Korean films may be generating buzz at Cannes, but on Tuesday
nights they can be caught for free right here at UCLA.
Tuesday, May 25 marks the fifth night of the “Seven Nights
of Korean Cinema” film festival at UCLA, which began April 27
and runs through June 8. During the festival, every Tuesday two
Korean films are screened in 1422 Melnitz Hall. The event is
organized by graduate student Sangjoon Lee of the UCLA Department
of Film, Television and Digital Media’s critical studies
program.
“A lot of people in the film department didn’t know
much about Korean films,” Lee said. “It’s a
problem in the United States. I was a little bit upset that people
were not interested in Korean cinema.”
But judging by recent indications, this will not prove to be a
problem for long. Korean cinema is currently enjoying an
unprecedented level of popular and critical success and seems to be
on the verge of breaking into the international film scene in a big
way.
Kim Ki-duk’s “Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter”¦
and Spring” has earned high praise from American critics amid
its ongoing run in theaters stateside. And of the 18 films
currently in competition at Cannes, two ““ Park
Chan-wook’s violent, edgy revenge thriller “Old
Boy” and Hong Sangsoo’s romance “Woman is the
Future of Man” ““ are Korean, making Korea one of only
four countries with more than one entry this year. In 2002, Korean
director Im Kwon-taek won one of the two Best Director awards at
the festival for “Chihwaseon.”
Domestically, the Korean film industry has experienced
exponential growth within the last five years, and the country is
now one of a handful where local films outdraw Hollywood imports.
In the past year alone, the films “Taegukgi” and
“Silmido” have shattered box office records, each
selling over an astounding 11 million tickets in a country of 48
million.
“Since the success of “˜Shiri’ in 1999, the
industry has expanded,” Lee said. “All of a sudden
Koreans began to consider that Korean films were worth watching.
Now films have bigger budgets, and very strong
audiences.”
With so much money being pumped into the industry, Hollywood is
getting in on the action. Queen Latifah’s next project is a
remake of the Korean comedy “My Wife is a Gangster.”
Lee’s festival caps off with the screenings of “Old
Boy” and “A Tale of Two Sisters,” each having
sold both distribution as well as remake rights to American
studios.
“Hollywood has a lot to gain financially by looking for
partnerships,” said Jinhee Kim, an assistant professor in the
USC Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures. “Korean
films are hot right now because the storylines and the narrative
strategies are fresh. Even the editing, the way scenes are put
together, is refreshing to audiences used to Hollywood
formulas.”
USC is planning its own, much larger Korean film festival, and
Kim is the program co-director. Dubbed the Los Angeles Korean
International Film Festival, it is scheduled for two consecutive
weekends in late September and early October, and will include
Korean American films as well. LA-KIFF has itself partnered up with
the American Cinematheque, which jumped at the chance to host
Korean films at the historic Egyptian Theater in Hollywood. The
festival promises to be the largest of its kind in North
America.
“I envision it becoming an annual fixture in Los Angeles
for many years to come,” said Kim. “I think Korean
films will see more success, and be more recognized and readily
available than before.”
Financial promise is fueling the business side, but the bright
future of the Korean film industry lies in its young crop of hungry
directors. Park, who directed “Old Boy,” has been
enthusiastically championed by Asian cinephiles, including Quentin
Tarantino, the jury president at Cannes this year no less, and
“Ain’t It Cool News” Harry Knowles, who last
weekend hyped Park as “the most dangerous filmmaker in the
world.” Another director, Lee Chang-dong picked up three
awards at the 2002 Venice Film Festival for his film
“Oasis.” Like most other Korean directors who have
found success, neither Park nor Lee have made more than three
feature films.
“Most of the filmmakers are young and have only made one
or two films,” said Lee. “They’re trying every
different genre ““ not only blockbusters and romantic comedies
but horror, sci-fi, and gay and lesbian films as well.”
UCLA alum Martin Wong, co-editor of Giant Robot, a magazine
covering Asian and Asian American pop culture, has seen an increase
in coverage of Korean cinema.
“It’s new, it’s different, it’s good,
and it’s taking chances,” Wong said. “Not to
unfairly overgeneralize, but Korean pop culture is known for being
preoccupied with new trends. One week Birkenstocks will be huge,
and the next week they’re out. It can work in favor of a
culture when things move really fast. Right now it’s really
an exciting time for Korean cinema. The production values are right
up there with Hollywood.”
Lee added that the biggest successes are yet to come.
“I expect Korean films to become the center of Asian
cinema within five or six years,” he said. “This is
just the starting line.”