Riding the Korean Wave
August 1, 2011 10:05 PM   Subscribe

한(汗) or Han [Click larger picture on the left to play the film], by 'The Chaser' and 'The Yellow Sea' film director, Na Hong-jin, is a Korean avant-garde short film in the vein of Maya Deren. If you liked that one and would like something a little more silly, check out: 완벽한 도미요리 (Cooking the perfect bream)
posted by Knigel (13 comments total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
I literally just finished watching The Yellow Sea like two hours ago. The Chaser was better but it was a good gritty thriller nevertheless.

This portion of my comment was going to be about the short film you've linked, but the link doesn't work for me, so it's about that now. I'm looking forward to seeing it, though.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 10:16 PM on August 1, 2011


I know I'm gonna be a minority here, but I actually preferred The Yellow Sea to The Chaser. The Chaser just struck me as being a so-so, hum-drum Korean thriller, but The Yellow Sea conveys a sense of place really powerfully, and it's a place that we really don't see portrayed much of anywhere at all.

I'll watch The Yellow Sea again, whereas I wouldn't watch The Chaser again.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:57 PM on August 1, 2011


Um, none of the Youefo links work for me.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 10:58 PM on August 1, 2011


Hrm, that's strange, they seem to work for some people, but not others. I checked them all and they work fine for me. Could it be a browser issue? I'm on Firefox. Perhaps location? I'm in Korea.
posted by Knigel at 11:06 PM on August 1, 2011


I'm on Firefox too. I suspect it's a location/dns thing. The message I get says "Firefox can't find the server at www.youefo.com" which generally happens when DNS isn't resolving the address.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 11:10 PM on August 1, 2011


Where did you guys see THE YELLOW SEA? I really dug THE CHASER, it was a neat little twist on all the Korean revenge hammer-death films.
posted by PostIronyIsNotaMyth at 11:56 PM on August 1, 2011


Feel free to send me a private message if you want The Yellow Sea.
posted by Knigel at 12:12 AM on August 2, 2011


Found these low-res versions Cooking the Perfect Bream that work in the US, on Firefox. Hurry, hurry, who know how much traffic their servers can handle?

Site One

Site Two
posted by Purposeful Grimace at 1:06 AM on August 2, 2011 [2 favorites]


Speaking of Korean revenge hammer-death films, I watched a great one this weekend.

32nd July was the darkest k-movie I've seen in ages. Doesn't have the polish of Na Hong-jin's stuff, but worth a watch nonetheless.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:42 AM on August 2, 2011


Also, I really liked Cooking the Perfect Sea Bream. It reminded me of all those Korean cooking genre movies, a la Le Grand Chef
posted by PeterMcDermott at 1:51 AM on August 2, 2011


Peter! You are so evil! After reading you comment and then watching the clip, I kept expecting the hammer death. First I was all like "Oh no! He's going to murder the child!" and then I remembered that this is a Korean film and thought "That little girl is going to beat the man with a hammer! Oooooo Yeah!" (I know, I'm ageist). Unfortunately, that clip is rather anti-climatic after all of my internal dialogue .
posted by Knigel at 2:15 AM on August 2, 2011


The clip might be anti-climactic, but the actual story is much worse than you imagine.

If the Korean national characteristic is supposed to be Han, "a feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered, a sense of helplessness because of the overwhelming odds against one, a feeling of acute pain in one's guts and bowels, making the whole body writhe and squirm, and an obstinate urge to take revenge and to right the wrong—all these combined", 32nd July is the Korean film that, to me at least, seems to most personify that feeling. It's a toss up between that and Seopyeonje, but Seopyeonje is a more self-conscious, arty exploration of han as being central to Korean cultural identity (IMO), whereas this is much more authentic because of it's pulp/exploitation characteristics (again, IMO).

I do love Korean cinema.
posted by PeterMcDermott at 3:42 AM on August 2, 2011


If the Korean national characteristic is supposed to be Han, "a feeling of unresolved resentment against injustices suffered, a sense of helplessness because of the overwhelming odds against one, a feeling of acute pain in one's guts and bowels, making the whole body writhe and squirm, and an obstinate urge to take revenge and to right the wrong—all these combined"...

You mean this isn't how everyone feels?
posted by curious nu at 5:32 AM on August 2, 2011


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