Style was what director Byun Sung-hyun wanted to focus on when filming “The Merciless,” which has been invited to the midnight category at the 70th Cannes Film Festival, taking place from May 17-28.“The reason I paid so much attention to mise-en-scene is because in Korean cinema in recent years, there have been, and there will continue to be, so many crime movies led by two male characters,” said Byun at a press preview of the film in Wangsimni, Seoul, Tuesday. 　“I wanted to differentiate my fil

May 3, 2017

Korean film “The Soup,” starring actor Yoon Park, has won an award at the 26th Arizona International Film Festival.Yoon’s agency JYP Entertainment said Wednesday that the movie recently received the best foreign feature award at the annual international film festival that ran from April 19-30 in Tucson, Arizona. In the movie based on a true story, Yoon plays a man with a rough personality named Jaegu, who enters the home of a mentally disabled couple with a 7-year-old daughter, and ends up livin

May 3, 2017

The actors of action thriller “The Villainess,” invited for the Cannes Film Festival’s midnight screening this year, will walk the red carpet of the prestigious event that kicks off May 17.Kim Ok-vin, Sung Joon (credited as Bang Sung-jun) and Kim Seo-hyung, along with the film’s director Jung Byung-gil, have confirmed they attend the Cannes screening and other events there. It is unclear whether Shin Ha-kyun, who is currently recovering from a leg injury obtained while shooting the film, will be

May 1, 2017

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Director Laura Schroeder has grabbed attention with her second feature film, “Barrage,” bringing together the real-life mother and daughter pair of French star Isabelle Huppert and Lolita Chammah. The film had its Asian premiere Friday and is competing against nine others in the international competition of the Jeonju International Film Festival. Schroeder spoke with The Korea Herald there at a coffeehouse on Saturday.Laura Schroeder, director of “Barrage” (JIFF)

April 30, 2017

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Women’s ties to social institutions and the anxiety of modern society are two of the themes that stand out among films in the international competition category at the Jeonju International Film Festival’s 18th edition, which kicked off Thursday.Compared to works in the Korean competition which took a more personal, microscopic approach, according to JIFF’s programmers, the international competition films explored human beings in a broader social context.  “In Bet

April 30, 2017

The Mayor(Korea)Opened April 26Political drama. Directed by Park In-jeIn the turbulent world of politics, where elections are about fishing for a pearl in a pool of dirt, beloved Seoul mayor Byeon Jong-gu (Choi Min-sik) will stop at nothing to win a third term and gear up for the presidency. His right hand man Shim Hyeok-su (Kwak Do-won) harbors ambitions of his own. Byeon’s eager supporter Park Kyung (Shim Eun-kyung) joins his camp as a public relations official and witnesses the lengths Byeon

April 28, 2017

The domestic crime-action flick "The Merciless" will open in French theaters on June 28, the film's production company said on Friday.The film starring Seol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan is to premiere in the Midnight Screening, an out-of-competition slot in the 70th Cannes Film Festival set to open on May 17."The international attention for 'The Merciless' has increased explosively since it received an invitation from Cannes," a CJ E&M official said. (CJ E&M)The French distributor ARP that has previou

April 28, 2017

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Eleven films were selected from among the initial 128 Korean features submitted for this year’s Korean Competition at the Jeonju International Film Festival, in a contest highlighting Korea’s flourishing independent film scene. The features submitted “were filmed with dramatically microscopic views compared to previous years,” according to festival organizers. The respective directors this year seem to have each taken an issue and focused on it with laser-like in

April 27, 2017

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province -- Ildiko Enyedi’s ethereal tale of romance “On Body and Soul” begins with a stag and a doe rubbing against each other in a snow-covered forest. The stag advances, and the doe steps away.The scene is later revealed to be the collective dream of Maria and Endre, the romantic leads in the Hungarian film invited to open this year’s Jeonju International Film Festival.“We were looking for birch trees, like pillars of a cathedral, very high above eye level, no bushes,” sa

