Monday, February 2, 2009

2008 Korean films

Below is Darcy Paquet's (koreanfilm.org) top 10 Korean films of 2008. Comments are Darcy's, not mine. Would like to hear if anyone's seen any of these and what they thought of them.

I did see most of The Good, The Bad, The Weird recently (no subtitles) - can't give it a full appraisal since I never finished the movie but what I saw was good. It was as advertised - a big budget, full-on action movie with big stars. Song Kang Ho was good, as always and Lee Byung Hun was credible as the "The Bad".

1. The Chaser -- for the genius of its execution, rather than its originality. Director Na Hong-jin may have a long career ahead of him.

2. My Friend and His Wife -- this 2006 film by Shin Dong-il finally received a theatrical release in November. A comparatively low budget, emotionally wracking film that lurches left and right but never loses control.

3. Night and Day -- less tightly wound than many other Hong Sang-soo films, this is one of my favorites.

4. My Dear Enemy -- the directing prowess of Lee Yoon-ki is less obvious in this film than in This Charming Girl or Ad Lib Night, because he lets the amazing acting performances of Ha Jung-woo and Jeon Do-yeon dominate.

5. Crush & Blush -- it's at number five, but this is my emotional favorite because of its weird energy and bad attitude.

6. The Good, the Bad, The Weird -- exciting, funny, quirky, explosive, original, even if a bit thin.

7. Rough Cut -- somehow every part of this film worked really well, and it was hugely entertaining too.

8. Frozen Flower -- a sexy epic period drama that offers up little original, but breathes new energy into familiar settings.

9. Life Track -- a co-winner of the top prize in Pusan in 2007 that was released theatrically in 2008. Anguished and grim, this is a Chinese-Korean coproduction by an ethnic Korean director living in Yanbian.

10. Scandal Makers -- at long last, a Korean comedy that despite being thoroughly conventional, is directed with skill and flair.

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