Park Chan-wook

Set more than seven years after the world has become a frozen wasteland, the remnants of humanity inhabit a gigantic, perpetually-moving train that circles the globe as class warfare, social injustice and the politics of survival play out.

6.7/10
6.1%

Over many years of division, North and South Korea have become like a hall of mirrors where it is difficult to tell the real from the false. Inspired by real people who have traveled between North and South amid this division, this film depicts a relationship between the two that is so deeply skewed that it is impossible to tell what anyone is working to achieve.

Brilliant young actress Charlie strikes up an acquaintance with an intriguing stranger while on holiday in Greece, but it rapidly becomes apparent that his intentions are far from romantic.

7.4/10
9.5%

For the work Decades Apart commissioned by the Fondation Cartier pour l'art contemporain for the exhibition Highlights, PARKing CHANce has conceived an original immersive 3D sound and image installation. Based on the set of Joint Security Area (JSA) (2000), a movie by Park Chan-wook, new images were filmed for the work and sound treated in a very surprising way to give the visitor a total experience.

1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a young woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering uncle. But, the maid has a secret: she is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese count to help him seduce the heiress to elope with him, rob her of her fortune, and lock her up in a madhouse. The plan seems to proceed according to plan until the women discover some unexpected emotions.

8.1/10
9.5%

After an extremely close national assembly race, Jong-chan wins the nomination of his party. He and his wife Yeon-hong are fully committed to the campaign and when their teenager daughter Min-jin goes missing, Jong-chan convinces Yeon-hong not to notify the authorities fearing negative publicity. With the election imminent, Yeon-hong decides to look for her daughter, but instead uncovers a twisted series of conspiracy, secrets, and lies surrounding Min-jin's disappearance.

6.7/10

Old Days is a documentary about Park Chan-wook's original masterpiece, Oldboy. It was created for Plain Archive's Blu-ray release and first screened at the Jeonju International Film Festival.

7.3/10

A brilliant young CEO from London contemplates the possibility of selling his invention to a mysterious Chinese billionaire. Before actually meeting his potential investor however our protagonist must face a number of challenges in the form of journeys, riddles and the exchange of clothes.

5.6/10

Over 98 days from August 20th to November 25th 2013, 2821 people from around the world sent 11,852 video featuring many different faces of Seoul. 154 were selected, edited, and made into a movie.

6/10

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer, a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.

7.1/10
9.5%

After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.

6.8/10
6.9%

A master and his student visit a mountain to practice pansori (a musical storytelling performed by a singer and a drummer) after a music competition which outcome has left the trainee disappointed.

6.7/10

The boy's mother packs her belongings and leaves her family for another man. The boy gets home only to see that his mother had left and decides to kill her man. He goes to find him with a knife, but gives up the idea as he sees that the man loves his mother deeply.

Director Chung Ji-Young criticizes the thought that older directors have difficulties in making certain movies. Actress Yoon Jin-Seo agonizes over her identity as an actress. In 2009, before the movie "Unbowed" was made, they met and planned a documentary about Korean movies, including the processes a Korean movie goes through and difficulites. "Ari Ari the Korean Cinema" is a documentary with interviews of Korean directors, actors and actresses.

6.6/10

A man casually sets up for a fishing trip at the water's edge. Evening comes and a tug on his line presents him with the body of a woman.

6.5/10

The film is a collection of one-minute short films created by 60 filmmakers from around the world on the theme of the death of cinema.

5.8/10

Discover the roots of Korean cinema. A cinema who surprised by the success recorded in the major international festivals. Interviews to five famous Korean directors, to get to know closely the evolution of Korean cinema. Through their words, their pictures and their stories. The Korean cinema has tendency to describe both the society, the past and the modern. The world of west cinema knows these directors through the journey of some of their movies. What do we know about their thoughts, their life, their culture and their way of working? The documentary focus on it.

7.2/10

Love story. Too hard to believe, and too much to bear.

Sang-hyun, a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly virus. He gets infected and dies, but a blood transfusion of unknown origin brings him back to life as a vampire. Now, Sang-hyun is torn between faith and bloodlust, and has a newfound desire for Tae-ju, the wife of his childhood friend.

