[Herald Review] ‘Black Knight’ shows evolution of Korean dystopian flicks

From “Time To Hunt” (2020) to “Jung_E” (2023), Netflix has worked on a number of Korean dystopian movies, but not all audience were so fascinated by it. With “Black Knight,” which talks about a deliveryman in a violent desert wasteland in 2071, Netflix has pushed things forward, with strong characters and sophisticated CGI. Based on the webtoon “Delivery Knight,” director Jo Ui-seok said he reorganized the list of characters to add dynamics between

May 21, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Fast X” (US) Opened May 17 Action/Adventure Directed by Louis Leterrier The tenth film in the Fast & Furious Saga, the film tells a story of Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) who must protect his crew and family from Dante Reyes, the son of drug lord Hernan Reyes, seeking revenge over the loss of his family's fortune. “The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (US) Opened April 26 Animation/Adventure Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic A 2023 computer-animated adventure

May 20, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Woo-bin talks about right to be happy, loved

Netflix's dystopian drama “Black Knight” is actor Kim Woo-bin’s third project since he returned to acting in 2022 after being diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer and ceasing all activities in 2017. It was director Jo Ui-seok who, having filmed the 2016 action flick “Master” with Kim, led the actor to star in his first-ever Netflix project. The two reportedly exchanged ideas during the planning stage for “Black Knight.” “I was thinking about

May 18, 2023

BIFF leadership comes under fire after executive director, chairperson resign

Busan International Film Festival, Asia’s largest, has come under fire for a string of leadership changes that has exposed internal differences over how the festival should be run. BIFF Executive Director Huh Mun-young and BIFF Chairperson Lee Yong-kwan submitted their resignations in the space of a week, following the appointment of Cho Jong-guk as head of operations on May 9. Huh, who had been appointed to lead the festival in March 2021, turned in his resignation on Thursday, less than

May 16, 2023

[Herald Interview] Kim Hye-sook stresses passion as key to being good animator

“The world compliments those who have a clear dream early on and achieve their goals by working hard. I felt that is how I should live as well,” said Kim Hye-sook, a San Francisco-based Pixar senior animator, in an online interview with The Korea Herald earlier this month. “But that is not how I became an animator,” she said. “I was just an ordinary student who loved to read comics after the class was over.” Growing up in the small county of Hongseong, South C

May 15, 2023

Five Korean films head to this year’s Cannes Film Festival

Five Korean films have been invited to this year’s Cannes International Film Festival, which kicks off in the French resort town on Tuesday. Kim Chang-hoon’s “Hopeless,” Kim Jee-woon’s “Cobweb,” Hong Sang-soo’s “In Our Day,” Kim Tae-gon’s “Project Silence” and Jason Yu’s “Sleep” will be shown at the festival. No South Korean film has been selected to compete for the main prize, the Palme d’Or, a

May 15, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“The Super Mario Bros. Movie” (US) Opened April 26 Animation/Adventure Directed by Aaron Horvath, Michael Jelenic A 2023 computer-animated adventure film based on Nintendo's Mario video game franchise tells a story of Mario and Princess Peach getting ready to square off against the all-powerful Bowser to stop his plans from conquering the world. “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3” (US) Opened May 3 Action Directed by James Gunn The American superhero franchise conclude

May 13, 2023

Korean Film Archive's online exhibition distills century-old narratives into key moments

The Korean Film Archive, in partnership with the Korean Movie Database, has curated an online film exhibition titled "A Hundred Years Back: Outsiders' View of Korea." Running from May 3 to 13, the exhibition offers an intimate look into the cultural fabric, daily life and urban evolution of Korea across the first half of the 20th century. The exhibition features six silent films curated from a larger set of 113 videos released earlier this year. These six films have been bookmarke

May 13, 2023

BIFF executive chair suddenly resigns five months before film festival

Huh Mun-young, the executive chair who had been appointed in March 2021 to lead the country’s largest and one of Asia‘s most significant film festivals, the Busan International Film Festival, has decided to resign from the post less than five months before this year’s festival, raising concerns about the event proceeding as planned. This year’s BIFF will kick off on Oct. 4. Market insiders said Huh resigned to show his frustration over the recent transformation of the BIF

May 12, 2023

Jason Kim’s new action flick ‘Bloodhounds’ to open in June on Netflix

Director Jason Kim’s new action flick “Bloodhounds” will open exclusively on Netflix on June 9, the global streaming platform said Friday. Kim, who was behind the hit comedy film “Midnight Runners” (2017), is making a swift return just months after the release of his latest project “My Heart Puppy,” which premiered in theaters in March. “Bloodhounds” revolves around two young boxers named Gun-woo and Woo-jin who band together with a benevolen

May 12, 2023

Netflix’s ‘Black Knight’ explores dual life of deliveryman in post-apocalyptic 2071

