Fingers, miniature sets, and one’s greatest loves on screen

Belgian choreographer and dancer Michele Anne De Mey has been with her partner, filmmaker Jaco Van Dormael, for the past 13 years, raising four children together. Their highly ambitious, interdisciplinary performance “Kiss & Cry,” set for its Seoul premiere in March, is the couple’s first professional collaboration together. The result is an emotional account of one’s past, especially ex-lovers, which combines miniature sets, “finger dance,” film, text and theater. The title of the show was take

Jan. 26, 2014

‘Snowpiercer’ to get special screening at Berlinale

Bong Joon-ho’s dystopian sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” has been officially invited to this year’s Berlin International Film Festival, according to the film’s producer CJ Entertainment.The film, which is also Bong’s English language debut, will get special gala screenings at the festival’s “Forum” sidebar from Feb. 7 to 8. The International Forum of New Cinema of Berlinale, “Forum” in short, is dedicated to featuring experimental works as well as historically significant films. Kim Tae-yong’s “La

Jan. 26, 2014

Box Office: My Place, The Nun, Miss Granny

 My Place (Korea)Opening Jan. 30Filmmaker Park Moon-chil offers a personal account of his sister’s unexpected pregnancy and what followed in his latest documentary “My Place.” Park’s sister, Peace, became pregnant in 2006, and decided to have the child alone. She had never been married and had broken up with the baby’s father. Park weaves his sister’s story with his family’s unique history of migration, from Korea to Toronto and back again to Korea. English subtitles will be provided for all scr

Jan. 24, 2014

Homeless teen searches for sanctuary in ‘Gimme Shelter’

“Gimme Shelter” is a simplistic, faintly emotional account of a pregnant teen’s desperate search for help, support and compassion with the huge decision she faces. It’s simplistic because the script discounts debate over that decision and glosses over the messy details of the path she chooses. But it’s emotional because we, and plainly some of the characters, know those messy details, even if other characters do not.Agnes (Vanessa Hudgens) is 16 and poor, the daughter of a drug addict (Rosario D

Jan. 24, 2014

Film reconstructs tragedy of Samsung employee

One of the most talked-about movies of last year’s Busan International Film Festival, featuring a tragic, real-life story about a Samsung employee, is getting a theater release next month. The film, funded solely by donations and crowd funding from more than 7,000 individuals, recounts the life of Hwang Yu-mi, a factory worker who died of leukemia at age 23 in 2007 after working for four years at a Samsung memory chip factory. Titled “Another Promise” (previously “Another Family,” equivalent to

Jan. 23, 2014

‘Snowpiercer’ is Korean film reporters’ pick of 2013

Director Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi thriller “Snowpiercer” on Wednesday claimed the best film and the best director awards given by local movie reporters for 2013.The English-language debut by Bong was the top winner at the fifth “Film of the Year Awards” ceremony held at the Korea Press Center in Seoul, beating out the latest box-office sensation, “The Attorney,” and director Lee Jun-ik’s drama “Hope.” Bong also received the best director award for “Snowpiercer.”The Korea Film Reporters Association,

Jan. 23, 2014

Migration, relocation and a pregnancy

Filmmaker Park Moon-chil was alone with his mother in a car in 2006 when she broke the shocking news to him: His unmarried sister was pregnant.“My mother said something like, ‘It looks like you are going to be an uncle soon,’” Park told The Korea Herald during an interview in Seoul on Tuesday. “I literally did not understand at first. I thought she was talking about a relative having a baby or something.”Park’s latest documentary, “My Place,” is a deeply personal account of his own family, espec

Jan. 22, 2014

Walt Disney’s ‘Frozen’ tops Korean box office

“Frozen,” a 3-D animated fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios, topped the Korean box office chart this weekend, beating the local megahit court drama “The Attorney.”“The Attorney,” inspired by the early years of the late President Roh Moo-hyun, had remained No. 1 on the local chart for four consecutive weeks until Jan. 16. Last weekend, it became the ninth Korean movie and 10th overall to draw more than 10 million spectators in Korea.Loosely based on Hans Christian Andersen’s f

Jan. 20, 2014

‘Ride Along’ rolls into top spot at U.S. box office

LOS ANGELES (AP) ― “Ride Along” arrived in first place at the weekend box office. The Universal buddy cop comedy featuring Kevin Hart and Ice Cube debuted with $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. The strong opening for “Ride Along” marks the biggest debut for a film released during the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday weekend and puts it on track to top the $40.1 million record set by the 2008 monster movie “Cloverfield” for the biggest opening of January. “It certainly appear

Jan. 20, 2014

Roh nostalgia shakes up box office

Choi Yoon-jeong, an office worker in her 20s, has never considered herself someone who is “interested in politics.” The Seoulite, who enjoys keeping up with the latest fashion trends and watching musicals, however, left the theater in tears after watching “The Attorney,” a film based on a national security case in which Roh Moo-hyun, who was later elected president, defends the accused.“I think I was just really angry at the injustice portrayed in the film,” Choi told The Korea Herald. “I think

Jan. 19, 2014

‘Hustle,’ ‘Gravity’ lead Oscars with 10 nods each

The con-artist comedy “American Hustle” and the 3-D space odyssey “Gravity” lead the Academy Awards with 10 nominations each, with the historical epic “12 Years a Slave” trailing closely with nine nominations. The nominations announced Thursday set up a race between three very different films, all of which were nominated for best picture. The 86th annual Academy Awards will take place March 2. Mexican-born “Gravity” director Alfonso Cuaron and British-born “12 Years a Slave” director Steve McQue

Jan. 17, 2014

KOFA discovers film from 1960s about Korean pop music

An original reel of a film from the 1960s dealing with the history of Korean pop music has been discovered, the Korean Film Archive announced on Wednesday.Titled “A Half Century of Korean Pop Songs,” the flick is said to chronicle Korea’s popular music history from the 1920s to the late 1960s. The archive will hold a special screening of the film for music specialists in March and show it to the public in May.  Directed by Kim Gwang-soo in 1968, the documentary film features color footage of som

Jan. 16, 2014

When a gangster falls in love

Prominent actor Hwang Jung-min is back with his latest romance “When a Man Loves a Woman,” a typical Korean tearjerker in many ways. There is a gangster, a terminal illness and a betrayal. And tears. A lot of them. “When a Man Loves a Woman” is produced by the same producers of last year’s successful noir “New World,” which earned Hwang the best actor prize at the Blue Dragon Awards for his performance as Jung Chung, the powerful, charismatic gangster. In spite of his impressive acting, the new

Jan. 15, 2014

Hollywood sets up Herculean box-office clash

LOS ANGELES (AFP) ― Hollywood is powering up for a clash of the titans this year, with two films about legendary demigod Hercules ― one starring teen heartthrob Kellan Lutz, and a more mature version later in the year.The superhero standoff ― Tinseltown seems prone to doing movies in pairs, after two adaptations of the Snow White tale last year ― comes 16 years after the last Hercules movie by Disney in 1997.The first new one to do battle opens Friday in North America, with Lutz in his first maj

Jan. 13, 2014

‘Attorney’ set to break 10m viewer mark

“The Attorney,” a local film inspired by the early years of late President Roh Moo-hyun, drew more than 9 million viewers in the 25 days after its release, its distributor NEW announced. It has topped the local box office chart for four consecutive weeks, and is expected to break the 10 million viewer mark this weekend. According to the Korean Film Council, the directorial debut by webtoon artist Yang Woo-seok was watched by 9.26 million people as of Sunday, far outnumbering “The Suspect” and “T

Jan. 13, 2014