April 27, 2017

Korean director Park Chan-wook is to sit on the jury of the 2017 Cannes Film Festival that kicks off next month. Director Park Chan-wook (Yonhap)The international festival said Tuesday that Park was included on the festival jury to decide its top prize this year, along with other big names including Chinese actress Fan Bingbing, Italian director Paolo Sorrentino and US actor Will Smith. Park has become the fourth Korean to sit on the festival’s jury. Shin Sang-ok was the first-ever in 1994, foll

April 26, 2017

Lee Je-hoon has taken on various roles such as the sweet boyfriend in the recent time-travel tvN drama “Tomorrow With You” alongside Shin Min-ah. But the actor becomes almost unrecognizable in the upcoming historical film “Park Yeol” (unofficial translation).Lee is seen sporting much stubble and a maniacal grin in posters released by the film’s distributor Monday. Written is the film’s tagline, “Joseon Dynasty’s biggest rebel.” Lee Je-hoon is depicted in a poster for the upcoming film “Park Yeol

April 25, 2017

In the 2011 film “Sunny,” the nostalgic coming-of-age flick about a group of friends at an all-girls high school in the 1980s, Shim Eun-kyung plays a shy, possessed student. When the spirit inside her manifests itself, Shim’s character becomes comically violent, scaring off the school’s bullies and rescuing her friends. Bursting onto the Korean film scene with this role, Shim has since become a symbol of innocent youth and sprightly whimsy. In her breakout role in the 2014 comedy “Miss Granny,”

April 25, 2017

"Fast and Furious 8" has dominated the South Korean box office for the second weekend in a row despite the massive arrival of newcomers. (Yonhap)According to the box office tally from the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on Monday, the Hollywood action flick garnered 682,576 views, which is about 57 percent of all tickets sold, in its second week of release.In the latest installment in Universal's long-running "Fast and Furious" franchise, protagonist Dominic Toretto turns against the crew he's calle

April 24, 2017

Soo Ae is considering returning to the big screen with the upcoming movie “Upper Class” (unofficial title), according to her agency Star J Entertainment.  Soo Ae (Herald DB)The agency recently said the actress was offered a lead role in the movie. “She is in the final phase of making the decision. She is considering the role positively,” said an agency official.  The movie, directed by director Byun Hyuk, tells a story of a woman who tries to climb the social ladder. The seasoned actress made he

April 23, 2017

When filmmaker Jolanta Krysowata arrived in Korea in early April, she didn’t expect people here to be zealous about communism or humanitarianism, the subtexts of her documentary about North Korean orphans who settled in Poland in the 1950s. “I heard in Poland and here that South Koreans weren’t much interested in North Korea or unification. But after watching audiences break down in tears during the film screening, I realized that’s not true,” the director told The Korea Herald at the Polish Emb

April 21, 2017

Colossal(US)Opened April 20Science fiction, thriller. Directed by Nacho VigalondoGloria (Anne Hathaway) has lost her boyfriend, along with all her acquaintances and bustling life in New York. She moves back to her hometown and drinks and parties the days away, meeting Oscar (Jason Sudeikis), a childhood friend who now owns and runs a bar. After a night of drinking together, the two wake up to realize that somehow an enormous monster set loose in the streets of Seoul, Korea is mysteriously connec

April 21, 2017

The Jeonju International Film Festival, Korea’s second-largest film event, is set to host its 18th edition this year from April 27 to May 7.　Here what to look out for during the festival, which will screen a total of 229 films from 58 countries. Opening, closing filmsHungarian director Ildiko Enyedi’s “On Body and Soul” will open the JIFF on Thursday evening. The film follows a cautious woman bored with life, who meets a man, falls in love, shares his dreams, and becomes curious about deeper hum

April 20, 2017

Sol Kyung-gu and Im Si-wan talked about working together on the upcoming crime action drama film “The Merciless (Bulhandang)” which has been invited to the midnight screening at Cannes Film Festival this year. 　“I think with Im Si-wan, I went through love and jealousy (on screen),” said Sol jokingly at a press conference in Seoul on Wednesday. “I think we had great chemistry,” said Im. 　Im Si-wan (left) and Sol Kyung-gu attend a press conference for the film “The Merciless” on Wednesday in Seoul

April 19, 2017