South Korean Cinema at TIFF: Late Autumn and Oki’s Movie Added to the Fest

Five Korean films have been selected to the 35th Toronto Film Festival. Invited films Poetry and The Housemaid will continue to make their push for an Best Foreign Oscar nomination, while the previously announced I Saw the Devil is riding in on the controversy around its graphic nature. Newly selected films announced this past Tuesday include, Oki’s Movie, which is preparing for it’s debut in Venice, and the major World Premiere announcement comes in the shape of the multi-region co-produced Late Autumn (a.k.a. “Manchu”) — a film which may have the best chance to leave the festival as Korea’s most heralded film of 2010.

“Late Autumn” is a story about two foreigners—one Korean and one Chinese—travelling to Seattle. The woman (China’s Tang Wei from Lust, Caution fame) is on leave from prison to attend her mother’s funeral. On the bus, she meets a man (Korea’s Hyeon Bin), who is on the run for counterfeiting money. The two characters, both with dark pasts, have an intense 3-day affair, and in the process discover something in each other.

The remake of the 1966 film, which is making its world premiere, is directed by Kim Tae-Young, who had international success with his 2006 film “The Birth of a Family”. The original film has sparked 3 remakes: Japan’s “Promise” (1971), “Promise of the Body” (1976), and “Manchu” (1981). “Late Autumn” is co-produced by Korea and the U.S., and was shot in the Seattle (here’s a news brief on the production earlier this year). The film was selected to the Contemporary World Cinema category, which focuses on newer directors who are rising stars in their respective countries.

Joining the Tae-Young pic, in the same category is, Oki’s Movie. Hong Sang-soo’s film, which is an opener in one of Venice Film Festival’s sidebar, is comprised of four parts and three main characters. Oki, a film student, cinematically recreates separate trips she made to Acha Mountain with two men she dated one year apart. Hong Sang-soo won in the Un Certain Regard category at Cannes earlier this year for “Ha Ha Ha”, so presenting two films in major film festivals within 4 months is a feat itself.

And while we are on the subject of the Lido, The Invincible, a remake of the John Woo classic “A Better Tomorrow”, will make its world premiere in the out-of-competition category. Directed by Song Hae-sung, the film is about two brothers who were separated in youth. Now the brothers—one a cop, the other a leader of drug gang—meet up later in life and face a conflict between the past and present. Woo is to accept a lifetime achievement award at the Venice Film Festival. Here’s a gun-totting ensemble pic.

I Saw the Devil barely made it the screen this month in Korea due to censorship against its graphic violence. But, after a minute and a half of cannibalism (which was reportedly removed), Kim Ji-woon’s (“The Good, the Bad, the Weird”) film was allowed to premiere in Korea this August. The film, starring Lee Byeong-Heon (“G.I. Joe”, “3, Monster”) and Choi Min-sik (“Old Boy”, “Taegukgi”) is splattered with blood from start to finish – Choi actually warned viewers to “bring umbrellas”. The film tells the story of a National Secret Service agent (Lee) whose fiancée is brutally murdered by a serial killer. After failing to protect someone he loves, he seeks out to return his pain to the killer, hunting down the murderer (Choi).

It’s obvious that the filmmaker can work within different streams, Kim Ji-woon’s first four films were a comedy, a psychological horror, a noir, and a “kimchi Western”. This is his third film working with Lee Byeong-heon. As for his role in the movie, Lee Byeong-heon said, “if my earlier roles were either very controlled or explosive, this character has both sides.” On the other hand, Choi is best known for his role in popular, yet violent films like “Sympathy for Lady Vengeance” (2005) and “Oldboy” (2003). I Saw the Devil was also selected to the 58th Edition of the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain from Sept. 17-25.

Completing the pack of five, we have a pair of Cannes titles that will be making their North American premiere. “Poetry, which won Lee Chang-dong (“Secret Sunshine”) his second Best Screenplay award at Cannes earlier this year, has been selected to the Master Section of the festival. For those who needs a refreshers course, this is about an old woman (Yoon Jung-hee) who regains her childhood interest in poetry while raising her troubled, teenage grandson (David Lee). She enrolls in a local writing workshop, but when her grandson is involved in a terrible crime she takes matters into her own hands.

And bookending my piece here, we find yet another 1960s remake with The Housemaid which has been selected to the main gala screening. Im Sang-soon’s film has an interesting buzz around it due to the mixed reviews after its premiere at Cannes earlier this year. One of Korea’s top actresses, Jeon Do-yeon (“Secret Sunshine”), plays a housemaid who moves in with a family of four. After seducing the husband, the maid becomes more bizarre, and the wife tries to assert herself. The original film (1960) is considered to be one of the finest Korean movies, and one of Martin Scorcese’s personal favorites. However, after failing to win at Cannes, its role at TIFF is uncertain, yet interesting because of its push for an Oscar nomination. The film is making its Toronto premiere.