Hollywood, of late, seems to have lost much of its inspiration and charm, clogging cinemas with derivative and dull films. Many cinephiles looking for an original movie-going fix have turned to foreign films as an alternative source of entertainment.
Surprisingly, one of the most dynamic and exciting emerging producers of films is not France or Britain but Korea (that’s South Korea, not North Korea, even though the “Dear Leader” is allegedly an award-winning filmmaker).
Korean cinema has captured the American cultural zeitgeist over the past few years, starting with Park Chan-wook’s 2003 revenge thriller Oldboy. Since then, audiences have become much more receptive and enthusiastic toward works from the Korean peninsula.
In response to the new cultural phenomenon, the Smithsonian started the D.C. Korean Film Festival in 2004. This year’s iteration is in progress at both the AFI Silver Theater and the Meyer Auditorium of the Freer Gallery of Art.
Festival organizer Tom Vick said the festival originated as a partnership between the South Korean embassy and the Smithsonian.
“The idea is to show a portrait of what Korean cinema is doing at any given year,” Vick said. “That’s usually a combination of big blockbuster, pop-culture event films along with independent films that may not otherwise show here.”
The festival, now in its seventh year, showcases the work of modern filmmakers and offers a retrospective on older auteurs.
“Certain filmmakers over the years have become favorites with our audience,” Vick said. “We usually try to have a … Hong Sang-soo film and sometimes a Kim Ki-duk film.”
Director Im Sang-soo (The President’s Last Bang) is one of the many filmmakers whose work will be featured. Im, who was in town earlier to take part in the festival screening of his new remake of The Housemaid, sees himself as a provocateur of sorts, crafting movies that provoke controversy and discussion in his native country.
“Some Korean audiences feel disturbed rather than pleased during watching my films, so sometimes they even [feel] outraged,” Im said. ” However, I’m the person who thinks the films which can give me a thrill by disturbing me [are] the best. Clearly, I put my social commentary through my films, and I strongly hope [they can] be art.”
Im’s works, along with the films made by many of his fellow artists, paint a picture of modern Korea as a complex and imperfect society.
“In modern Korean history, there have been always complicated issues mixed up with U.S.A.,” Im said. “It would be same situation with Arab countries, which are in political maelstrom these days.”
In fact, Im chose to produce his remake of The Housemaid as a means of critiquing modern Korean society in front of a larger audience.
“I thought it was the best opportunity to deal with new class issue in Korean society, and second, I would like to show my honor to Alfred Hitchcock,” Im said. “However, I have no choice [but] to admit that I was stupid because I’ve got [these] kind of questions too much and I’ve never heard my film is better than the original.”
His version of The Housemaid was screened earlier in the festival. The original The Housemaid, however, has not yet been screened and came highly recommended by Vick.
“It’s a masterpiece of early Korean cinema and it’s really unlike anything else you’ll ever see,” Vick said. “It’s quite rarely shown so that’s one I recommend people go out and see.”
When asked for recommendations, Im suggested two Kim Ki-young movies — with one major qualification.
“I haven’t watched Woman of Fire ‘82 and Carnivore by Kim Ki-young yet, but I’m sure those films are also disturbed like my films,” he said.
The D.C. Korean Film Festival runs through June 8. All movies will be screened at various times and dates at either AFI Silver Theater in Silver Spring or at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. For more information, go to www.asia.si.edu/events/koreanfilm/default.asp.
chzhang@umdbk.com
