Turkish film ‘Winter Sleep’ wins top honor at Cannes

CANNES, France (AP) ― The richly ruminative Chekhovian drama “Winter Sleep” was awarded the Palme d’Or on Saturday, bestowing the Cannes Film Festival’s top honor on an intimate, wintery epic set on Turkey’s Anatolian steppe. Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan accepted the award, handed out by Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman at the French Riviera festival. In his speech, Ceylan alluded to anti-government protests in Istanbul that began a year ago and have raged following a recent mining disaster that

May 25, 2014

Box office

Maleficent (the U.S.)Opening May 29Action, adventure, family. Directed by Robert Stromberg.In this hidden story behind Disney’s classic “Sleeping Beauty,” Maleficent (Angelina Jolie) becomes a vindictive fairy when her forest kingdom is invaded by a human kingdom. In order to exact revenge, she wages a war against the human kingdom and places an irreversible curse on infant princess Aurora (Elle Fanning). But as the princess grows up, Maleficent realizes that Aurora is the only one who can resto

May 23, 2014

‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ merges old and new

Marvel’s X-Men franchise involves multiple characters, multiple aliases, multiple story lines, comic books, TV shows, seven blockbuster feature films and a legacy of esoterica dating back to 1963. One would need an Anti-Perplexity Superpower to keep all the history straight.Now, they’re mutating history itself.“Days of Future Past,” which brings the latest X-venture to theaters Friday, involves traveling through time, changing the past and several characters meeting not only younger versions of

May 23, 2014

‘Dohee-ya’ to be released in France

Korean movie “Dohee-ya (A Girl at My Door)” will be released in France amid growing interest in Cannes, officials said Friday. French film company Epicentre will distribute the movie no later than this year, the company said. It will be provided to about 60 movie theaters in the country, it added. (OSEN)Dohee-ya has been invited to the Cannes Film Festival as part of the non-competitive section, and been highly praised by film critics. The movie, starring Bae Doo-na and 15-year-old Kim Sae-ron,

May 23, 2014

‘My Sweet Orange Tree’: Outgrowing childhood

Film adaptations of novels have both strengths and weaknesses. While they enjoy reader’s high expectations even before their release, they have to go through the fate of continuously being compared to the original. “My Sweet Orange Tree,” an international childhood classic, will be no exception when it is released in Korea next Friday.The Brazilian novel “My Sweet Orange Tree” was written by Jose Mauro de Vasconcelos in 1968. The main character Zeze (Joao Guilherme Avila) is the author himself r

May 22, 2014

‘Late Spring’ wins Best Film in Milan

A scene from “Late Spring.” ( Studio Hook)The Korean film “Late Spring” won the Best Film, Best Acting Performance Female and Best Cinematography awards at the Milano International Film Festival, which ended on May 12, the movie’s producer Studio Hook said.“Late Spring,” helmed by “26 Years” director Cho Keun-hyun, follows the story of a young model (Lee Yoo-young) who helps a paralyzed sculptor (Park Yong-woo) find his artistic passion and meaning in life. Lee won the award for best actress for

May 22, 2014

‘Star Wars’ fans to get chance at cameo

J.J. Abrams. (AFP)LOS ANGELES (AP) ― “Star Wars: Episode VII” director J.J. Abrams is giving fans a shot at a cameo in the film that’s set to be released next year. Disney, Lucasfilm and Bad Robot have teamed up for a campaign to raise funds for UNICEF. Abrams announced the initiative in a video from the set of the movie in Abu Dhabi. For every $10 donation at Omaze.com/StarWars, contributors will become eligible to appear in the film when it shoots in London. The campaign began just after midni

May 22, 2014

Korean artist behind icy magic of ‘Frozen’

The long, turquoise blue dress of Queen Elsa from the movie “Frozen” seems to be the hottest fashion item among kindergarteners in Korea, months after the film finished its wildly successful run here.But few know that the shimmer and glitter of the famous gown is the work of a young Korean artist, who, many years back, was just a typical Korean teenager playing the computer game StarCraft for hours on end. “It took one and a half years just to complete (the effects on) the dress,” Yoo Jae-hyun,

May 21, 2014

Carell surprise, British biopic lead race for Cannes gold

CANNES, France (AFP) ― A Hollywood wrestling drama, a British biopic of an iconic artist and an intimate Turkish look at a troubled marriage led the pack on Tuesday for the top prize at Cannes. Halfway through the competition, critics cheered for a few stand-out pictures among 18 contenders vying for the coveted Palme d’Or in what they called a surprise-filled year at the world’s premier film festival. An international critics’ poll in British film magazine Screen had Mike Leigh’s “Mr. Turner” a

