December 3, 2010

• Thanks Korea

  I’m really quite a fan of most Asian Cinema (particularly Japanese Animation) but when it comes to live action I’d like to share my love of Korean films.

  The Koreans seem to have a really strange mix of really sad and harsh stories while also finding time for completely silly slapstick. I esspecially like Korean Action films or Sci-fi as these can often be really very styalised and have echos of western films but with an odd Korean view point.

  Other really good bits about Korean films are….Korean Hair, If only I had hair half as cool as the Koreans it’s a unique thing that manages to be messy yet stylish at all times.

  Korean Slapstick, never seems to be apropriate to the story but often done with a real sense of fun, and usually involves the Comedy relife of the film whos usually the nicest/oddest character.

  No ones Safe: In western films you tend to know which characters will and will not die during the story, but not so with the Koreans (or I miss the signs) but so far from the films i’ve seen any and everyone can and will die so it often adds to the tention and realisem.

   

  These are four of the Korean films I really enjoyed and intend on enjoying a few more times yet:

  

  Natural City: is a very cool but seriously depressing Sci-Fi story with echoes of Blade Runner. The story seems to be largely about sacrafice and loss and is really quite moving in places, there’s also some very nicely done action involving human looking robots that can move super fast and kick through limbs. Overall it’s a bit grim but certainly worth a watch esspecially if you like tragic heroes. 

  

  The Legend of the Shadowless Sword: This film is brilliant! It’s the Korean Crouching Tiger….well maybe not quite and painfully beautiful as Crouching Tiger but certainly up there in the same league. It’s jam packed with drama and wierd and wild Fantastical sword fights. Again i think there’s a few dark twists in the tale but overall this is a very heroic tale and left me quite moved, I really need to watch it again to refresh my memory but I do remember that the depiction of some of the energy techniques during fight scenes are very well done and really quite unique.

  

  The Host: This is a great film…but not one i’d see twice i don’t think, or if i do watch it again it’ll be after a long while. The main reason for that is it’s just really sad, there are parts that make you laugh and silly parts but I think the ‘point’ of the film is really quite political and airs many of the issues with foreign powers interferaing with Korea, so it’s moving from that respect plus the story it’s self is tragic. But it certainly worth a once through just to see a monster film done properly where there’s just no-one thats safe and your worried about the characters all the way through to the end. Also the graphics are very good.

  

  The Good The Bad and The Weird: And now the very best film from Korea i’ve seen, This film is epic in every way! It’s set in a wildwest version of Manchuria and involves three characters each embodying one of the title virtues, and all of them are pretty much the coolest film characters ever made. This film has lots of over the top wildwest gunfights, crazy stunts, great jokes and slaptick humour and a mad story that offers plenty of twists and turns. As you might be able to tell i really enjoyed this film and will Certainly be re-watching many times. Not only that but i’m going to have an entire wardrobe filled with clothes styled after the clothes in the film, This really is a great film.

   

  It took me a while to get the taste for Korean cinema but now that I have I just can’t get enough, they’re funny and inventive and really damn cool. And i seriously hope the Korean Film industry grows and keep producing great stuff.

  • 8:25 pm
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