“Memories of Murder” (2003)
Anyone acquainted with the souped-up monster mash of “The Host,” or the post-apocalyptic sci-fi of this week’s “Snowpiercer” might think they’d know roughly what to expect from a Bong Joon-ho movie. They would be wrong, as Bong’s characteristic trait, if he has one, appears to be unpredictability. It’s certainly the only explanation for this restrained, downbeat but fascinating procedural, based on the true and unsolved case of Korea’s first known serial killer, which therefore bears quite some resemblance to David Fincher‘s take on the similarly futile search for the Zodiac killer, which would arrive five years later. “Memories of Murder” is, like “Zodiac,” more the story of the police than of the crime, critiquing the corruption and ineptitude of the provincial Korean police force, or perhaps just their almost innocent unpreparedness for this type of hideous crime, through the characters of two rival cops with differing approaches, both of which ultimately prove equally ineffective. Played by Kim Sang-kyung and the ubiquitous Song Kang-ho, who has a lead role in “Snowpiercer” and has worked, often multiple times with every director on this list bar Kim Ki-duk (we think), the film also works as a character study of these two men, one slobbish and unprincipled in how he gets the job done, the other more fastidious and big-city thorough, sent in from Seoul to assist. But it’s the film’s peculiar rhythm, its unhurried but also unconventional structure that really marks it out, especially as this was only Bong’s second film. Eschewing set pieces and action sequences in favor of a kind of gradual, hopeless unraveling, it’s almost subversive in its relentless thrust away from resolution, from redemption, from “closure”—away from anything but a slow slide into inevitable defeat, punctuated only by some brief flashes of the most mordant humor and Bong’s incipient eye for the absurd. It’s hard to take something as concrete as a crime procedural, and one based on true story at that, and make something so impressionistic and elusive from it, but Bong, just two films in, already had a totally auteurist, individual vision, which remains perhaps the only unifying element between all his generically, tonally and thematically diverse output.
“A Tale Of Two Sisters” (2003)
With a more immediately commercial sensibility than some of his contemporaries, it made sense that Kim Ji-Woon would be the first of the Korean New Wave filmmakers to head to Hollywood, with last year’s underrated Arnie-starring actioner “The Last Stand.” As fun as that film was, it wasn’t unfiltered Kim, and while some would have picked out “A Bittersweet Life” or “The Good, The Bad & The Weird,” we’d favor “A Tale Of Two Sisters,” probably the definitive contemporary Korean horror movie, as one of his most complete and satisfying works to date. Riffing on a famous, much-filmed folk story called “Rose Flower and Red Lotus,” and initially seeming to be taking some visual cues from the run of J-horror like “The Ring” and “The Grudge” that had been so popular a few years before, Kim’s film seemingly centers on a pair of sisters, Su-mi (Im Soo-jung) and Su-yeon (Moon Geun-young) who find reason to be suspicious of their new stepmother (Yeom Jeong-ah), their late mother’s former nurse after Su-mi begins suffering from terrifying visions. But as ever, things are more complicated: this isn’t a simple murder mystery or ghost tale (though it’s effective as both), but a first-rate Kubrick-remakes-”Haesu” mindfuck that lingers not so much over what you can see (though there are some horrifying sights there), but on what’s happening just on the other side of frame. The film isn’t well suited for the more ADD horror-fan: it’s slowly and deliberately paced (running close to two hours), and admittedly can be tough to follow first time around during its time-jumping third act as it explains what’s going on. But it’s otherwise an artful, rich and legitimately unnerving picture, especially when held up against the tepid 2009 U.S. remake “The Uninvited,” which features Elizabeth Banks and David Strathairn, and dumbs down to the point that the whole thing feels entirely generic.
“Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…And Spring” (2003)
The cuckoo in the nest of director Kim Ki-duk’s otherwise often extremely violent, disturbing and/or sexist catalogue, ‘Spring’ is also by far our favorite of his contributions to the New Wave, being a slow, achingly beautifully shot, contemplative parable inspired by Buddhist teachings. Look a little closer, though (and it’s almost impossible not to with photography this immersive and evocative) and you’ll see some of the enfant terrible’s trademarks come through. There are scenes of animal cruelty (specifically toward fish, snakes and frogs, and, depending on how you feel about using a live cat’s tail as a paintbrush, possibly cats), which have hampered his films’ U.S. distribution on occasion, and while there’s certainly less evidence here of the misogyny he’s frequently accused of, we could wish the quickly-sketched-in women in the film weren’t quite so peripheral and slight. But it’s simply not his focus here: his concern is with the loss of innocence, and eventual gaining of wisdom of a young apprentice monk (Kim Young-Min, and then Kim Ki-Duk himself in later years) who lives with his teacher and “master” (Oh Young-su) in a tiny one-room temple that floats on a raft in the middle of a tranquil lake surrounded by the sights and sounds of harmonious nature. A young woman (Ha Yeo-jin) comes to the temple to heal from an unspecified illness, and the apprentice ends up running away with her, only to return many years later having, as his impossibly wise teacher foresaw, had his love turn to possessiveness, and his possessiveness to murder. Later again, following the death of the master and his release from prison, he returns to take up the mantle in the temple himself, even gaining his own apprentice as the cycle of pain, cruelty, grace and acceptance begins over again. Considering its pessimism (we are doomed to repeat our mistakes) and the tragic bent of the storytelling, the film’s tone of utterly absorbing, and oddly inspirational serenity is quite remarkable, and if nothing else shows that Kim has talent to burn in other registers than the “watch-it-if-you-dare” violence and perversity of his Venice-winning “Pieta” or 2013’s “Moebius.” Or, by the sounds of its rape-and-murder storyline, his newest, “One by One” which is due to open the Venice Days sidebar at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
"A Bittersweet Life" is a really good motion picture.
Worth the time.
Many thanks for this article – I\’ve recently become very interested in Korean cinema and this list helped to point the way. Seen most of these at this stage: I Saw the Devil was far too sadistic for my taste but enjoyed the others. I\’d second Enrique\’s suggestion: I thought "I\’m a Cyborg…" was excellent.
Nice list… I have made this list of my favorite once. sakmario.blogspot.cz
Song Il Gong\’s "Spider Forest" is what really got me started on Korean films, and yet it\’s rather unique in Korean film.
Hmm I\’d add "Oasis" as Lee Chang-Don\’gs most amazing work really and also if we are talking "New Wave" I\’d say Horror would be more stongly represented. I think Kim Ki Duk\’s other films are as worthy. In a way "Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winte… Spring" is his friendliest film. Something like "Crocodile" "the isle" would be another one that really exemplified his style early on.
Some korean gems that were unmentioned –
– Silenced
– Castaway on the moon
– 3 iron
– The man from nowhere
Wow. Not even an honorable mention for 'New World'. That was 2013's best Korean film for me.
Cold Eyes (2013) and The Big Swindle (2004)
Really impressed by Breathless (dir: Yang Ik June) & The Yellow Sea (the guy who directed the Chaser's follow up). Both very violent. In the former, it's quite upsetting & tragic whereas The latter is quite convoluted & over the top but both are gripping in their own way.
The film that hooked me, into my love affair with Korean cinema, was Song Il-Gon's "Spider Forest." Wonderful performances by Kam Woo-Sung, and Suh Jung, provide an emotional anchor to this Lynchian tale of grief and denial. Thanks to it's twisty, fever-dream structure, I still don't know the exact particulars of what took place, but that only invites my repeated viewings. (That, and Kam Woo-Sung's sympathetic portrayal of a man who could be anyone, including us.)
THESE FILMS always end up in my year-end lineups. Korean filmmakers are incredible at telling exceptional stories in a way that can't be found in films from elsewhere.
Korean Movies are great, I am more interested in those than other films. Some of my favourites – Memories of Murder (had some funny moments), The Chaser (damn had some really sick scenes), The Man from Nowhere, Lady Vengeance, Old Boy (first Korean Movie I watched that got me into the movies). Nameless Gangster (awesome) and I could list a few more. There are many that I need to see as well.
I hope more Korean filmmakers might make some English Language films but also keep doing their Korean Language films. They are great.
I actually thought Hong Sang Soo's latest effort, Our Sunhi was an even better film than Nobody's Daughter Haewon although I did like Nobody's Daughter. People who compare him to Woody Allen need to GTFO. Hong Sang Soo clearly writes as someone who cares about his female characters and has met actual females or talked and understood them.
Anyway I looked through the list and it's solid— Poetry is absolutely amazing. A phenomenal film with a breathtaking script and lead performance. I Saw the Devil is THE definitive revenge film with 2 mind blowing performances and amazing cinematography. Memories of Murder— AKA David Fincher and True Detective WISHES.
I'd also add The Man from Nowhere and Madeo/Mother, Secret Sunshine or I'm a Cyborg. Secret Sunshine just has one of the most astounding central performances in the last 10 years from Jeon Do Yeon.
Um, I'd definitely bump up My Sassy Girl to one of the top/iconic Korean New Wave releases too, because I think it really shows how Korean cinema is able to effectively balance humor and melodrama in a way that Western cinema cannot comprehend.