The Netflix original series “Black Knight,” starring Kim Woo-bin and Song Seung-heon, explores the life of a deliveryman who offers necessities to people in need on a devastated Earth in 2071. Based on the webtoon “Delivery Knight” by Lee Yoon-kyun, published from 2016 to 2019, director Choi Ui-seok of “Cold Eyes” (2013) and “Master” (2016) tells the story of Earth in 2071, suffering from toxic air pollution. People rely on parcel delivery services

May 10, 2023

[Herald Interview] For young people today, life is ‘Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster’

JEONJU, North Jeolla Province – "Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster" is a "film about unhappy people, but not in a dark way," Turkish director Umut Subasi told the audience at its Asian premiere at the Jeonju International Film Festival in North Jeolla Province on April 28. The festival had described it as a “depression comedy.” "Humor is a survival tool," Subasi explained. Set in Istanbul, "Almost Entirely a Slight Disaster" revolves arou

May 9, 2023

[News Analysis] Star filmmakers flock to streaming

Movie directors including star filmmakers Lee Byeong-heon and Jason Lee will release their next projects soon after the release of movies “Dream” and “My Heart Puppy,” respectively, earlier this year, but this time as Netflix drama series. Lee Byeong-heon, known for the hit comedy “Extreme Job” (2019), is expected to release “Chicken Nugget,” starring Kim Yoo-jung and Ryu Seung-ryong, as a Netflix original series sometime toward the year-end. Kim a

May 9, 2023

Taiwanese company creates new BIFF award for Korean indie films

A new award aimed at discovering new Korean indie films has been created by Busan International Film Festival in conjunction with Rising Films International, a Taiwanese production company. Taiwan’s Rising Films International will fund the award, which carries up to 1 billion won ($758,000) in prize money to cover the film's production costs, according to Asia Contents & Film Market, BIFF's platform supporting content trading and international sales of local content. The aw

May 8, 2023

[Herald Interview] Director Davy Chou does away with cliches about adoptees in ‘Return to Seoul’

“Return to Seoul” is a melancholy drama film revolving around Freddie (Park Ji-min), 25, who is on a search for her biological parents after returning to Seoul for the first time -- similar to other films about Korean adoptees. But that’s where the similarity ends, as the film then takes a surprising turn. Freddie’s arrival in Seoul is also spontaneous. She arrives after her trip to Tokyo is cancelled. Davy Chou, the Cambodian French filmmaker of “Return to Seoul,&r

May 7, 2023

'Guardians of Galaxy Vol. 3' surpasses 1m admissions on 4th day

Marvel Studios' new film "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" has surpassed 1 million admissions at the fastest pace among this year's releases in South Korea, its local distributor said Saturday. The film had garnered a cumulative audience of 1.02 million as of midnight Friday, the fourth day of its release, according to Walt Disney Company Korea. It became the fastest film to surpass 1 million admissions this year, outpacing the year's top-grossing films, which include the

May 6, 2023

'The Story of Dreams: Picture Brides' wins award at Houston Film Fest

The documentary “The Story of Dreams: Picture Brides” received an award at the 56th-edition of Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. The South Korean documentary won the Silver Remi at the film festival, founded in 1968 and the third-oldest film festival in the US. Past winners of the annual festival include Steven Spielberg. The film festival ran from April 25 to 30 in Houston. Created by filmmakers Song Ji-hwan, Lee Jeong-tae and Jo Hyun-woo, “The Story of Dreams: Pi

May 5, 2023

[Box office] Movies in theaters this week

“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3” (US) Opened May 3 Action Directed by James Gunn The American superhero franchise concludes its trilogy by looking deeper into the story of Rocket, and showing how Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, gathers his team to defend the universe and complete the last mission to protect the Guardians. “Dream” (South Korea) Opened April 26 Drama Directed by Lee Byeong-heon Yoon Hong-dae (Park Seo-joon), a professional football play

May 5, 2023

Japanese film 'There is a Stone' wins grand prize at Jeonju IFF

The 24th Jeonju International Film Festival announced its award winners on Wednesday evening during a ceremony that took place at Jeonbuk National University's Samsung Cultural Center in Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. A total of 17 awards in four categories -- international competition, Korean competition, Korean competition for shorts and special award -- were given out. Under the international competition category, Ota Tatsunari won the grand prize with his film, "There is a Stone.&q

May 3, 2023

Among Korean films at Jeonju IFF, queer films stand out

This year’s Jeonju International Film Festival, which opened on April 27, has nominated films of various genres and topics to the Korean competition, but what really stood out were the queer films that were nominated. “Of 111 Korean films that were submitted for the Korean competition section, we chose 8 feature films, two documentaries and one experimental documentary as finalists. A total of 11 films are nominated and they are either the first or second project of the filmmakers. I

May 3, 2023