[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Samjin Company English Class (Korea) Opened Oct. 21 Drama Directed by Lee Jong-pil 　 In 1995, three women -- Lee Ja-young (Ko Ah-sung), Jung Yoo-na (E Som) and Sim Bo-ram (Park Hye-soo) -- have been working at their company for eight years. Though they’re all good at their jobs, they lack college diplomas and are constantly passed over for promotions. Then the company announces the start of an English class, promising that employees who attain scores of 600 or higher will be offered promo

Oct. 30, 2020

Gong Yoo, Park Bo-gum team up in film about first human clone ‘Seobok’

Actor Gong Yoo is returning to the big screen with Park Bo-gum in “Seobok,” a film about the first human clone, The upcoming film which is set to be released in December will draw the bromance between the two main characters played by Gong Yoo and Park. “The director told us to use Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise’s relationship in ‘Rain Man’ as our reference. In the movie, Seo-bok is constantly curious, seeing the real world for the first time, and Ki-hun bec

Oct. 27, 2020

Local OTT platform Wavve features movies for two French film festivals

A selection of French films began screening on local over-the-top platform Wavve on Tuesday, in conjunction with two French film festivals. The first French film festival, running from Tuesday to Nov. 4, is being held jointly with the Institut Francais in Seoul. Nine French movies recommended by Korean film director Ryoo Seung-wan, including comedy “Redoubtable,” written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, will be presented. Ryoo, who made his directorial debut in 2000, is known

Oct. 27, 2020

Kurosawa: I didn't need great courage to make film on Japan's wartime crime

Japanese director Kiyoshi Kurosawa said Monday that it didn't take a great deal of courage to make his Venice-winning film that directly deals with his country's wartime atrocities. "It didn't require strong determination or bravery," the prolific director said in an official press conference for "Wife of a Spy" at the 25th Busan International Film Festival (BIFF). "I just thought I have to tell the story based on historical facts." The winner of best director at

Oct. 26, 2020

KOFIC selects 'The Man Standing Next' for 2021 Oscar submission

The Korean Film Council announced Wednesday that “The Man Standing Next” by director Woo Min-ho was chosen out of the 13 films that applied for submission for the Oscar for best international feature film. The 13 movie submissions included “Peninsula” by Yeon Sang-ho, “Deliver Us from Evil” by Hong Won-chan and “Beasts that Cling to the Straw” by Kim Yong-hoon, among others. “We had a lot of discussion as to which movie made this year has t

Oct. 24, 2020

‘Minari,’ more than a memoir of immigrant experience

Director of family drama “Minari,” which won top prizes at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, said US audiences have come to embrace Korean films since director Bong Joon-ho’s ”Parasite” won multiple Oscars. “It’s (‘Minari’ winning the awards is) surprising. I think it is less surprising after ‘Parasite,’” director Lee Isaac Chung said during a press conference held via Zoom on Friday as part of the Busan International Film

Oct. 23, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Voice of Silence (Korea) Opened Oct. 15 Crime, Drama Directed by Hong Eui-jeong Tae-in (Yoo Ah-in) has the unusual job of disposing of corpses and cleaning up crime scenes for an organized crime syndicate, along with Chang-bok (Yoo Jae-myung). One day, Tae-in and Chang-bok become responsible for taking care of a girl (Moon Seung-ah) when her kidnapper, a member of a criminal organization, suddenly dies. Unhinged (US) Opened Oct. 7 Thriller, Action Directed by Derrick Borte Rachel Hunter (C

Oct. 23, 2020

'The Man Standing Next' chosen as S. Korea's 2021 Oscars entry

A political thriller depicting the intense power struggle among former President Park Chung-hee's top aides before one of them assassinated him in 1979 will represent South Korea in next year's Oscars. The Korean Film Council (KOFIC) said Thursday that it has chosen "The Man Standing Next" out of 13 films as the country's entry for the best international feature film category of the 93rd Academy Awards. The selection came after South Korean director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite"

Oct. 22, 2020

Busan International Film Festival kicks off without fanfare

The 25th Busan International Film Festival kicked off Wednesday for a 10-day run in a year that has seen many film festivals around the world canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this year’s BIFF is a much scaled down version with all large crowd-attracting events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, outdoor greetings and open talk sessions canceled. “Many leading overseas film festivals were canceled due to COVID-19, but we decided to hold it, as we have trust i

Oct. 21, 2020

Two more Korean movies likely to debut on Netflix amid pandemic

A local distributor of two South Korean movies is considering releasing the films on Netflix without theatrical runs as the novel coronavirus pandemic has disrupted their opening schedules, a company official said Friday. The thriller "Call," starring Park Shin-hye, was first planned to hit local screens in March, but the release has been postponed for several months due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The distributor has also been struggling to fix the release date for the crime thriller

