after the release of that film, Bong Joon-ho is back with a movie with Mother. This is movie is a return to his earlier roots – specifically, his old movie Memories of Murder. The story deals with an old woman whose dim-witted son was accused of murdering a girl. The mother goes on a quest to find out what happened so she can get her son back. Mother has parallelisms with Memories of Murder in that a murder and memories pay pivotal roles in developing the story.
This is a movie that’s really worth checking out.

Lee Jun-Ik prepares Zatoichi-inspired film

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MoonCloudDirector Lee Jun-Ik’s historical film The King and The Clown was a big commercial hit in Korea when it was released in 2005. Critics also raved over the film. It would go on to break box office records in South Korea and also be included in many critics’ lists for that year. Even though his subsequent work has failed to match his creative and financial success with The King and The Clown, his involvement in that movie has ensured that he remains one of Korea’s most highly watched directors.
Almost five years after The King… Lee Jun-Ik is returning to period movies, this time in a more action oriented fashion. Lee’s new movie, entitled Gureumeul Beoseonan Dalcheoreom or roughly “Like The Moon That Escaped the Cloud,” features Cha Seung Won as a revolutionary and Hwang Jun-Min, who will play a “legendary blind swordsman.”
Say what?
Doesn’t “legendary blind swordsman” describe a very famous character in Japanese legend and film? Based on a promo shot of the blind swordsman, it does look like Lee has taken inspiration from the legendary Zatoichi. I won’t be surprised if Lee’s movie will also borrow some elements and plot points from the Zatoichi story.
I still look forward to the movie though.

Zebraman 2 spin-off to pave way for Zebraman sequel

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Takashi Miike’s Zebraman is highly regarded as one of the best cult movies to come out from Asia. It’s one of those movies that polarize people but also a great showcase for the wonderful directorial chops of Miike.
With Zebraman’s popularity, it’s not surprising to know that a sequel is already made, after all, there’s a big clamor from fans of the movie for a continuation of the story presented in the first Zebraman.
What’s unusual is having a spin-off that will serve to “complement” the upcoming sequel. But it’s there and it’s real. The straight to DVD spinoff is directed by Miike’s assistant director Nishiumi Kenichiro. The sequel, with the title “Revenge of teh Zebra Miniskirt Police” will feature three pretty women who will be the members of the police squad. Their role in the sequel are bodyguards to the main character . They will all be wearing Zebra miniskirts, which just brings the weirdness factor up a notch.