For more variety I'd also include Bedevilled— brutal, brutal, horror/thriller/revenge, like ISTD, but even more tragic… A Dirty Carnival— neo-noir at its best plus stunning cinematography, Tazza and/or The Thieves for heist films. Frankly those two films annihilated any other American heist film I ever saw. To me, it's like the Korean New Wave directors don't treat their audiences like idiots, and they also take genres that Hollywood made popular and turn them into really smart films and even outdo them.
Definitely 3-Iron, too, even if there is Spring, Summer… to represent Kim Ki Duk's filmography.
I could go on… another film that I thought was excellent is Sunny, which was the box office hit of its year in South Korea and for good reason, although the premise would definitely NOT fly in Hollywood since it's about a group of pre-teen girls growing up in the 70s, and the film is told in flashbacks and it's a wonderful coming of age film and film about a diverse group of women (since the film does also tell the stories about what happened to the girls when they grow up)
I hate to be all 'this list that wasn't made by me should be the way I want it', but
MY SASSY GIRL should really, unquestionably be in the top ten here. SHIRI is also essential, simply because it started the whole "Hallyu" when it made more money than James Cameron's TITANIC at the South Korean box office. I would say that, while there are a lot of filmmakers still making great films, the "Wave" has apparently crested more than a bit since the quota wars.
I would also second THE QUIET FAMILY (It was remade, as a Japanese musical, by Takashi Miike, as HAPPINESS OF THE KATAKURIS).
It's important to note that in the scholarly literature, the "Korean New Wave" refers to films made in the 1980's-early 90's, significant directors being folks like Park Kwang-su (CHILSU AND MANSU, A SINGLE SPARK) and Jang Sun-woo (THE LOVERS OF WOOMUK-BAEMI, TO YOU FROM ME). The films listed and discussed here in this article are referred to as "New Korean Cinema" which started with Kang Je-gyu's SHIRI (1999). The confusion here is partly due to how those film movement terms are not distinct enough. Plus, since New Korean Cinema is the film part of the wider transnational pop culture movement dubbed "Hallyu", which can be described as a 'wave', these less than helpful film movement monikers can add to the confusion. For those curious, here are 3 books to check out – NEW KOREAN CINEMA edited by Chi-yun Shin & Julian Stringer; NEW KOREAN CINEMA: BREAKING THE WAVES by Darcy Paquet, and DIRECTORY OF WORLD CINEMA: SOUTH KOREA edited by Colette Balmain.
That said, as the authors here note, like most national cinemas, there is a dearth of women directors. However, three women directors were important to the beginnings of New Korean Cinema: Jeong Jae-eun, whose wonderful and significant TAKE CARE OF MY CAT is a glaring omission here; Byun Young-joo, whose 'Comfort Women' Trilogy is perhaps the most important documentary series made in South Korea, and Yim Soon-rye (WAIKIKI BROTHERS, FOREVER THE MOMENT). Another one of my favorite New Korean Cinema films is Gina Kim's INVISIBLE LIGHT but I admit that it might not be to everyone's liking since it's a very patiently-paced film.
Great list, I'm excited that more people are discovering Korean cinema, there's so much great stuff happening there right now. I'd add "Castaway on the Moon" and "The Yellow Sea" to your list.
Typical Playlist overlooking African American directors again.
I think that you should have put 'Welcome to dongmakgol' instead of the 'Tale of two sisters' or some other film…and 'Nobody's…' Is incredibley boring film,you should replace it with 'Madeo',the best korean film IMO
You absolutely nailed this list by including Save the Green Planet. Sublime and often overlooked film.
My favorite is Chul-soo Jang's Bedevilled. His new one Secretly Greatly was just released this month.
Superb list. I'd also mention 3-Iron and I'm A Cyborg. I don't know if it's considered part of the new wave, but Noroi: The Curse is one of the most unnerving horror films in recent memory.
Lovely list. The only Korean film not mentioned was an early effortâ"The Quiet Family"âby no means a perfect film, but possesses all of the traits and sensibilities of the later new wave films and came in 1998, which predates the new wave by a few years. It is quite a fun little campy romp.
In my opinion, Korean film industry is the worlds best at the moment. So many interesting film makers to choose from, and as you said, "this list could be about five times as long and not run out of interesting titles"
A couple of personal favorites I would add is Park's "I'm a Cyborg, but That's OK" and Ki-Duk Kim's "3-Iron".
I am so glad you guys included I Saw The Devil. I know it's super divisive and I can see why people hate it, but I'm a huge fan of that one. Probably my favorite Kim Jee-Woon.
Also, props to whoever did the Memories of Murder write up. It's my favorite Korean film and you really nailed what makes it so unique and wonderful.
Memories of Murder is amazing, so is Mother, I Saw the Devil is pretty terrible in comparison…