A Love

director

Gwak Gyeong-taek(곽경택)

cast

Joo Jin-mo

Park Si-yeon

Joo Hyeon

Kim Min-joon

Lim Hyun-Sung

Lim Sung-gyu

Kwak Min-seok

Jeong Yoon

[TALK OF THE TOWN]Japanese Hallyu festival attracts thousands as 17 films screened

The crowds were out in force at the four-day promotional screening of “M” (2007), starring Kang Dong-won (right), late last month in Japan. M, directed by Lee Myung-se, had been invited to the Hallyu Cinema Festival. Some 4,000 Japanese fans of the Korean actor attended the screening. In the psychodrama, Kang stars as Min-woo, a writer who suffers from strange nightmares. Entertainment company Avex will release a Japanese version of M on Dec. 19. The 17 Korean films screened during the Hallyu festival, including “Lovers of Six Years,” “The Show Must Go On” and “A Love,” are on a three-month relay screening in 40 movie theaters in Japan.

Blockbuster 'Friend' to Be Reproduced as TV Series

Will a TV drama version of the blockbuster "Friend" be as thrilling as the original movie? Avid fans certainly hope so. The mega-hit, which garnered a record-high 8.2 million ticket sales in 2001, will be remade as a 16-episode TV series titled "Friend: the Untold Story," said to be aired in the first half of 2009. "I have decided to direct the drama with untold episodes added to the original movie. The scenario is in the process of being written," said Kwak Kyung-taek, who catapulted into stardom as the film director and scenario writer. "All the episodes will be shot in Busan, just like the original film," Kwak said, refusing to reveal which TV broadcaster will show it. Kim Min-jun, 32, who starred in Kwak's 2007 film "Love," will replace Yu Oh-sung as the gangster Jun-sok, and Hyun Bin, 26, will replace Jang Dong-geun as Jun-sok's friend Dong-su. Oh and Hyun Bin will play the two leading characters among the four friends in the movie, according to the 42-year-old director. Hyun Bin starred in TV soap operas "Queen of Snow(2006)" and "My Name is Kim Sam-sun(2005)." The original movie depicted the director's experience with his friends, a semi-autobiography set in his hometown of Busan. The actors use a strong regional dialect. Many movie-goers, especially male adults, were attracted because it reminded them of their high school days.

