HIFF programmer offers take on Cannes
By Jeff Chung
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The search for hit Korean films goes on all year round, but the most important place to be for Hawaii International Film Festival programmer Anderson Le is the Cannes Film Festival. I spoke with Le when he returned from the festival.
Q. What was the overall Korean film industry presence like at Cannes this year?
A. As with the downturn in domestic box office might last year, as well as the softening of foreign sales of Korean films and TV, the presence at Cannes was very muted. Many Korean sales companies that would have their own booths in the Cannes market have opted to consolidate booths, work out of the Korean Pavilion, or not show up at all this year. However, with the soft Korean film sales came a rise in smaller Korean distributors who were shopping for international films for the domestic market. The emergence of small, boutique companies were looking for other Asian and European arthouse films.
The only big players were Fine Cut and CJ Entertainment, which had the only two Korean films in the official Cannes selection. Neither were in the competition. Fine Cut represented the Korean box office hit "The Chaser;" CJ had "The Good, the Bad and the Weird," which opens in Korea in late July.
Q. What was the street buzz about?
A. The street buzz was pretty high on both, but especially "The Good, the Bad and the Weird," since it was scheduled for the very end of the festival. It was a catch-22 situation for CJ. Since the film was slated for the end of the fest, a lot of hype was built up, but at the same time, many high-profile industry attendees usually leave before the final weekend of the festival. Because of this, CJ was forced to schedule exclusive private screenings for VIP guests and buyers before the official screening.
Q. Were there Korean celebrities at Cannes this year and did you meet any?
A. Unfortunately, I left Cannes before the official premiere, so did not get to see the big guns — Jung Woo-sung (the "Good"), Lee Byung-hun (the "Bad"), and Song Kang-ho (the "Weird"), as well as director Kim Jee-woon ("A Tale of Two Sisters," "A Bittersweet Life"). It would've been nice to hang out with them, since most of them have been at HIFF. But I did get to meet Hong-jin Na, who directed "The Chaser," as well as Kim Yeon-suk and Ha Jung-woo — both actors in the film. I only met them briefly, but my co-worker, Sean, ran into them on the street late at night and was invited to their loft where they had a party. They brought soju, ramen and kimchee, which is like gold in Asian-food-deprived Cannes.
Q. "The Chaser" and "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" are getting a lot of attention. What's your take on the films?
A. Both were big hits at Cannes. "The Chaser" was recently sold to IFC Films for U.S. distribution. "The Good, the Bad and the Weird" looks like it's heading that way, too, with an impending U.S. sale and U.S. release.
Here are Le's brief descriptions of the films:
Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all used by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting right now. "The Chaser" takes place over a 24-hour period and is pure white-knuckle excitement, while at the same time, a commentary on Korean government politics. It's one of the best crime thrillers to come out of Korea in a long, long time.
It's the story of three Korean outlaws in 1930s Manchuria and their dealings with the Japanese army and Chinese and Russian bandits. Song Kang-ho plays a social misfit, a treasure hunter on a motorcycle who steals a treasure map from a Japanese official. Lee Byung-hun plays a sadistic, pain-loving bank robber hired by the Japanese army to retrieve the map. Meanwhile, a bounty hunter and expert rifleman, played by Jung Woo-sung, is on the hunt for Lee, who represents law in this lawless land in the vast Manchurian desert. This is director Kim's interpretation of the spaghetti western and CJ has marketed TGTBTW as an "oriental Western." The action sequences are amazing, Hollywood caliber — more exciting than all the action pieces in "Indiana Jones IV." All three actors are charismatic and fit the bill of good, evil and something in-between. Lee Byung-hun, especially, crackles on screen. The cut that was shown in Cannes will be different from the final version that will be released in Korea — and characters who die at the end of the Cannes version differ from the final Korean version.
THIS WEEK'S K-DRAMA SYNOPSES
'HAPPINESS'
Episode 17
Tonight, 6:30: Ha-kyong loses control with jealousy and confronts Ji-sook. Ji-sook daringly tells Hakyong that she wants Sang-wook and her position as his wife. Chairman Park's company loses the resort construction contract and stocks plummet. Everyone suspects it happened because Seo-yun didn't marry the HK chairman's son.
'SCARY GIRL'
Episodes 99, 100
Tonight at 7:45: Young-rim gets a call from Dae Young Group chairman's office asking her to sell the land. Receiving the call reminds Young-rim of the baby she gave birth to. Chairman Baek is disappointed that Young-rim doesn't want him to move out of his house. Young-rim explains the reasons and the two of them get even closer.
Episodes 101, 102 and 103, 104
Friday, 7:45 p.m.: Young-rim goes to see Chairman Yang's son secretly and gets caught by Chairman Yang's wife. Chairman Yang's wife beats up Young-rim and tells her never to come around again. Joon-chul tells Young-rim to forget about the boy.
Saturday, 7:45 p.m.: Young-rim reluctantly tells Chairman Baek about Chairman Yang's wife assaulting her. After seeing Chairman Yang's wife and the child shopping in a department store, Young-rim follows them not knowing the bodyguards Chairman Yang hired are following her.
'LOVE'
Episodes 5 and 6
Tomorrow at 7:45 p.m.: Nah Young-hee is threatened by Chul-soo's mother to have an abortion, while Lee Young-hee decides to go ahead with the lawsuit against Byung-ho. After much contemplation, Chul-soo decides to propose to Young-hee.
Tuesday, 7:45 p.m.: Chul-soo's mother's plan to force Nah Young-hee to have an abortion fails when Chul-soo and Young-hee find the lost diamond. In the meantime, Lee Young-hee and her boyfriend, Byung-ho, go to the police station to give statements in the false-promise-of-marriage case.
'ON AIR'
Episodes 19 and 20
Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.: Hak-sun blackmails Ki-joon to join his company with Seung-ah, saying he's seen a "questionable" video of Seung-ah in Sang-woo's office. But Ki-joon can't work up the courage to confirm with Seung-ah about the existence of the video.
Thursday, 7:45 p.m.: Hak-sun leaks the existence of Seung-ah's video to the press, and chaos ensues. Seung-ah feels betrayed when Ki-joon asks her about the video. Amid chaos, Young-eun and Kyong-min stay by Seung-ah's side.
