Oasis (Korean)
Oasis, along with Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Chihwaseon, is one of the most anticipated Korean films in 2002. It won four awards at the Venice Film Festival and the lead actress Moon So-Ri is the winner of this year’s Blue Dragon new actress award.
For the general audience, the focus of this movie is usually the cast, with Sol Kyung-Gu as a young man who is just released from jail and is considered a shame by the family, and Moon So-Ri as a physically handicapped girl who is suffering from serious cramp. Jong-Du (Sol) comes across Gong-Ju (Moon) in an unexpected encounter and he soon forms a strange kind of affection for her. Without the awareness of their families, a clandestine love relationship gradually develops between the two of them… A bizarre love relationship is actually not a very explosive subject, early in this year, Kim Gi-Duk’s Bad Guy has already demonstrated the power of sadistic love. Nevertheless, director Lee Chang-Dong’s approach is very different from Kim Gi-Duk. He is not an exotic and surrealistic stylist, his style leans more towards the realist school in which a solid and realistic drama structure is stressed.
The two protagonists in this film are very similar, both of them are disabled in a certain way and fail to live in this society without the assistance of other people. Jong-Du is unable to find a good job because of his criminal record and his laziness; Gong-Ju is suffering from cramp that prohibits her from leading a normal life (But she is not mentally handicapped). At first glance, it seems that the director is apathetic for setting up such a forced tragedy, but if you look closely, you will begin to realize that Lee Chang-Dong does actually show genuine emotions towards the characters he designed (He also wrote the script of this movie). His intention of telling this story is to fight for these minorities of the society rather than to tease or ridicule them. The humanitarian attitude of the story should remind you of Japanese master Akira Kurosawa’s movies like Red Beard and Dodesukaden. Gong-Ju’s tragedy is, to a certain extent, the fault of her ignorant brother. Her brother does not care about her at all. After he is assigned an apartment for the disabled, he leaves her in their dilapidated and shabby apartment and only visits her once a while. That’s why he doesn’t know Gong-Ju is dating Jong-Du and finally leads to the tragic ending… Jong-Du an Gong-Ju are also discriminated from places to places in the movie. What is introspective is that, their harsh encounters throughout the film are not blatantly performed at all, it is instead a very authentic capture of what is happening around our life in this society every day.
It is no wonder why Sol Kyung-Gu is regarded as the most popular actor in Korea right now. His range and acting ability is so diverse that, in the beginning of the year, you still saw his balloon face in Public Enemy, and in this film, he quickly lost more than 30 pounds and transformed himself into an underweighted young man, and in both movies his roles are equally attractive and impressive. Moon So-Ri as the disabled girl is also flawless. I especially like the several scenes in which she acts like a normal girl and has some funny moments with Jong-Du. These scenes are probably her imagination.
Oasis is a very solid drama that reflects reality in an honest manner. For the minority groups like Gong-Ju and Jong-Du, living in this harsh society is just like being trapped in a hot desert. To find happiness in their life is equal to the odd of finding an oasis in the desert…
Cast: Sol Kyung-gu, Moon So-ri, Ahn Nae-sang, Ryoo Seung-wan, Chu Kwi-Jung, Son Byung-ho, Yun Ga-hyun, and Park Myung-shin
Screenplay & Directed: Lee Chang-dong
Genre: Drama / Romance
Runtime: 132 mins
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Subtitles: English HardSubbed
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0320193/
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Musa The Warrior (Action Movie)
Filmed with a stark yellow color dominating the composition, Musa the Warrior engulfs the viewer in the desert with the characters and the difficulties they face. In this historical Korean epic that echoes similarities to The Hidden Fortress, Lawrence of Arabia and Gladiator, we bare witness to the struggles of a small group on an difficult odyssey back home.
In 1375 China, the new Ming dynasty is still troubled by the previous Mongol Yuan dynasty. Meanwhile, Ancient Korea sends a group of soldiers and delegates to make peace with the new empire and they are labeled spies and sent into exile in the desert. While marching, Yuan soldiers kill the Ming but spare the Koreans leaving them free but stuck in the desert. After discovering the Yuan are holding a Ming princess captive, and with little choice for getting home, the Koreans must save the princess in an effort to return her so they can go home safely.
