A little bit of history - An Ode To My Father & Taklub

For Filmed in Ether, two Reviews From Biff.
One from the Philippines and the other from Korea.
Two very different films but both are dealing with major events in their respective countries.
Actually in style and how they deal with history they are poles apart.
Taklub from Brillante Mendoza is gritty realism dealing with the aftermath of the super typhoon Haiyan. It is a empathetic observation of life after a disaster where the psychological scares are greater than the physical wreckage. The setting is Tacloban which was literally leveled through wind, rain and waves and the film follows a handful of survivors. It is a far from sensational observation of the heartbreak involved with picking up the pieces.

This is the life of a devastated community waiting to be relocated, waiting for life to be returned to normal, waiting in vain for promised relief beyond daily rations and a canvas roof over their heads. They live with the guilt of a survivor, the fear of the next storm bringing a new tsunami and the want of life’s basics and wanting a place that they can call home.

 read the full review here

Brillante Mendoza

 













Ode To My Father from Yoon Je-kyoon differs greatly in that it spans Korean history from the end of the civil war, or at least when there was a truce on the fighting, right up to the present. It's epic in scale, in production value and in box office takings. The treatment of the history is a lot more stylised and sentimental. This is a tear jerker of a film.

Ode to My Father is the story of one man, Yoon Deok-soo (Hwang Jung-min) who dedicates his life to the service of his family and the nation after his father gets left behind in the mass evacuation from the northern Korean port of Hungnam toward the end of the war. His life is hard and his tales are epic but some say that it is a romanticised and sycophantic rewriting of history. Certainly right wing elements of this society have hijacked the film for their own purposes. When it was released earlier this year, the director in fact stopped doing interviews because the focus was solely on this subject.

 read the full review here

Yoon Je-kyoon

Both are fine films but in very different ways and they both come from very fine filmmakers.

A Hard Day 끝까지 간다

Kim Sung-Hoon has directed this tight little action thriller and from whoa to go its a demonstration of mastery in the language of genre. This is so action packed and so gung ho and yet so slick and so seamless. It's strap me in sort of action too, a bit of a boys own fest but gee it's done so well.
Yet beneath all the high rolling stunts, the humour, the violence and the sleek production values is a pretty grisly message and the themes are quite telling. This is a world of cover ups and cover ups of the cover ups and layer on layer of cover up. And the things they are doing aren't so crash hot, so the fact that they try to cover them up says lots of them. Its endemic and is not addressed in any way other than it is there at the start, it is there throughout and it remains at the end.
This is the Police Force.

Lee Sun-Kyun as the detective who begins the chain of cover ups with an unfortunate car crash.
I love the fact that you empathise with him over his hard day even though his behavior is more akin to that of a gangsters'. The stakes rise exponentially and of course so does the tension but by the end we are so on his side, quite happy to forget his misdemeanors.
This angel is no angel really!

Lee Sun-Kyun dismayed over the moral bankruptcy of the law enforcement agencies. Not!

all action and thriller but of course there are those moments of comedic relief

I'm not going to say much but this one is a cracker and a great case study in genre mechanics.

나를 잊지 말아요 but I cant forget Remember O Goddess

 One lucky day in South Korea at Gimpo International Airport, Seoul.
The occasion, a set visit to the filming of 'Dont Forget Me' (나를 잊지 말아요).
Lee Yoon Jung's latest film and debut feature. What a treat!
How I got here started about 18 months ago.

Kim Ha-Neul's character Jin-Young leaving the terminal building

 I am partial to the concept of crowdfunding and in the past have supported various projects. Exclusively films and theater productions. Sometimes they are people I know, sometimes they are just great ideas from around the world.
Remember O Goddess was one of the later. It came my way via a network of Korean cinema buffs, web sites and blogs, I can't remember which exactly. Clicking through to the kickstarter campaign I couldn't help but be impressed.
Yoon Jung had already made a short film of that title but was raising capital to expand it to a feature length film. Watching the short I was immediately struck by the strength of the story, it worked as a stand alone short but I could also very much see an expansion on the story and themes. However there were other elements that were incredibly strong, namely the strength of the acting and hence the direction but also the way it was shot. Lots of night exteriors that were impeccably shot but in a subtle way that didn't scream LOOK AT ME and distract from the narrative. It's a cracker of a short and one could walk away from just that and be very proud. You could tell there was some great filmmaking going on here and also a very fertile storyline. I wanted to see this feature, backed it to this capacity and that was that.
Being a fan of Korean cinema and having crewed on many Australian productions, when the campaign was successful I hatched a secret fantasy to contact Yoon Jung, travel to Korea and volunteer my services for the film. What a dream! Mind you I'd never been to Korea and didn't speak the language but hey that's what dreams are for.

