Country Focus: South Korea
2024 Festival Country in Focus
We have designated South Korea for our country of focus in 2024. While films like Parasite and The Host (Bong Jon-Ho) and Old Boy and Handmaiden (Park Chan-Wook) gain most attention on the international stage there is a wealth of South Korean filmmakers producing exceptional work.Western cinema, particularly US cinema, has undoubtedly had an impact on Korean filmmakers, but the joy of Korean films is that, while they might incorporate a broad cultural palette, they tell their stories in a distinctive Korean way.
A Normal Family
Hur Jin-ho
Successful lawyer Jae-wan and his brother Jae-gyu , a doctor, and their wives regularly dine together at expensive restaurants. Jae Wan has recently taken on defending a savage road rage case involving a brattish trustafarian who hopes he can buy his way out of trouble, while Jae-gyu holds high personal ideals and puts his patients ahead of his own interests. These conflicting standards come to a head during one of these dinners, when it becomes apparent that their teenage children have committed an unforgivably callous crime which has implications for all of them.
Hur Jin-ho’s meticulously constructed drama probes an uncomfortable moral dilemma from opposing viewpoints as their differing ideals and principles are eroded by a testing real life situation. Four superb performances draw on an incisive script adapted from Herman Koch’s novel The Dinner, revealing a complex web of social and personal issues and motivations. Food for thought indeed.
Phantom
Lee Hae-young
In 1933, while Korea was under Japanese occupation, a small resistance group’s plot to assassinate the new Japanese Governor-General is foiled by security services. Suspecting a mole or “Phantom” has infiltrated the government, five suspects are rounded up and sent to a remote hotel and given a day to out the Phantom, or face torture.
Unfolding in duplicitous twists and turns, with some exhilarating action sequences and sumptuous cinematography and production design, this superbly acted drama adds a stylish feminine touch to the classic spy thriller.
Flowers of Mold
Hye-jung Shim
Jisu is a lonely young woman with an unusual hobby. At night she collects rubbish from her neighbour’s bins, using their contents to imagine the lives of their owners. When she encounters a particularly interesting collection of carefully discarded items, she tentatively befriends the owner.
With lines like “Discarded things give more honest portraits of people” this captivating story of human connection recalls the melancholy yearning of Wong Ka Wai’s Chunking Express. Former k-pop star Kim Jae-kyung balances quirky charm with deeper feelings of rejection and regret, in a lusciously shot and intriguing plotted modern romance.
Dr. Cheon And Lost Talisman
Kim Seong-sik
Dr Cheun is the heir to a shamanic family legacy and makes a fortune carrying out fake online exorcisms, yet he doesn’t actually believe in the existence of ghosts. Instead, he uses common sense, insight and a splash of snake oil to rid his clients of their problems. But he gets more than he bargained for when his latest case reveals a series of inexplicable events that has him questioning his long-held beliefs.
Combining fantasy and reality, shamans and social media stars, supernatural thrills and hilarious hijinks, Kim Seong-sik, who has worked as an assistant director on Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite and Park Chan-wook’s Decision to Leave, crafts an exhilaratingly entertaining debut.