Actresses Gain Presence Onscreen

While the female persona Korean entertainment remains largely reminiscent of Hollywood during the 1950~60s, a few in recently released or upcoming films are beginning to reflect, with some realism, Korean women today. Women onscreen tend to be either innocent asexual Audrey Hepburns (think Lee Young-ae, Choi Ji-woo, Song Hye-kyo) or smoldering Marylin Monroes oozing with sex appeal (Kim Hye-soo, Uhm Jung-hwa). Then there exists a third, very minor group of eccentrics like Katherine Hepburn that fit into neither category, like actresses Kang Hye-jeong, Bae Doona and Kong Hyo-jin. In other words, it is rather difficult to meet truly realistic female characters in movies. A most disappointing example is director Kwak Gyeong-taek's latest offering "A Love". In this terribly old-fashioned story about a modern-day Romeo and Juliet, the heroine is but a mere caricature embodying romantic fantasies: the unforgettable first love, frail damsel in distress and untainted prostitute. She is but a superficial plot element that gives the male protagonist a story to tell. Roles for sexual or even remotely sexually active women continue to be reserved for the more "mature" actresses. They tend to be over 30 and/or married. Sex icon Kim Hye-soo, for example, plays a string of femme fatale roles from "Hypnotized" (2004) to "Tazza: The High Rollers" ("The War Of Flower", 2005) and "A Good Day to Have an Affair" (2006). Upcoming sex comedy "Lovers Behind" ("Love Exposure") features two very different but equally sexy women. The film delightfully resembles "Sex and the City", with two women speaking frankly about love and sex. Lee Mi-yeon, the Nicole Kidman of Korea enjoying a newfound peak in her career following her divorce from actor Kim Seung-woo, plays the role of a photographer who wants romances with no strings attached. Lee Tae-ran, who enjoys steady popularity in her acting career, depicts a woman who marries one man after another to enjoy a lavish lifestyle. While these female characters provide much humor, they are over-sexualized in a sense that their sexuality is the only thing that defines them. The film will be released mid-October. Another recent film, however, brings to screen a fresh new female persona. In Heo Jin-ho's "Happiness", now playing in theaters, Im Soo-jeong's petite, slim and dewy-eyed character Eun-hi is at first glance another Audrey Hepburn. But Eun-hi is far from passive in her romantic relationship with Yeong-su (Hwang Jeong-min), and does not hesitate to initiate sex _ without being a seductive temptress _ or propose to move in together. "I wanted to show that when a woman is in love with a man, she too can be assertive", said director Hur during a press conference at a Seoul theater last month. For the baby-faced actress, this is a dramatic departure from her girlish roles as a high-school girl in "...ing" (200) or the fairytale-like character in "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK" (200). She has finally grown up enough to play parts closer to her actual age. Likewise, superstar Kim Tae-hee matures onscreen opposite award-winning actor Seol Kyeong-gu in "Ssaum" ("Fight" - "Venus and Mars")' coming to theaters December. The movie humorously portrays a couple who, once madly in love, are now fiercely battling each other. Kim casts off her sweet, angelic allure to personify an irritable woman who does not refrain from resorting to physical violence while arguing with her husband. The fighting spirit in women does not stop with Kim Tae-hee. Audiences can look forward to Do Ji-won in her role in "Punch Lady". Do plays a submissive housewife who one day decides not to put up with her abusive husband any longer. She begins training hard to master the Art of Fighting after publicly announcing a duel on the ring with her pro-wrestler husband. Although this is a rather comical theatrical situation, it reflects how women in Korean cinema are beginning to show a bit of dimension and color. "Punch Lady" is due for release at the end of the month.