Camera Crew & First prepare for the next setup

Anyway it's a long story but production kept getting pushed back and new people came on board, basically the project was expanding, with cast, budget and distribution. So it was this year that production finally got underway with major backers and A-list cast, shooting in Seoul as of June this year. This excited me no end, one cause it was finally going to be realised but two I was heading to Seoul for other reasons right in the middle of production.

So I put the feelers out and made a few requests and was privileged enough to be a set guest the day they were shooting some airport scenes and plane interiors. Mind you none of this wouldn't have happened if not for the genourosity of Lee Yoon Jung, the cooperation of Young Wook Jo and the skills of Park Seol Hwa. Cause although this was now my second visit to the Korean peninsula and I did have some rudimentary language under the belt without their navigation and language I don't think I would have ever got there. Under the able guidance of Seol Hwa we headed out to Seoul's smaller and older International Airport, Gimpo. Subway, bus and a bit of walking and we were there. Too exciting!

After a warm greeting from Wook Jo we got to see a number of setups for one of Kim Ha Neul's scenes at the terminal. This was such a gas watching the Korean crew at work and especially the 1st AD, as this is my background in Australian production. They were fast, calm and efficient. Australian crews have a reputation for being good and fast and we are but so are these guys, very much so.
 

Camera Crew & Kim Ha-Neul

Line Producer and 1st AD watch on

The first would almost whisper her roll up into the radio,
"ready ready", "shoot shoot","camera"...etc.
It was all in English too.
I was way impressed. I've always thought women make great firsts with the energy and sensibilities they bring to set and some of my favourite onset moments have been under such command. I watched this crew and thought that it would be a wonderful experience to work with these guys.
Tough but good. Arrrgh that dream again!
But this time I was here to observe.

When that scene wrapped we were onto a scene inside a plane and I was invited to be one of the passenger extras. Ha! My policy in Australia is 'never in front of the camera', I have done it before but when I was much younger and now there is no novelty factor for me anymore.
But, Hey! in a Korean film? Why of course I will and besides it was a sitting role, in a comfy plane seat and I had my back to camera. So I was very flattered to learn that Ha Neul will be coming up to me and asking if I would like some coffee but then after a rehearsal it changed! I was put one chair back because they thought it would be too weird her talking Korean to a Westener. Shit!!! I've directed enough extras in my time to know 'the bump', must have good head & shoulders for radio! Actually it did make sense and anyway at the end of the scene she moved onto me and offered the coffee anyway. (that'll hit the cutting room floor for sure). Anyway that was a lot of fun and at the conclusion of that scene it was dinner break.

Nice head & shoulders as part of the in-flight passengers

ready ready

Giving some pointers? I don't think so.

 So dinner was a great experience in itself. A korean catering truck....sounds like heaven? and it was. Beautiful meal, beautiful food and got to have a good long chat with Yoon Jung and her producers Soo Jin and Wook Jo. Fascinating stuff, plumbing the depths of the logistics and costs and the future of the film etc. It was a lot of fun in very warm company with some great food. 

Cho Soo Jin (line Producer), Park Seol Hwa (BIFF) Young Wook Jo (Producer) Me & Lee Yoon Jung  (Writer/Director)

At the conclusion of dinner was the setup for a number of night exterior scenes with Jung Woo-sung, a very noted Korean actor. We were extended an invitation to witness these but as it was close to nightfall and we had to make the long trek back into the heart of Seoul. This is a mega city and that journey was going to take more than an hour. So we said our goodbyes and our thank yous and thus a most amazing experience was over.
Don't Forget Me is getting close to the end of production as you read this and I wish Yoon Jung and her team all the best and can't wait to see the movie.

A Few of my Favourite Things

The wall of talent

Director Jazz in Love

Director of Sapi

                  Director of Prologue to the Great Desaparecido  & Norte, the End of History

Director of Transit

Director of Sana Dati (If Only)

Director of

Why Don't You Play in Hell?

Director of Our Sunhi & Nobody's Daughter Haewon

Director of Moebius

Director of Safe

Director of Mystery Road

These are some of my favourite directors from Busan.
Certainly not all of them and in no particular order.
But hey! What a bevy of talent and then you look at the whole wall....WOW!
Certainly not a veteran of festivals, esp on this international scale but I was a pig in shit at Busan and if you are partial to cinema of the east I think you would be too. Exciting stuff, so much to see.

With stars in my eyes I'm trying to take a little bit away

Kim Ki Duk is all over BIFF

Moebius

Almost 90min of no dialogue but certainly not a silent film.
Par for the course, Kim Ki Duk (김기덕) ROARS in this film. And as the man says himself conversation is made up of laughing, crying and screaming and there is plenty of this in Moebius, so the characters do speak!
Initially banned in South Korea this is the follow up film after Pieta which picked up the Golden Lion at Venice (1st Korean film ever) and like Pieta it's in your face and confronting but also it has some quite funny moments. Mind you I questioned myself that I was laughing (it'll be a lifelong inquiry). Moebius really does take you on a journey into the weird, the perverse, the unspoken realm of human nature. A place where things aren't quite what they seem, recognisable but broke? Sometimes the bumpy road is the track worth taking.