Oct. 16, 2020

[Box Office] Movies in theaters this week

Where’d You Go, Bernadette? (US) Opened Oct. 8 Comedy Directed by Richard Linklater Architect-turned-recluse Bernadette Fox (Cate Blanchett) lives in Seattle with her husband Elgin Branch (Billy Crudup), and their 15-year-old daughter Balakrishna (Emma Nelson). One day, Bernadette’s daughter requests a family trip to Antarctica, which she reluctantly agrees to. As Bernadette prepares for the trip with her Siri-like virtual assistant named Manjula in India, an FBI agent comes to Be

Oct. 16, 2020

Seoul International Pride Film Festival to proceed with in-person screenings of 105 movies

The Seoul International Pride Film Festival, a festival featuring movies telling the stories of sexual minorities, will take place Nov. 5 - 11 at CGV Myeongdong Station Cine Library in Seoul. “Due to the pandemic, many film festivals are either going online or have been canceled. However, we decided to hold the festival offline as the situation in Korea is improving,“ Head of Executive Committee Kim Jho Gwang-soo said during a press conference on Tuesday. ”Initially, we plan

Oct. 13, 2020

Park Chan-wook’s new film to start shooting in October

South Korean director Park Chan-wook will start shooting his new film, “Decision to Leave,” in October, having cast all the main characters. Tang Wei and Park Hye-il will star as the protagonists. Lee Jung-hyun, Go Kyung-pyo and Park Yong-woo are also part of the cast. The new movie centers on a polite and honest police officer named Hye-jun, played by Park Hye-il. Hye-jun looks into a suspicious death that occurred on a mountain and comes to suspect the dead man’s wife, Se

Oct. 13, 2020

For Yoo Ah-in, trust was key in playing character with no lines

Actor Yoo Ah-in said he put no extra effort into playing a character with no lines in the upcoming crime drama “Voice of Silence.” “There was no extra preparation for the character. I just tried to form a stronger trust in director Hong Eui-jung and actor Yoo Jae-myung,” Yoo Ah-in said Monday during an online press conference. Tae-in, Yoo Ah-in’s character in the movie, has the unusual job of disposing of corpses and cleaning up crime scenes for an organized crim

Oct. 12, 2020

Family movie 'Pawn' tops 1m admissions on 11th day

"Pawn," a South Korean human drama about a debt collector and his new family, has topped 1 million admissions here, data showed Monday. The family movie attracted 1.07 million viewers Friday, passing the 1 million milestone in 11 days since its release on Sept. 29, according to the data compiled by the Korean Film Council. After debuting at No. 2 on its opening day, the film moved up to the top spot the next day and has since dominated the local box office. Its total viewers stood at

Oct. 12, 2020

Kim Hye-soo returns as police officer in ‘The Day I Died’

Actress Kim Hye-soo, who played an impressive police officer in the hit TV series “Signal,” is returning to the big screen as a cop in “The Day I Died.” “At first, I was aware of the fact that Hyun-soo is a police officer character (like Soo-hyun in Signal.) But for Hyun-soo, I could naturally focus more on portraying her emotions and less on her occupation,” Kim said during an online press briefing on Thursday. “I expect audiences will feel the same wa

Oct. 9, 2020

‘KKUM’ wins Grand Prize and Public Prize at OIAF

Director Kim Kang-min became the first Korean to take home both the Nelvana Grand Prize for Independent Short and the Public Prize at the 44th Ottawa International Animation Festival, with his short film “KKUM” on Saturday. “KKUM,” meaning “dream” in Korean, is a black-and-white stop-motion animation about a mother who has prophetic dreams of the dangers her son will face and how the son matures in her love. “Winning the Grand Award at Ottawa was one

Oct. 6, 2020

S. Korean cinemas see 70% drop in revenue due to protracted coronavirus pandemic

The combined revenue for South Korean movie theaters declined by over 70 percent as the new coronavirus pandemic has continued for months, according to a lawmaker Monday. Cinemas across the country posted revenue of 415.1 billion won ($356.9 million) in the first nine months of this year, more than a 70 percent fall from 1.448 trillion won a year ago, Rep. Park Jeung of the ruling Democratic Party said. The number of moviegoers also fell by some 70 percent, from 170 million to 48 million, over

Oct. 5, 2020

Netflix to show Korean American director Caroline Suh’s Blackpink doc

Netflix on Monday said its highly anticipated K-pop documentary “Blackpink: Light Up the Sky,” directed by Korean American film director Caroline Suh, is set to premiere on Oct. 14. Once the film is released, Blackpink will be the fourth female act featured in a Netflix original documentary, following Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Taylor Swift. The documentary will mainly feature Blackpink’s short but intense journey to K-pop superstardom now from rookies in 2016. It also will hav

Oct. 5, 2020

‘Samjin Company English Class’ brings back ’90s vibe

It was the ’90s vibe that director Lee Jong-pil was after in his upcoming film “Samjin Company English Class,” which captures the mood of the country when it was on the cusp of globalization. The viewers are first introduced to three young women who work for Samjin Company -- Lee Ja-young, played by Ko Ah-sung, Jung Yoo-na, played by E Som, and Sim Bo-ram, played by Park Hye-soo. The year is 1995. The three women have been working at the company for eight years and are bett

Sept. 28, 2020