After a break for the 4th of July, the SOUTH KOREAN FILM FESTIVAL resumes this THURSDAY at 8pm in 120 DAVID LAWRENCE HALL.
The newest and most spectacular films from the series are still ahead, including:
This week, July 10: SOPYONJE (Im Kwon-taek, 1993)
Possibly the most famous Korean film ever made, Sopyonje was the first Korean "blockbuster," drawing more than 1 million viewers to theaters in S. Korea. A serenely beautiful period piece set in part during the Japanese colonization of Korea, this film brought renewed attention to the art of p'ansori, the telling of stories through song. An elegiac tale of three itinerant singers, it also has political overtones.
July 17: THE DAY A PIG FELL INTO THE WELL (Hong Sang-su, 1996)
Critically acclaimed and award winner at many film festivals, The Day a Pig Fell Into the Well innovates film structure by interweaving four narratives, following various characters seemingly at the end of their rope. Made one of the major auteurs of New Korean Cinema, this difficult and ambitious film pries into the violence and desperation of modern life.
July 24: I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OKAY (Park Chan-wook, 2006)
Cult director of the revenge trilogy (Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy, Lady Vengeance), Park brings his odd sense of humor to this tale of patients in a mental institution, including one girl who fancies herself a cyborg. Co-starring Jung Ji-hoon (better known as the Asian pop star "Bi" or "Rain"), this quirky love story revisits the theme of the difficulty of communication.
July 31: SECRET SUNSHINE (Lee Chang-dong, 2007)
This intense and brutally realistic film won its star, Jeon Do-yeon, the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Film Festival. A haunting investigation of loss and the aftermath of trauma, Secret Sunshine uses cinematic language to show us images of pathos-filled beauty.
More detailed descriptions of the films are available on the Film Studies Events page: http://www.pitt.edu/~filmst/events/fy07-08events/Korean_Film_Festival.pdf
*All films are Thursdays at 8pm in 120 David Lawrence Hall on the Pitt campus. Screenings are free and open to the university community. Films will be projected from DVD.*
Co-sponsored by the Film Studies Program. If you have any questions or comments, please email Tanine at tanineallison@gmail.com , Seung-hwan at tonio1017@gmail.com, or Candice at candicewilson@hotmail.com.
