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VOD Choice in January

2020-01-01 ~ 2020-01-31
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VOD Choice in January
Let’s see three recommended films this month–SAD PALACE COURT showing a refined visual beauty in the narration of love affair, CRUEL HISTORY OF MYEONG DONG which is the omnibus film made by three Korean film masters, Byun Jang-ho, Choi In-hyeon, and Im Kwon-taek, and A SHORT LOVE AFFAIR which is a film representing the Korean New Wave.


Films
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    01. Sad Palace Court (Bijeon) Lee Hyung-pyo, 1970
    This is the story about life of the Queen Heon-ae, who was the wife of King Gyeong-jong during the Goryeo Dynasty. Especially, it is interesting to see Queen Heon-ae turning the pain of love into the madness. As shown in the Korean title (BIJEON), Bi-jeon means ‘Secret Palace,’ and the story of Bi-jeon can be explained as ‘The secret story in royal court’, but it is wrong to think of it as a coarsely made ‘unofficial story’. This is because the film takes on a subject that appeals to the public, but also features a sophisticated picture directed by Lee Hyung-pyo and actor Kim Ji-mee's superb acting. The director Lee Hyung-pyo made his debut with UNDER THE SKY OF SEOUL(1961), the signature family melodrama in the early 1960s. He has shown a great directing ability across various genres, not only melodrama such as WHEN NIGHT FALLS AT MYEONGDONG (1964), but also a comedy such as MINES ARE BETTER (1969), CHEEKY MAN (1970), horror movies such as DRACULA IN A COFFIN (1982), and martial arts movies such as AEKWON FIGHTING SKILL(1980), FIGHTING FOR LIFE OR DEATH (1982). In addition to his simple and remarkable film directing, actress Kim Ji-mee who plays the main character Queen Hun-ae is so charismatic that it enhances the audience's enjoyment of watching this film. While the female character who has placed in a secondary position in the historical drama genre, is reborn as a leading character by charming actress Kim Ji-mee’s incredible acting. Personally, I'm sure that this movie is a film ‘of Kim Ji-mee, by Kim Ji-mee, and for Kim Ji-mee’. (Lee Ji-Youn, Programmer for Cinematheque KOFA)
     
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    02. Cruel History of Myeong Dong (Myeongdongjanhogsa) Byun Jang-ho,Choe In-hyeon,Im Kwon-taek, 1972
    It's always interesting to try to make a really existing place iconic in the film. To achieve this, the method used in the past (simple but effective) is to put the actual place name on the title itself. For example, there are films like SECRET SUNSHINE (Korean title is Miryang) by Lee Chang-dong (2007), PAJU by Park Chan-ok (2009) and GYEONGJU by Zhang Lu (2013) recently. If the more frequently the place name is mentioned in the title of the film, the more symbolic the place becomes, where is the most frequently featured place in the Korean film? It seems that the answer is ‘Myeong Dong’ excluding ‘Seoul’. The word ‘Myeong Dong’ appears in the title of 25 Korean films including REMORSE by Jeong In-yeob (1968), which is also known as MYEONG DONG UNRYLY GIRL. And more than half of them describe violence committed by criminal organization. Among these gangster movies, this film tries to connect the tragic characters and plot to the concept of ‘Myeong Dong’. Although this may only be the means used to put together three episodes of the omnibus film to one theme, the results are exciting nonetheless. In particular, it is so interesting that all the episodes are connected to Heo Chang-kang, a veteran supporting actor who appears as a witness in Myeong Dong. Also so attractive are his gloomy narration and montage of black-and-white pictures between episodes depicting Myeong Dong changing with Korean modern history. It seems that the stories emphasizing the existence of Myeong-dong are just a part of the history of the region. (I think that Martin Scorsese's masterpiece, GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002) is the best film that has captured this kind of atmosphere.) This film is unique in that it is a rare classic omnibus film which is worked together by three directors. If you are interested in this type of omnibus film, I recommend you to see WOMAN by Chung Jin Woo, Yu Hyun-mok and Kim Ki-young (1968) and OUR HIGH SCHOOL DAYSs by Kim Eung-chun, Mun Yeo-song and Seok Rae-myeong (1978). Also, I think this film is recommended enough, even because of the action scenes that are quite cool and impactful. (Eric Choi, Overseas Collection Coordinator, Korean Film Archive)
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    03. Lovers in Woomukbaemi (Umugbaemi-ui salang) Jang Sun-woo, 1990
    Let's take a look at Jang Sun-woo's early part of filmography. There are actual debut film THE AGE OF SUCCESS (1988), A SHORT LOVE AFFAIR (1990) which is based on a novel written by Park Young-han, and THE ROAD TO THE RACE TRACK (1991) based on the original novel written by Ha Il-ji. The reason why Jang is considered a special director is likely that his cinematic topics and aesthetic style have not been fixed, as seen in the first three films. He described the capitalist society as an allegory, looked at the life of the lower class on the outskirts of Seoul with affectionate eyes, and also observed the fragile inner side of the intellectual class with microscopic eyes. Jang Sun-woo once mentioned that ‘The Truth of Descriptions’ was the most important thing when he directed A SHORT LOVE AFFAIR. The film moves back and forth between realistic attitudes and melodrama sensitivities, and calmly shows those who have no money but warm hearts. The main characters of the film are Bae Il-do (played by Park Joong-hoon) and Min Gong-rye (played by Choi Myoung-gil), who fell in love with affection, and their spouses, Il-do’s wife (played by Yoo Hye-ri) and Gong-rye’s husband (played by Lee Dae-keun). Getting away from each other’s spouses, Il-do and Gong-rye find comfort and rest from their bodies and minds. The realistic description of sex scene that seems to inflame all of their unhappiness and emotions is the best part of the film. (Of course, teenagers under 19 cannot see this film.) Especially, their first love scene at the inn on the outskirts of Seoul gives us a deep impression. After watching the film, it is recommended that you watch Blu-ray's voice-interpretation track which is produced in 2017 by the Korean Film Archive. Along with voices of director Jang Sun-woo and actor Park Joong-hoon, the voice of director Kim Tae-yong, who has openly supported the film, takes you to the essence of the film. (Chung Chong-hwa, Head of Research & Exhibition Team, Korean Film Archive)
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