Lee Eun-woo (이은우) is amazing as the mother and the lover. At BIFF this year I saw her play 4 roles, 2 in Moebius, one in Godsend and as herself in 2 x Q&As. Wow, she is good. It was retrospective that I learnt she played the two roles in this film. Not for a moment watching the film did I pick it, a clear sign of good acting, being totally immersed in the character.
In both roles she plays an unhinged siren, totally seductive, totally dangerous! Neither is similar in any way demonstrating her great range, she is 100% given to this film. it is rare for me to hunt down films through their actors but in this case I will watch anything that she is in.
Cho Jae-Hyun (조재현) as the father is the instigator of this torrid tale, succumbing to carnal lust but once his wife finds out his character becomes quite weak and soon, quite literally, impotent. Another great performance portraying the horror of witnessing the cause & effect of his actions on others. He never regains his mantle of head of the family always wracked by guilt, always trying to make amends. Very powerful, non-heroic stuff.

Lee Eun-woo, Cho Jae-Hyun & Kim Ki Duk post Moebius Q&A BIFF 2013

Perhaps Suh Yeong Ju (서영주) is the only innocent in this world. Mother extracts revenge on father through son.
Oh yeah that is, she chops his dick off! With no manhood he is subject to much ridicule and humiliation at the hands of many but his father sympathise (I wonder why?). He liases with dad's lover, he sleeps with mother and progressively that innocence is eroded away.
With dad's help he learns to live without that which defines a man, he learns to achieve orgasm through other means. So much has been written about the chop, his, his dad's and the local punks (how many dicks can you chop in the one film?) but I'm more interested in how they all learn  to get pleasure from pain.
Google can teach you anything and in this case dad learns these dark arts from endless late night surfing.
The results are pretty gruesome. Have you ever watched someone rub themselves raw with a rock?
But it gets better. Dad's lover learns how to pleasure the son via a dagger in the back. What starts out as truly brutal turns humorous as she masturbates the dagger and soon he is overcome with ecstatic pleasure and of course it is a happy ending!

So you kinda get the idea, Moebius is pretty weird shit but it is also cloaked in ample good filmmaking, great performances, great visuals, many many great moments and after the film hearing the master talk about this film was quite amazing. Director Kim spoke of the struggle to raise enough money to make this film. Now this amazed me, even he of such high standing and achievement has to scratch in the dirt to find the funds. He spoke of the digital revolution and how he by-passed a DOP because the cameras are small enough for him to operate himself. Wow! and this helped him communicate with the actors on a more intimate and creative level, it allowed him to make the film quicker (ie less money) and it allowed him to forgo having to translate his thoughts into words in order for that DOP to then capture his vision on film. Makes a lot of sense really.
At no point was there ever a question about quality when I was watching, format or craft.

Moebius.... not for everyone that's for sure but a whole lot more than a controversial film.
Kim Ki Duk.... can't wait to see what's next but will continue to view the back catalogue till it arrives.

The Huntresses (조선미녀삼총사)

Like your all girl, historical action flick to have a wee bit of tongue in cheek?
Look no further. The Huntress teaser

  

Set in the Joseon period of Korea (a rather large slab of time of 500 years or so?) it features 3 bounty hunters Jin-Ok (Ha Ji-Won), Hong-Dan (Kang Ye-Won) & Ga-Bi (Son Ga-In) who form a group to thwart a power play against the royal throne.
Are they Musketeers? or more probably Ninjas?, possibly three Stooges? or even Charlies Angels....Nah. Directed by Park Je-Hyun, set for release in May 2013, it is a martial arts romp that has a good dose of the comedic. However the few comedies that I have seen from Korea always seem to run deeper than the silly and stupid that we have come to expect from Hollywood so I'm expecting interesting at the very least.
Maybe this is along the lines of what Maria Tran is doing with her filmmaking in Sydney?
I shall wait and see.

Ha-Ji-Won

     

Son Ga-in

Kang Ye-won

Synopsis

As a child, Jin-ok witnessed the murder of her father and narrowly escaped death. She is taken under the wing of Mu-myeong, the man who saved her life, and trains in martial arts alongside two other girls. 10 years pass and the girls are now Joseon's best bounty hunters. One day, Jin-ok is asked to take on a case for a handsome reward. Against their master's wishes, the trio takes on the job, not knowing it will eventually lead them to the man responsible for the death of Jin-ok's father 10 years before.