As One / <코리아> 2012

Directed by: Moon Heon-seong / 문현성
Release date: May 2012

After years of beating each other in international meets, then losing against the powerhouse Chinese team, the two Koreas come together to field a combined table-tennis team, the first time for such a sports team in the fifty years since the division of the Korean peninsula. The story is based on real people and events of 1991. First, the two sides find working with each other a daunting task, they are so different in conduct and attitude, then the two sides begin to bond.

As a film plot, it’s been done before: disparate individuals are forced to work together as a team to overcome great odds: first they grate, then they bond and overcome the odds. Nothing unexpected here. The film is done well and is fun to watch. It has got to be a hit even in North Korea, as the super-star Bae Doona was cast as the North Korean table-tennis team leader!  

My take: 4 stars

 The first day of training as a combined team:

the film emphasizes the style differences between

the South Korean and North Korean teams.

Two Weddings and a Funeral <두 번의 결혼식과 한 번의 장례식>, 2012

Directed by: Kim-Jho Kwang-soo / 김조광수
Release date: June 2012

Min-soo and Hyo-jin are doctors working in the same but they have a huge problem: if the hospital discovers their sexual orientation—they are both gay—it would mean the end of their job. Their solution: get married to each other, purely a marriage of convenience, and live across the hall from each other with their respective partners. It seems like a workable solution, but trying to pass off their marriage as real to their families and, eventually, the world at large, proves more difficult than they had hoped.

A very fun film to watch, also a very annoying one. The earth-moved-and-angels-wept cinematic effects for romance—in this film, between two men—were a hoot to watch. On the other hand, too many of the plot twists were unlikely and seemed comic-bookish. The hyper-femininity of most of the gay male characters in the film got to be a bit cloying to watch, giving the film an anti-gay feeling, a surprise considering the director Kim Cho himself is a “spokes director” for the gay community and outspoken in his views.  

My take: 3 stars

Five gay friends discuss “sham marriages”,

marriages to keep one’s sexual orientation a secret

from an intolerant society (Kim Dong-yoon, Park Jeong-pyo,

Park Soo-young, Kim Joon-beom, and Lee Seung-joon).

Dangerously Excited <나는 공무원이다> / 2012

Directed by: Koo Ja-hong / 구자홍
Release date: July 2012

Mr. Han is a civil servant in the Mapo district office, working and living in Hong-dae—the clamorous and glamorous center of nightlife for the youth of Seoul. He prides himself on his uneventful lifestyle: off to work and back to home again at the same time every day, never losing his temper with the most unreasonable complaints that come into his office, and evenings spent enjoying TV at home. His life may be repetitive and dull, but that’s the way he likes it. One day, this straight-laced public official will meet up a spirited indie band. The band and the official are repeatedly thrown together, first testing Han’s temper like never before, and then Han begins to change.

A well-crafted film, from beginning to end, with some nice, edgy, indie camera work. The film is driven by music, wacky humor, and the idea that people can change and that change can be awesome!  

My take: 5 stars!

An old dog learns new musical tricks,

with a little help from his new friends

(Yoon Je-moon, Seo Hyeon-jeong, and Seong Joon).

U.F.O. 2012

Directed by: Kong Quee-hyun / 공귀현
Release date: May 2012

High-school student Soon-kyu is kind of gentle and moony and fairly naïve. As class president, things take a strange turn for him when he and three of his more misfit classmates catch sight of a UFO. The four set off for a mountain famous for its UFO sightings. Upon arrival, a local high-school girl, Ji-hyun, tells them to clear off and go back to Seoul, but it only eggs them on. Thanks to some heavy drinking on the mountain, Soon-kyu blacks out. Eventually, all four are hauled into the police station for questioning as the high-school girl, Ji-hyun, has disappeared. Their story is that they were abducted by aliens in the mountains, all except for Soon-kyu who can’t remember a thing.  He will return to the mountain, seeking his own answers for what took place that night.

Very well filmed and acted. The filmmaker has one wondering why this film was not categorized as science fiction … until the shocker ending. I would have preferred a bit more explanation for how it all went down, but that is just my preference; the director left some motivations as a mystery.  

My take: 4 stars

The four students at the police station being questioned

about the girl’s disappearance, still insisting they have been

on a space ship the whole time (Kim Chang-hwan,

Park Sang-hyeok, Jeong Yeong-gi, Lee Joo-Seung).

Superstar / <슈퍼스타> 2012

Directed by: Lim Jin-soon / 임진순
Release date: June 2012

Jin-soo is an unemployed film director, killing time waiting for news on whether his current project, his third attempt, will get funded. His friend, Tae-wook, is a character actors in B-level ganster films. Tae-wook shows up in a fancy rented car, insisting that, as filmmakers, they musto go to the Busan International Film Festival. In Busan, they crash parties, carouse, meet groupies, and even catch part of a film!

An engaging muse on what minor filmmakers and actors might do at film festivals, the film is backgrounded at the BIFF, with a number of stars playing cameos of themselves to add verisimilitude. If watching this film doesn't make you want to book a plane ticket for Busan for October, I don't know what will. If you love film,  you'll love this film!  

My take: 5 stars!

Our filmmakers crash a festival party where the introverted

director Jin-soo (Song Sam-dong) is urged by the garrulous

actor Tae-wook (Kim Jeong-tae) to get out there and start networking.

Glove / <글러브> 2011

Directed by: Kang Woo-seok / 강우석
Release date: January 2011

Kim Sang-nam, a heavy-drinking, hot-tempered professional baseball player on probation, is “volunteered” by his manager to coach a high school team at a school for the deaf in the countryside in order to rectify his bad image and get back into baseball. At first, Kim is a reluctant recruit for the job but the troubles of the star pitcher on the team nudge his interest and he begins to take his coaching position seriously and puts his heart into preparing the team for the Korean high-school baseball nationals. Apparently, the film is based on a true story.

As a film plot, it’s been done before: over-the-hill/in-bad-graces professional must scale down and go help out: at first she/he is unhappy, but then she/he gets with the program and everybody ends up winning. This film was a cross between Radio Star (Lee Joon-ik 2006) and Take Off (Kim Yong-hwa 2009), with a little My Piano (Kwon Hyeong-jin  2006) thrown in. Despite the trite plot, the film works and, for the most part, kept our interest. It was way too long, though (144 minutes) for a feel-good vehicle and could have been edited to tighten it up.

My take: 3 stars

The regular “coaches” get an earful from the

reluctant pro-baseball player “volunteer coach”

the first time he gets to see the team play

(Kang Shin-il, Yoo Seon, and Jeong Jae-yeong).

Mapado / <마파도> 2005

Directed by: Choo Chang-min / 추창민
Release date: March 2005

A former gangster, now proprietor of a bookstore/coffee shop (he can’t make up his mind, apparently) is fond of playing the lottery. In fact, he has entered the same numbers, week after week, for years. As usual, he sends one of the hostesses who works in his coffee shop to buy the ticket and on her way back, when she realizes those numbers have won, she disappears with the ticket. He hires a crooked cop and send him out with his younger brother to hunt her down … and it turns out her “hometown” is a tiny island, now inhabited by a handful of irascible older women. The two “hit men” first grate, then fall in with, life on the island, while they wait. The hostess “with the ticket” finally shows up, then the gangster with an entire crew arrive and chaos on the island ensues.

An interesting idea, some great acting, but a disappointing script. I enjoyed watching this film but it could have been so much more.  

My take:  3 stars

Island women meet Seoul toughs …

and feed them dinner.