Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
“Burn the Stage: The Movie” is a taut, entertaining look at BTS — the world’s most famous boy band. While the music, choreography and comic elements will endear the group to moviegoers, it’s their kindness that I remembered long after I had left the theater.
“My Love, Don’t Cross That River” is a love story that shows there is beauty to be found in everyday life, even with death looming. A languid documentary about an elderly couple that has been married for more than 70 years, the 86-minute film — which is both tranquil and heartbreaking — is deftly directed by Jin Mo-Young.
If you could re-live a part of your life, knowing that the time you had with your loved ones would be fleeting, would you risk it? The Korean feature film “Be With You” (지금 만나러 갑니다) offers this intriguing concept. It wasn’t perfect, but it made my heart hurt … and happy.
The first Korean film to be shot in the Caribbean, “Way Back Home” was shot in a real women’s prison, with some of the actual guards and detainees serving as background characters. The filmmakers clearly believe that while Jang Mi-Jeong (the woman on whom the movie is based) may have been guilty, her crime was less egregious than the way the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handled her case.
In a review that ran in the New York Times, film critic Jeannette Catsoulis gave “Ode to My Father” a big thumbs down for being “syrupy” and for having “packaged pain … likely to leave Western audiences cold.” While there is no doubt that director Yoo Je-Kyoon would’ve loved for American audiences to embrace his movie, it’s also undeniable that this film was not made with Western moviegoers in mind. It was made for Koreans.
“Secretly, Greatly” starts off as a comedy and veers off into a drama with a graphic, violent ending. Had the film stuck to one genre, the result would’ve been more cohesive and effective. Still, it’s a worthwhile film that will keep viewers on the edge of their seats. Kim Soo-Hyun shows impressive range in his dual portrayal of a North Korean spy and the dimwitted village idiot that’s his cover.
A blockbuster hit in Korea, “Thieves” features an all-star cast that includes Jun Ji-Hyun and Lee Jung-Jae. (The duo shared the big screen in the 2000 film “Il Mare” — the film that was later remade as “The Lake House” with Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock.)
Don’t let this sunny photo fool you. “Always” (오직 그대만) just about broke my heart. Both So Ji Sub and Han Hyo Joo are appealing in their roles. They convey the right emotions, without being maudlin or resorting to histrionics. Some might say that the ending was cheesy, but I found it to be delightful and full of hope.
Released in 2004, “Once Upon a Time in High School” is set in 1978. During this time-frame, South Korea was ruled under the brutal dictatorship of Park Chung-hee (the father of Korea’s current president Park Geun-hye). The movie depicts a bleak period where students had few rights and teachers could beat them at will. There’s a trickle down factor to that kind of abuse. The boys settle their differences not with words, but with fists, chairs and bats.
A huge hit in South Korea, where it was filmed, “Miss Granny” doesn’t have a unique plot. But, director Hwang Dong-hyuk deftly takes an old premise (an elderly woman finds herself magically transformed into a 20 year old) and adds some new twists and social commentary. The result? A charming comedy full of music and scenes that will tug at your heart.