Absurd ‘Lobster’ resonates despite its weirdness

In his movies, Greek writer-director Yorgos Lanthimos sets up surreal, outlandish premises and then pulls you inside, so the nonsensical takes on weighty, emotional import. In 2007’s Oscar-nominated “Dogtooth,” the lives of the members of a screwed-up family served as an exploration of misbegotten parenting and the perils of strict idealism. In 2011’s “Alps,” a group of eccentrics hired themselves out to people mourning the recent death of a loved one, examining the ways in which we all sometime

June 3, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Mountain Cry 　(China)　Opened May 25　Directed by Larry Yang　A new family moves into a remote village with a tight-knit, traditional community. After the sudden death of the family’s father and husband, the widow, a mysterious mute (Lang Yueting), begins to tell her story wordlessly.　Sing Street　(Ireland)　Opened May 19　Directed by John Carney　　A teenager (Ferdia Walsh-Peelo) living in 1980s Dublin escapes bullying at school and his strained family, his parents’ collapsing marriage and struggling f

May 27, 2016

[Herald Review] ‘The Handmaiden’ as tender as it is bold

Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” is a tale of two women who seek to be free -- one from poverty, the other from confinement, and both from control. The costumes and set design may seem excessive, but the frills provide an enticing backdrop for that journey for salvation and serve to create an idealized universe.　Orphaned heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee) is living under the guardianship of her uncle Kouzuki (Cho Jin-woong). Count Fujiwara, a swindler posing as a nobleman (Ha Jung-woo) seeks to

May 26, 2016

'Cheese in the Trap' movie to star actor Park Hae-jin

Actor Park Hae-jin, who starred as the lead character in the TV series “Cheese in the Trap,” has been cast for the same role in the upcoming movie adaptation, the film’s publicist said Tuesday.　The movie will be jointly produced by Mountain Movement, a Korean production company, and its Chinese partner in Shanghai, HNS HQ said in a statement. Park Hae-jin stars in tvN’s “Cheese in the Trap” (tvN)　Park, who played the enigmatic male protagonist Yoo Jung in the cable TV series, will stay on for th

May 24, 2016

[Newsmaker] Britain’s Loach wins Cannes honor

British director Ken Loach won the Palme d’Or top prize at Cannes on Sunday for the second time in a decade with his moving drama “I, Daniel Blake” about the shame of poverty in austerity-hit Europe.　The award marked a major upset at the world’s top film festival in favor of the left-wing director, who turns 80 next month and is known for shining a light on the downtrodden.　He beat runaway favorites including the rapturously received German comedy “Toni Erdmann” by Maren Ade, one of three female

May 23, 2016

‘The Handmaiden’ rights sold in 175 countries

The distribution rights to Park Chan-wook’s “The Handmaiden” have been sold in a record 175 countries, making it the widest-selling Korean film to date.　The film’s rights were sold to over 55 countries at the Cannes Film Festival’s Film Market on Thursday, said CJ E&M, the film’s distributor.　Prior to Cannes, the film’s rights had already been sold to 120 countries.　The previous record for international sales of a Korean film was held by director Bong Joon-ho’s “Snowpiercer,” which sold in 167 c

May 20, 2016

Cannes wunderkind blows off boos for new all-star drama

CANNES, France (AFP) - Canadian director Xavier Dolan, a freakishly successful 27-year-old presenting his fifth film at Cannes, shrugged off a critical mauling for his new all-star drama Thursday. 　“It's Only the End of the World” features an A-list French cast including Oscar winner Marion Cotillard, Bond girl Lea Seydoux, Vincent Cassel of “Black Swan” and Gaspard Ulliel, who starred in “Saint Laurent” about the legendary designer.　The film, based on a play by Jean-Luc Lagarce, tells the story

May 20, 2016

[Box Office] Latest movie releases

Canola　(Korea)　Opened May 19　Drama, Family. Directed by Chang (Yoon Hong-seung)　　Grandma Gye-choon (Youn Yuh-jung) is reunited with her long-lost granddaughter Hye-ji (Kim Go-eun), who is no longer the sweet, innocent child she once was. The film follows the two as they forge a new kind of relationship.　The Angry Birds Movie　(Finland, U.S.)　Opened May 19　Animation. Directed by Clay Kaytis, Fergal Reilly　Most flightless birds lead generally happy lives, but Red seems to become agitated with every

May 20, 2016

‘The Nice Guys’ is as funny as it is dark

Shane Black films are unmistakably Shane Black films, with crackling dialogue, relentless action, and tough guys cut from a decidedly retro cloth. 　In “The Nice Guys,” which he directed, and cowrote with Anthony Bagarozzi, that cloth is the kind of polyester that might make up a late-’70s leisure suit. While Black’s films are always deeply influenced by his appreciation for pulp noir detective fiction, “The Nice Guys” is one of the purest expressions of Black’s aesthetic, a bloody, hilarious, co

May 20, 2016

Iconic Korean film digitally restored

A classic Korean film depicting poverty in the aftermath of the Korean War has been digitally restored for the first time.　The restored version of  “O Bal Tan (The Aimless Bullet)” was screened for the press on Thursday as part of the opening event for the Paju Conservation Center, a center established by the Korean Film Archive for the preservation and restoration of old films. A still from a digitally restored version of the 1961 film “O Bal Tan (The Aimless Bullet),” directed by Yu Hyun-mok (

May 19, 2016

[Herald Interview] 'Spa Night' director opens up about gay experience

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Director Andrew Ahn came to Korea to spark a conversation. 　His film, “Spa Night,” depicts David, a second-generation Korean-American working with his parents at their Korean restaurant. When the restaurant closes, David surreptitiously works at a Korean spa -- instead of studying to enter university -- to help the family. There he notices for the first time the spa’s role in secretive homosexual hookups, just as he begins considering his own identity.　“I hope th

May 19, 2016

Interracial marriage drama prompts Oscar buzz at Cannes

CANNES, France (AFP) -- US filmmaker Jeff Nichols said Monday he hoped his rapturously received Cannes contender “Loving,” about an interracial couple’s landmark marriage-rights case, would help change the current vicious tone of America’s culture wars.　The movie, which prompted early Oscar buzz after a press preview, tells the story of Richard and Mildred Loving, a Virginia couple who battled before the Supreme Court in 1967 for their right as a white man and an African-American woman to live t

May 17, 2016

‘The Handmaiden’ director defends sex scenes as necessary

CANNES, France (AP) -- Director Park Chan-wook is defending his use of elaborate lesbian sex scenes in his erotic thriller “The Handmaiden,” saying that avoiding them would be like “a war film without battle scenes.”　The film, adapted from the Welsh novel “Fingersmith,” is the tale of a young maid who is hired to seduce a rich heiress, only to fall in love with her. Together the two women plot their revenge on the men who tried to destroy them.  From left: Actress Kim Min-hee, film director Park

May 17, 2016