May 20, 2014

Jones brings ‘women’s Western’ to Cannes

Cannes, France (AFP) ― Tommy Lee Jones on Sunday premiered his Cannes contender “The Homesman,” a women-driven Western starring fellow Oscar winners Hilary Swank and Meryl Streep that turns the genre on its head. The film, which drew warm applause and largely positive reviews after a press preview, marked Jones’ second directorial outing at the world’s top film festival, following 2005’s “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada.” Like that film, “The Homesman” takes a critical look at the defini

May 19, 2014

Cannes biopic probes Saint Laurent’s dark side

Belgian actor Jeremie Renier poses during a photo call for the film “Saint-Laurent” at the 67th edition of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, southern France, Saturday. (AFP-Yonhap)CANNES, France (AFP) ― Yves Saint Laurent, France’s shy fashion genius of fashion, came to the big screen at Cannes today with a biopic delving into the darker side of the celebrated designer and his struggles with depression, drinking and drugs. The high priest of fashion who pioneered tuxedos for women and ready-to

May 18, 2014

Powerful ‘Winter Sleep’ wows Cannes

CANNES, France (AP) ― “Winter Sleep,” the bookies’ early front-runner for the Palme d’Or, the slow-burning but powerful Turkish family drama, is unafraid to tackle Sartrian questions of personal responsibility ― and the hate that lurks beneath a seemingly peaceful family. Its director, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, is a Cannes Film Festival darling, having won the Jury Prize in 2011 for the acclaimed “Once Upon a Time in Anatolia.” His film explores the silent life of the easygoing Aydin, played majestical

May 18, 2014

‘Million Dollar Arm’ is a bit overpriced

Jon Hamm plays the straight man to a trio of young Indian actors and Oscar-winning curmudgeon Alan Arkin in “Million Dollar Arm,” a comically thin “true story” of a sports agent trying to turn Indian cricket bowlers into Major League Baseball pitchers.J.B. Bernstein (Hamm) is just another shark in the sea of L.A. sports agents, better at keeping up appearances than attracting or hanging on to talent. But he may have to give up his swank house, his Porsche, his office and his partner (Aasif Mandv

May 16, 2014

Box office

A Girl at My Door (Korea)Opening May 22Drama. Directed by July Jung.Young-nam (Bae Doo-na), a pale-faced young woman, moves to a quiet, seemingly uneventful port town to take office as the head of a police substation there after being demoted from Seoul. All of her subordinates in the station are men, most of whom are older than her. On her way to her new house in the village, she runs into Yong-ha (Song Sae-byeok), the man who “runs the economy” of the town, who smiles derisively after learning

May 16, 2014

‘Grace of Monaco’ mauling opens Cannes

Korean actress Jeon Do-yeon (second from right) and other jury members arrive on the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the 67th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France, Wednesday. (Xinhua-Yonhap)CANNES, France (AFP) ― The world’s biggest film festival opened in Cannes Wednesday with a blast of controversy as critics mercilessly savaged the opening movie about Hollywood-darling-turned-princess Grace of Monaco.The movie’s star Nicole Kidman, Sofia Coppola, Willem Dafoe, Audrey Tautou and jury

May 15, 2014

Zhang Lu to return with romantic comedy ‘Gyeongju’

Renowned filmmaker Zhang Lu is making a comeback with a romance film starring Korean top stars Park Hae-il and Shin Min-a. The third-generation Korean-Chinese filmmaker, who was born and raised in China’s Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, has been living and working in Korea since 2012. In December he showcased his first documentary, “The Scenery,” which explores the lives of migrant workers in Korea.A scene from Zhang Lu’s latest film “Gyeongju.” (Invent Stone)The upcoming comedy, titled “G

May 14, 2014

Cannes poised for world’s biggest film extravaganza

CANNES, France (AFP) ― Giant portraits of movie stars beamed down on passersby in Cannes on Tuesday as Hollywood heavyweights and first-time directors prepared to pour into the French Riviera resort for the world’s biggest film festival.Hugh Jackman, French actress Lea Seydoux and Natalie Portman were just some of the celebrities whose faces adorned buildings in the city center, as if the lure of real-life stars making their way to the 67th Cannes Film Festival was not enough. Ryan Gosling, Davi

May 14, 2014