Gangsters in love and actors who diet create a comeback

Mainstream movie director Gwak Gyeong-taek, 41, is back on screen for the first time in two years with his new film, “A Love.” The title itself is a big surprise for many movie fans because Gwak isn’t the kind who puts soppy love stories on screen. He is better known for directing aggressive and violent action films such as “The Champion” (2002) and “Mutt Boy” (2003). But once the film A Love gets going it’s obvious there’s more to the story than romance. The storyline of A Love is similar to Gwak’s record-breaking box office hit, “Friend” (2001), starring Jang Dong-geon. Characters in both films are aggressive and loyal and the script revolves around the life of gangsters who speak in rough Busan dialects ― The film takes place in Busan, where Gwak was born. Gwak got the idea for the story while filming “Friend.” It was the life story of one of the film’s characters. “He was the right-hand man of the gangster upon whom the movie was based,” said Gwak. “Of course he’s not involved in any violent activities now.” Gwak even wanted to take a few days off and go to some deserted island to hear the man’s stories. Unable to do that, the friend wrote Gwak a 100-page hand-written letter about his life. “I read it in one sitting,” said Gwak. “And that’s how the shooting for A Love began.” Thirty percent of the story is based on the guy’s real life and the rest is based on additional material. In A Love, In-ho, the main character, played by Joo Jin-mo, is so loyal to his first love Mi-joo, played by Park Si-yeon, that he goes to prison to protect her from a gangster, played by Kim Min-jun. While in jail, In-ho loses contact with Mi-joo and, when he meets her again after a few years, he continues to protect her. All characters in the film speak in a Busan accent and Gwak says that gives the movie more charm. “If the characters spoke in Gyeongsang accent, the love story would have been rather blunt,” said Gwak. “And it was easy for me to find places to film, like the Taejongdae [a famous lighthouse in Busan] and Jagalchi Market [one of oldest fish markets in Korea].” Joo is not from Busan, but he had other qualifications. “Although he was brought up in Seoul, he is a country boy like us,” Gwak said. “When Joo saw the screenplay, he realized the main character was similar to himself ― somebody searching for platonic love.” Although Joo was a good psychological fit for the character, filming wasn’t that easy. Joo had to gain weight to film the first half of the film and then lose 16 pounds for the latter part. Gwak said Joo’s passion for the role was essential for him to cope with the stress of the weight gain and loss. Actor Kim Min-jun also impressed Gwak with his enthusiasm. “Kim called me one day and said that he wanted to appear in one of my movies ― regardless of the part,” said Gwak. “He even wanted to appear as a cameo.” As soon as Gwak received Kim’s phone call, the character that Kim plays in A Love came to Gwak’s mind and he wrote the part especially for Kim. “Casting the right characters is always difficult,” said Gwak. “Perfect timing is necessary, Kim’s call was serendipitous, it came at just the right time.” Gwak’s approach in A Love is distinctive. “As a young child, I was shocked by the 1940 film ‘Waterloo Bridge’ [directed by Mervyn LeRoy and starring Vivien Leigh and Robert Taylor],” Gwak said. “I could never understand how the male character could talk about the good old times when his love died because of him. I thought that unmanly.” So Gwak decided on different approach in his film. He opts for more realism and gives tragedy its proper place in the drama. “You could say my films are dark-colored or have deep love,” Gwak said. “Though it is hard to find such daring love in real life, there are definitely some people out there whose love is as passionate as that of the people in my films.” Filming his can’t-live-without-each-other-love story made Gwak become more emotional. But for his next piece, he plans to shoot a more pleasant genre, like a comedy. “I want to direct a comedy in that makes people smile for several hours after the movie is over.”

Some Romances Stay the Same

As men still cling to their fantasies of a “pure, innocent, and fragile woman with long straight hair,” even in the 21st century, so do women harbor dreams of their ideal man, even despite the “Pet Boyfriend (Young boyfriends akin to pets)” trend that is now commonplace. They still want a man who’ll protect them in the face of death, a man whose heart melts only for them. The movie “Love,” to be released on September 20, fuels these delusions by telling the story of one man’s love. Why delusions, you ask? Well, there is no such man and no such love in the real world. Chae In-ho (Joo Jin-mo) meets long-time elementary school crush Mi-ju (Park Si-yeon) in high school and promises to be true to her. But in the process, he becomes an ex-convict and they lose touch. Getting back on track, he prospers as the troubleshooter for chairman Yoo (Joo Hyeon), only to later discover Mi-ju is the girlfriend of his boss. It’s the typical new-school drama - the poor street-smart guy, the girl with criminal smuggler dad, gambler mom and drug-addict brother, the ill-fated couple sitting down together to sing the old TV commercial jingle, “Mom and Dad all happy together.” The woman who appears again in his life, turns out to be his benefactor’s girlfriend. As Chae bids chairman Yoo and his girlfriend good-night, he cries, “Damned luck.” Oh, such pathos! Although you’d scoff at the drama, you’d probably be in tears before you could berate the audience for watching. Director Gwak Gyeong-taek says, “The movie Friend showed the Gyeongsang Province way of friendship, and this movie will show the Gyeongsang way of loving.” The violent scenes, filled to the brim with macho bravado, and Busan accents set in the backstreets of Busan, are reminiscent of the movie Friend. Unfortunately, although the violence against women and foul language present in both movies may have been contrived for reality, it nonetheless offends the female audience. This is a movie made for Joo Jin-mo. He leads the story and gives it his all in breaking out of his “pretty boy” typecast. Kim Min-jun gives his best performance to date, as a hateful gangster who lets out a nasty whistle of an “I love you” while giving his foes the once-over. The film is rated PG-15.