Jang Sun-woo
Prominent film critic Tony Rayns has long been a supporter of Korean cinema. This film illustrates Rayns’ affection for Korean cinema through interviews of Korean cineastes that have a special affinity for him, including JANG Sun-woo, LEE Chang-dong and HONG Sang-soo among others.
Jang Su-ro lives in the slums of Korea with his three sons 963, Dog Nose and So-and-So, who just got out of prison. While So-and-So's loyalties to his mob boss and biological family are put to the test when he finds that his family's home is slated to be demolished by the mob's developers, the rest of the family's life is complicated with the arrival of Sun-yi, Jang's new girlfriend who annoys Dog Nose and attracts the affections of 963.
To Chinese restaurant delivery boy 'Ju', the only joy in life is spending time at the electronic game room. One day, 'Ju' who was engrossed in an electronic game as usual, is advised to log-on to a game called RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL. The match selling girl of Andersen's fairytale is revived through the game, and 'Ju' is drawn into the little girl's virtual reality. As reality and cyberspace interchange, 'Ju', like in the famous fairytale, is given the mission to save the little girl from danger and lead her to a peaceful death. However, the two are not only confronted by a gigantic force called the System, that attempts to stop them, but other obstacles that place their lives in danger...
Known to court controversy with erotic films like LIES, maverick Korean filmmaker Jang Sun-woo is the subject of the 2001 documentary THE JANG SUN-WOO VARIATIONS. Directed and narrated by British film critic and scholar Tony Rayns, who is well known for his work with Asian cinema, THE JANG SUN-WOO VARIATIONS offers a fascinating profile of Jang's life, mind, and work as he prepares two films, an animated shamanist feature and RESURRECTION OF THE LITTLE MATCH GIRL. The documentary gives voice to Jang through candid interviews and an in-depth look into his films and career, while also placing his work in a wider social and cinematic context and examining the controversy surrounding LIES.
A compilation of episodes from the lives of several of the amateur actors' (who are 'bad teens' and the homeless of Seoul) own experiences, this film sheds light on the dark side of Korean society. Feeling alienated and persecuted, they wonder about and come into conflict with the 'good people' who persist in trying to reform them. They have their own reason for remaining as they are and resist attempts to reform them: they cannot change simply because they are bad.
A young girl is caught up in the 1980 Gwangju massacre, where Korean soldiers killed hundreds, if not thousands, of protesters who opposed the country's takeover by the military the year before. Flashbacks show the girl seeing her mother shot to death in the massacre. The film spurred the Korean public to demand the truth behind the incident, and their government eventually opened previously classified files on the massacre.
A young boy mourns the death of his father, and begins a quest to find his mother. He encounters many people on the way who quote Buddhist precepts: an eccentric monk, a girl who grows up into a young woman, a prison inmate, a foul-mouthed doctor and the young son of a hard drinking astronomer. Each of them tell the boy to seek someone to help him find the truth and his mother.
R returns from studying in France and reunites with J, whom he used to live with in Paris.
Bae Il-do, who feels unappreciated in his rural village, runs away from home and works as a tailor. His wife grew up under a harsh stepmother and worked as a housekeeper and bar hostess before meeting Il-do, for whom she bore a child. The young and attractive Gong-rye comes between them, having an affair with Il-do while working with him in a garment factory. Their secret meetings don't remain secret for long and Il-do's wife inevitably finds out...
Reporter for a North Korean news service joins the partisans when the Americans and UN forces invade South Korea.
Kim Pan-chok (means “sales promotion”) is assigned to work in the sales promotion department of Yumi Inc., a sweetener manufacturer. He falls ill after a heated sales war with Gammi Inc., a leading competitor and is hospitalized. He devises a genius plan while in the hospital.
Escaping from a hospital for the mentally disturbed, a man calling himself Jesus goes to Seoul. He feels he must save Seoul from judgement by fire by finding a woman who knows the meaning of true love.