7.1/10
8.1%

With her frumpy hair, blushing face, and awkward mannerisms, Yang Mi Sook has spent her entire life being unnoticed. Nicknamed Miss Carrot, she diligently teaches Russian to high school students who don?t listen, and ceaselessly pines after colleague Seo, her crush of ten years. Content with her uneventful, self-delusional existence, Mi Sook is sparked into action when hot young teacher Yuri comes strolling in and steals her class and her man. To nip their blooming romance in the bud, Mi Sook forms an unlikely alliance with Seo?s misfit teenager daughter, who?s every bit as eccentric as she is!

6.3/10

A documentary consisting of twenty-two Korean directors' interviews about Kim Ki-young and respect for his work and the influence

South Korean cinema is in the throes of a creative explosion where mavericks are encouraged and masters are venerated. But from where has this phenomenon emerged? What is the culture that has yielded this range of filmmakers? With The Nine Lives of Korean Cinema, French critic, writer and documentarian Hubert Niogret provides a broad overview but, nevertheless, an excellent entry point into this unique type of national cinema that still remains a mystery for many people. The product of a troubled social and political history, Korean cinema sports an identity that is unique in much modern film. Niogret's documentary tells of the country's cinematic history - the ups along with the downs - and gives further voice to the artists striving to express their concerns, fears and aspirations.

6.5/10

Young-goon, mentally deranged and frequently electro-charging herself with a transistor radio, has been admitted into a mental institution. Firmly believing herself to be a cyborg, she refuses to consume like a human being. Il-soon is another patient, who catches the eye of Young-goon and soon becomes a close friend. Il-soon is now confronted with the biggest task - to cure Young-goon’s mental problem and have her eat real food.

7.1/10
9.2%

After a 13-year imprisonment for the kidnap and murder of a 6 year old boy, beautiful Lee Guem-ja starts seeking revenge on the man that was really responsible for the boy's death. With the help of fellow inmates and reunited with her daughter, she gets closer and closer to her goal. But will her actions lead to the relief she seeks?

7.6/10
7.6%

Ne-mo is a thirteen year-old boy growing up in 1980s South Korea, and is the only child of a single mother who runs a watch repair shop in their small town. Having never met his father, Ne-mo resolves to marry a single mother when he is older. Following the suicide of his mother, Ne-mo becomes acquainted with Bu-ja, who opens a comic shop in his town. Bu-ja is also a single mother with a young son of her own, and Ne-mo instantly falls in love with her. Despite their age difference he proposes to her in a movie theater, but a fire breaks out and Ne-mo is killed saving Bu-ja's son.

6.4/10

“Three” is an anthology of three horror shorts from three different Asian countries.In "Dumplings" an aging actress wishing to reclaim her youth goes to a woman who makes dumplings that supposedly have regenerative properties; however, they contain a gruesome secret ingredient. In "Box" a soft spoken young woman has a bizarre recurring nightmare about being buried in a box in the snow. Searching for her long lost sister, she realizes her dreams and reality may possibly be connected. In "The Cut" a successful film director and his wife are kidnapped by an extra, who forces the director to play his sadistic games. If he fails, his wife’s fingers will be chopped off one by one every five minutes

7/10
8.4%

a successful film director and his wife are kidnapped by an extra, who forces the director to play his sadistic games. If he fails, his wife’s fingers will be chopped off one by one every five minutes

6.2/10
3.6%

With no clue how he came to be imprisoned, drugged and tortured for 15 years, a desperate businessman seeks revenge on his captors.

8.4/10
8.2%

Anthology film of six shorts by leading Korean directors. Park Chan-Wook, tackles racial prejudice and the economic exploitation of immigrant workers through the real-life story of a Nepalese woman in Korea. Jeong Jae-Eun, tackles the plight of a paedophile released into the community. Yeo Gyun-Dong, invites disabled actor Kim Moon-Joo to re-enact his most famous protest. Im Soon-Rye, goes for the engrained sexism of Korean men with superb wit and, Park Jin-Pyo, confronts the horror of children forced into oral surgery to improve their English-speaking ability.

