Top 5 Most Anticipated South Korean Films for 2011

With the geo-political tensions on the Korean peninsula at an all-time high, it comes as no surprise that some of the films creating the most buzz are war movies. Here’s the top 5 Most Anticipated South Korean Films of 2011.

#.5 The Battle of Yellow Sea
Not to be confused with Na Hong-jin’s The Yellow Sea, Kwak Gyeong-taek, the director of one of Korea’s most well-know films, “Friend” (Chingu), goes straight to the heart of Koreans recent international attention with his newest film: the 3D movie “The Battle For Yellow Sea“. The film is based around the June 29, 2002 North Korean sinking of a South Korean naval ship, and how it was essentially ignored in current events while South Korea co-hosted the 2002 World Cup. (Ironically, the filming was set to start not long before the 2010 Yeongpeong Island shelling by North Korea that left 4 South Koreans dead.)

However, delays in the filming and recent national sensitivities to the region have left the film stuck in pre-production. And after selling the film at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival, lead actor Hyeong-bin, who starred in the TV adaptation of “Chingu” and Joo Jin-Moon (A Better Tomorrow) opted out. Kwak Gyeong-taek, who recently made an entire film just from his iPhone, has a lot of potential to create a powerful movie that is close to heart of Pacific politics. Had this movie had more stability, it would have been higher on the list.

#.4 The Front Line
Coming off of his success from “Secret Reunion” (2010), director Jang Hoon returns with a film set during the Korean War. As the war is reaching a cease fire, both sides are fighting for a strategic point that will decide where the truce border is to be drawn. Each day, the other side takes the hill. Kong (Sin Ha-gyoon, “Cafe Noir”) goes to the front lines on a reconnaissance mission. While there, he is thrust into a chaotic battle where he meets his old friend Kim (Ko Soo). There, he witnesses his friend turn into a killing machine. As the truce date nears, both sides become more ruthless, killing until there is only one man left standing.

#.3 Anti-Gas Skin
Co-directed and written by up and coming directors Kim Gok and Kim Sun, this movie’s appeal is due more to its quirkiness than true cinematic art. The movie stars Park Ji-hwan (whose last role was a character named “Man Who Urinates” in “A Blind River“) as one of 4 people who is after a serial killer. In the movie, a gas-masked serial killer, who wears a Superman-like T-shirt, is terrorizing the town. Four people are hunting the serial killer for different reasons. A women who wants the serial killer to find her and end her misery; a politician whose life has been threatened if he wins the election; a traffic warden who thinks the serial killer is a super-hero; and an American service member who thinks the serial killer murdered his girlfriend. However, each of them roam the empty streets wearing a gas mask, and the identity of the killer is as mysterious as the crimes.

#.2 Blind
The only witness to a horrible murder is a woman who is visually impaired. The blind woman, played by Kim Ha-neul, is a police academy student who has a high sensibility with all of her senses other than her vision. A man, Yoo Seung-hoo, acts as her eyes when they try to piece together the murder. In his second film, helmer Ahn Sang-hoon has a chance to direct Kim Ha-neul to a potentially internationally notable performance–much like other recent Korean actresses who have received attention at international film festivals.

#.1 My Way
One of the few films that come up in common Korean Film talk is “Taegukgi” (2004). The film was the first Korean War blockbuster, and the third highest-grossing Korean film of all-time. Kang Je-gyu, the director of that film, returns after a eight-year hiatus. He’s working with the highest budget for a Korean movie in history: $27.2 million. Based on a true story, Jang Dong-gun (see pic above), who starred in “Taegukgi”, plays a Korean man who was conscripted to fight for three armies–Japan, China, and Germany–during World War II. The height of the fighting takes place on the Normandy D-Day invasion, when he fights and is captured by American forces. The film, starring Japanese and Chinese lead actors (Joe Odagiri and Fan Bingbing, respectively), is due out in December.