Through the initial confusion, color and mood, Musa�s primary intention is for the viewer to journey alongside the group. With a fairly simple plot that basically involves an outnumbered Korean group of soldiers fleeing or fighting the large Yuan army, most of the importance is placed in the character relationships; this relates to anything from simple lines about traveling too much with each other to shocking 180 degree changes in personality. The problem is while a few characters are explored and connected with the viewer; most of the remaining cast feels like fodder for the Yuan army to slice through. The most striking character of course, is a skilled spearman slave (Woo-sung Jung), whose master dies on the journey, yet is still looked down upon as a slave. He�s the most fun character to watch when it comes to his invisible connection with the princess, to his stylish spear showdowns full of gore and beheadings. Zhang Ziyi as the princess is rather tame, not exhibiting as convincing a stubbornness as in Crouching Tiger, or Hero, but she does evoke some visible character change and plays her character for what its worth. There�s also Ahn Sung-kee as a low ranking expert archer who stands as a leader for the remaining soldiers and Ju Jin-mo as the general who feels threatened by this inner power struggle, making for an interesting conflict. Nevertheless, for these characters that do stand out, there are handfuls of those whom the movie attempts to arouse sympathy for, yet is never successful.
Technically the movie is fantastic with Kim Hyung-ku�s striking cinematography paired with an engaging score that haunts and uplifts with the same tune. The color palette is rather limited but is effective, as the sky and the water never break away from the paleness and yellow that their journey is covered with. The fight editing is rather comprehensive when it needs to be and pleasing when character perspectives are evoked in disorienting tight forest scenes. All in all, with an expensive budget for an Asian film, Musa meets the expectations providing the viewer with sprawling locations in a simple desert and the general ambiance to back it up.
Despite the technical achievements though, Musa feels like it�s missing some heart in the characters. Maybe it�s because of the shorter international version, but on the other hand, the story is usually engaging because of a fine pace to the plot. As an Asian historical epic, its great, giving us gritty realistic fight scenes with this desert location used only as a setting in stylized wu xia. Still, with the character flaws and the lack of an effective ending, Musa�s overall experience is hurt to a certain extent. [Source: ACDrifter.com Asian Movie Reviews]
Cast: Woo-sung Jung, Sung-kee Ahn, Jin-mo Ju, Ziyi Zhang, Yong-Woo Park
Director: Sung-Su Kim
Genre: Action / Drama / War
Year Released: 2001
Also Known As:
Musa the Warrior (Canada: English title)
The Warrior Princess (working title)
The Warriors (informal English title)
Wu shi (China: Mandarin title)
Runtime: 158 min / Argentina:155 min / Canada:154 min / Hong Kong:129 min / UK:132 min
Country: South Korea / China
Language: Mandarin / Korean
Subtitles: English
IMDb: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275083/
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Righteous Ties (Korean)
The Korean gangster film “Righteous Ties”, Set in Korea’s southwestern region, the story revolves around a betrayed gangster who plots his revenge, and shows the strong ties of friendship between men. The deadliest killer in the region goes to jail to protect his gang, but finds out that he’s been betrayed. He persuades his cellmate to he�lp him Break Out of prison. The other main character is entangled between his long-time friend, and the gang that abandoned his friend. The film is the sixth by director Jang Jin, who says he wanted to challenge the preconception that gangster films are boring.
Director Jang Jin is versatile. He started as an up-and-coming playwright and then became a leading drama director. But he never stopped toying with new ideas and is now one of the most widely recognized filmmakers in Korea. No wonder critics and audiences are paying attention to Jang’s sixth feature film, “Righteous Ties”.
The film involves gangsters, a topic that may well spark some grumblings from those weary of this overused genre of choice for Korean moviemakers. But, hey, this is a work by director Jang, and his specialty is to surprise audiences in refreshing ways. “I feel great pressure, and have to take full responsibility for my movie”, Jang said in an interview with The Korea Herald.