6.5/10

A Nepalese woman named Chandra spends six years in a mental hospital after she was mistakenly accused of losing her mind. Tackles the human rights of foreign laborers in Korea. N.E.P.A.L is part of the South Korean omnibus film, If You Were Me. Comprising six short films directed by six prominent Korean directors and commissioned by the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, If You Were Me deals with discrimination in the country. The directors were given free rein with regards to subject and style.

6.5/10

Eun-hee is an extravagant and selfish woman who lives a life of luxury. She constantly swears, acts extremely careless, and is unashamedly tactless. Yet she somehow manages to be loved by both her husband, Doo-chan, and Keum-sook, a childhood female friend. However, what Doo-chan doesn't know is that Eun-hee and Keum-sook are secretly involved in a love affair. As Keum-sook continues to grow jealous with the two women. All three then enter the twists of love, betrayal, and revenge as they will all go to the extreme to get what they want.

5.2/10

This is the story of Ryu, a deaf man, and his sister, who requires a kidney transplant. Ryu's boss, Park, has just laid him off, and in order to afford the transplant, Ryu and his girlfriend develop a plan to kidnap Park's daughter. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

7.6/10
5.4%

Te-o begins life as a lonely son of a high-ranking officer. He buys his friends with money and ice cream. Eventually two of these boys, the orphans Euglena and Amoeba, become real friends. Years later, Te-o abandons his overseas education and returns home. He finds Euglena making a living as an artist the hulking Amoeba had suffered a head injury which has arrested his mental development. After drinking, the three friends are stopped by a police officer. The police officer is accidently killed by a garbage dumpster and, even though the Te-o, Euglena, and Amoeba are innocent, the policeman's partner demands that they pay 20 million dollars in return for their freedom. From there is becomes a comedy of kidnapping, corruption, and chaos.

6.1/10

In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier. But the 11 bullets found in the bodies, together with the 5 remaining bullets in the assassin's magazine clip, amount to 16 bullets for a gun that should normally hold 15 bullets. The investigating Swiss/Swedish team from the neutral countries overseeing the DMZ suspects that another, unknown party was involved - all of which points to some sort of cover up. The truth is much simpler and much more tragic.

7.8/10
7.7%

A group of Korean anarchists in 1920s China are determined to overthrow the military and government.

5.7/10

Half a million dollars were offered in indemnity to the victims' relatives, and this triggered a merciless looting made by unscrupulous people. In a morgue where the lifeless body of a girl lies, waiting to be identified, a man and a woman, who introduce themselves as the parents of the victim, are distraught over the loss of the young girl. However, after a moment's hesitation, a morgue employee claims the body of the girl.

7.2/10

Han is a suicidal saxophonist, Mun is violent simpleton with an I.Q. of 80 and Maria is single mother with dreams of becoming a nun. Han has tried numerous times to kill himself but nothing ever works. When he witnesses his wifes infidelity, it is the last straw. He gets a call from Mun and both decide take things into their own hands by robbing a cafe at gunpoint. They run into Maria who is determined to find her baby who was taken from her. Maria decides to use the two men to get her baby back and joins the team.

5.8/10

Buzz Salon which is run by Cho is known for its mysterious ambience. Gi-hyuk, one of Cho's best customers, falls for Hae-joo, a hostess at Buzz. Cho uses Hae-joo to kill gangsters who harass him with money he owes them. When Gi-hyuk discovers that Hae-joo is biologically male, he feels betrayed and becomes disillusioned. He leaves her for good. Hae-joo is able to get her transgender operation in return for the assassinations and goes in search of Gi-hyuk. She returns to Gi-hyuk, as a new person, calling herself Yoo-jung. She also begins to take revenge on the thugs who abused her in the past.

A gangster in Busan is caught having an affair with his boss' mistress and the two run off with their organization's money.

6.1/10

A sheriff and a doctor seek revenge against a group of bandits who used the cover of a torrential rainstorm to rob and terrorize their small town.

A remake of the 2005 film with the same name. After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.

A man experiences a car crash and visits the nearest spooky mansion for help, only to discover its ghostly inhabitant wants to take him as a groom.