Jae-Hyun Cho

  • Ki-duk Kim – Nabbeun namja AKA Bad Guy (2001)

    Ki-duk Kim2001-2010CrimeDramaSouth Korea
    Nabbeun namja (2001)
    Nabbeun namja (2001)

    In busy downtown Seoul, a thuggish young man notices a fresh-faced college student who sits on a bench. He stares then sits next to her. She looks at him as if he’s vermin, rises and walks to another bench. He sits staring. Her boyfriend arrives, she points to the stranger, the boyfriend shrugs and puts his arm around her to walk away. The stranger starts to leave as well, turns, goes to them, takes her face firmly in his hands and kisses her long and hard. The boyfriend tries unsuccessfully to break them apart, then soldiers beat the stranger. She demands an apology. He is silent. She slaps him and spits on him. They leave. The next day, he sets out to ruin her. How can this end?Read More »

  • Ki-duk Kim – Yasaeng dongmul bohoguyeog AKA Wild Animals (1996)

    Ki-duk Kim1991-2000AsianDramaSouth Korea

    IMDB:
    Two Korean ex-pats meet in Paris by chance encounter. One a petty thief and wannabe artist/painter (Chong-Hae), the other a tough guy (Hong San). Hong San saves Chong-Hae from a gang of thugs and the two become friends. Seizing an opportunity, Chong-Hae and Hong San perform martial arts stunts on the streets for money. A French mobster spots them and recruits the duo as hit men. While in Paris Chong-Hae falls in love with a statue-performer and Hong San yearns for the affections of a local peep-show stripper. After much backstabbing and being caught-up in murder; the duo find themselves at war with their mobster recruiters and each other. Written by Alex L Read More »

  • Ki-duk Kim – Ag-o aka Crocodile (1996)

    Drama1991-2000Ki-duk KimSouth Korea

    Quote:
    I often quote Kim Ki-Duk as my favourite director of all time, partly because of his prolific output (I’m glad he numbers his films, I was losing count!) and his consistently emotional style. While I absolutely adore the “new-wave” Kim Ki-Duk (3-Iron, Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter…And Spring, The Bow), I also thoroughly enjoy his earlier, grittier films (The Isle, Address Unknown). This film, his debut, is possibly the best and grittiest of the early films. In a setting that stands somewhere between urban and rural, and filled with Kim Ki-Duk’s beloved water motif, we see three misfits (a boy, the title character Crocodile and an elderly man) inexplicably living together on a platform under a bridge. Read More »

  • Ki-duk Kim – Seom AKA The Isle [+commentary] (2000)

    1991-2000DramaKi-duk KimSouth KoreaThriller

    Quote:
    An artistic, shocking love story that disturbed audiences and confused almost all critics that couldn’t see beyond the disturbing images. A mute girl maintains a fishing resort where people stay in floating mini-houses while fishing, resting and using prostitutes. She services them in any way she can in order to make ends meet but the crude clientele annoy her often, forcing her at times to take revenge. Along comes a brooding, suicidal client with a dark past. Will they connect through their pain or treat each other like animals? Full of beautiful scenery, poetically breathtaking symbolism, animalistic sex and behaviour, and notorious for its faint-inducing scenes involving fish-hooks.Read More »

  • Kwon-taek Im – Chun nyun hack AKA Across The Years AKA Beyond the Years (2007)

    2001-2010DramaKwon-taek ImMusicalSouth Korea

    Synopsis:
    Adopted by a nomadic pansori singer, Dong Ho (Cho Jae Hyun) and Song Hwa (Oh Jung Hae) grow up as brother and sister, bounded by a deep unspoken affection. Their father trains them strictly, and Song Hwa’s love and talent for pansori becomes both her blessing and her burden. Young and brash, Dong Ho tries to keep pace as a traditional drum player, but eventually leaves the family in search of a better life. Though in the ensuing years he encounters news places and new people, he can never forget his love for Song Hwa. Together and apart, reunion and separation, the two keep moving in different directions while restlessly chasing each other’s shadows. Dong Ho spends a lifetime trying to find a place he belongs, a way to Song Hwa’s heart.Read More »

  • Hyuk Byun – Interview (2000)

    1991-2000ArthouseAsianDogma FilmsHyuk ByunSouth Korea

    29f7c043f76a2bde437fd0d52a185152

    Interview follows a film crew while they sort through interviews to make a movie, which may or may not be a documentary, about destined love. In the process, the director within this film, Eun-suk (Lee Jung-jae) seems to be destined to fall in love with one of the interviewees, Young-hee (Shim Eun-ha). We learn through a purposely disjointed narrative that this may not have been when Eun-suk met Young-hee for the first time. Added to this temporal disorientation is further doubt in the events unfolding since Young-hee is as unreliable in her interview as Eun-suk is silent about his past.Read More »

Back to top button