Jang, a talented storyteller, said the reputation he has established is now putting too much pressure on him to deliver time and time again. “People call my new work a ‘Jang Jin movie’, and expect the film to be great and different, which I hope it is, but I’m feeling the stress”, he said. Jang, a talented writer, does not spend too much time in coming up with an outline of a story he wants to tell. The scenario for “Righteous Ties” took just six days to develop in 2002. But the question remains: why does he want to tell a story based on this extremely trite genre to Korean audiences who have to deal with a barrage of gangster comedies on a monthly, if not weekly, basis?
An eccentric but faithful mafia, Chi-sung is sent to prison for his part in a gang fight. But when his parents are attacked by a rival mob and his own people take no action, he realizes that a decade of loyalty towards the gang has become futile. Determined to confront his own boss, he finds a way to escape from prison with his fellow inmates. Meanwhile, his friend Joo-joong is given the task to stop Chi-sung, forcing him to choose between the bond of friendship and loyalty towards the gang.
Starring: Jeong Jae-Young, Jeong Jun-Ho, Ryu Seung-Yong
Director: Jang Jin(a)
Genre: Action, Drama, Crime
Runtime: 126mins
Subtitle: English (srt)
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
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Old Miss Diary (2006) (Korean)
In “Old Miss Diary - Movie”, Choi Mi-ja (Ye Ji-won) struggles to find hope in her wretched life. She tries to grab any chance to make a living as a radio performer, but she gets few chances to show off her talent. She wants to have a great boyfriend, but almost all the men she dates dump her - without giving a reason. Oh, she’s also 32 years old. Her doomsday conclusion about her life is that there is little, if any, chance for her to live happily ever after with an extremely handsome man. How slim? Mi-ja’s ballpark figure is less than the survival rate of a plane crash or being hit by lightening.
Starring: Ye Ji-Won, Ji Hyun-Woo, Kim Young-Ok
Director: Kim Seok-Yun
Genre: Comedy, Romance
Certification: 12
Runtime: 108mins
Language: Korean
Subtitle: Korean/English (VobSub)
Country: South Korea
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Taegukgi aka Brotherhood Of War (2004) (Korean)
This film delves into the bond between two innocent brothers who are sent into battle against their wills. The elder, Lee Jin-tae (Jang Dong-gun), owned a shoeshine in Seoul before the start of the war. His younger brother, Lee Jin-seok (Won Bin), is a bright young student who wants to attend college.
The story begins with the South Korean Army digging up remains at a once Korean War battlefield to put a memorial site there. While they dig Old Jin-Seok is called by the Excavation Team to come find the remains of his brother who had been found. Preparing, he finds a set of shoes that emotionally breaks him down and the movie transfers back in time. The movie then starts in Seoul where Jin Tae was shoe shining until his brother brings him to a store that selled expensive shoes that he wanted. Jin Tae then gives him a pen and buys ice cream and runs to a tram laughing with Jin Seok.
Not long after the North Korean invasion on 25 June 1950, Jin Seok is drafted into the South Korean army, in an attempt to save him, Jin Tae is also drafted into the ROK army and sent to the front-line. Jin-tae, wanting to spare his brother�s life after seeing him suffer in a surprise artillery attack,Jin-Tae makes a deal with his superior. If he can earn a �Taegeuk Medal� � the highest honour for a South Korean soldier, his younger brother (Jin Seok) will be discharged from the army.
The movie then depicts Jin-tae�s death as he bravely mans a machine-gun post to hold off the Chinese, killing many in the process and allowing Jin-seok to escape, but is inevitably overwhelmed and killed himself, his body curled up, riddled with bullets. The film ends with an emotional transition from the past to the present from that same position as the younger brother begs for his older brother�s remains to speak to him, citing the promises that the two made. The movie then transitions back to happier times, showing Jin-seok and Young-shin�s younger siblings talking about returning to school, a signal of more prosperous and peaceful times to come.
Starring: Jang Dong-Gun, Lee Eun-Ju(a), Won Bin
Director: Kang Je-Gyu
Genre: War, Drama, Action, Family
Runtime: 140mins
Language: Korean
Country: South Korea
Subtitle: English (SRT)
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386064/
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