Parasite
OPENING
Thu. 24.10.2019, 7:15pm, Kino 8
기생충
South Korea 2019, 131 Min, OmdU, FSK: 16+
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Director: BONG Joon-ho
Screenwriter: BONG Joon-ho, HAN Jin-won
Cast: SONG Kang-ho, LEE Sun-kyun, CHO Yeo-jeong, CHOI Woo-shik, JANG Hye-jin, PARK So-dam
In the last few years, few films have ridden in on the wave of anticipation that Parasite has and yet, despite these sky-high expectations, BONG Joon-ho’s new work has somehow managed to exceed them, as the film – with its dark humor and poignant commentary on Korean class struggle – has garnered the cineaste some of the best reviews of his career and Korea’s first ever Palme d’Or triumph at the Cannes Film Festival.
Director BONG has pleaded to keep the lid on the film’s many surprises, so we won’t reveal too many plot details here. Suffice to say that SONG Kang-ho, working with BONG for the fourth time, following Memories Of Murder (2003), The Host (2006) and Snowpiercer (2013), plays Ki-taek, the father of the poor and unemployed Kim family, living in a stuffy and dimly-lit basement apartment. His son, played by CHOI Woo-shik of Okja (2017), is offered a tutoring job for the daughter of the wealthy CEO Park (LEE Sun-kyun) and his wife (CHO Yeo-jeong), who live in a designer home in the hills. Before long these two families from opposite sides of the tracks begin to converge in the most unusual of ways.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Cannes Film Festival – Palme d’Or
2019 International Cinephile Society Cannes Awards – Best Director
2019 Munich International Film Festival – Best International Film
2019 Sydney Film Festival – Best Film
2019 Toronto International Film Festival – Grolsch People’s Choice Award 3rd place
House of Us
Fri. 25.10.2019, 5:00pm, Kino 3
우리집
South Korea 2019, 92 Min, OmeU, KMRB: not rated
Genre: Drama
Director: YOON Ga-eun
Screenwriter: YOON Ga-eun
Cast: KIM Na-yeon, KIM Si-ah, JOO Ye-rim, AHN Ji-ho
During her fifth-grade summer break, Hana (KIM Na-yeon) wants nothing more than to go on a trip with her family, hoping it would reunite her warring parents. At the same time, she meets a couple of younger girls, Yoo-mi (KIM Si-ah) and Yoo-jin (JOO Ye-rim), staying with their uncle. The three of them quickly become friends and go on their own little adventures. As they confer with each other over their troubled family life, they decide to take a risk to protect their precious homes.
The House of Us is director YOON Ga-eun’s follow-up to her sensational debut The World of Us, which bowed to considerable acclaim in competition at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2016. Much like her previous feature and her acclaimed shorts, such as 2013’s Sprout, YOON’s new film once again follows the lives of young girls as they grow up in and grapple with the suffocating adult world that surrounds them.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 BFI London Film Festival
2019 London East Asia Film Festival
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil
Fri. 25.10.2019, 8:00pm, Kino 3
악인전
South Korea 2019, 110 Min, OmeU, FSK: 16+
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Director: LEE Won-tae
Screenwriter: LEE Won-tae
Cast: Don LEE, KIM Mu-yeol, KIM Sung-kyu
Tough gang boss Dong-soo (Don LEE) is attacked by a vicious serial killer who is terrorizing his surroundings When he becomes the first person to survive such an attack, he teams up, against his will, with the cop Tae-suk (KIM Mu-yeol), who despises Dong-soo’s moral code but will do anything to apprehend the violent killer, known only as K (KIM Sung-kyu).
The Gangster, The Cop, The Devil, the second film of director LEE Won-tae, who previously made the Colonial Era prison drama Man of Will (2017), is one of only two Korean features this year (along with BONG Joon-ho’s Parasite) to be invited to the Cannes Film Festival. The film is taking its place among the ‘Midnight Screenings’ lineup, which has become a popular launch pad for Korean thrillers, including last year’s The Spy Gone North, and The Villainess and The Merciless, both screened in 2017.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival – Focus Asia Award for Best Film
2019 Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival – Best Asian Film (nomination)
2019 Cannes Film Festival – Midnight Screenings
2019 Korean Film Festival in Australia
2019 Norwegian International Film Festival
Mal-Mo-E: The Secret Mission
Fri. 25.10.2019, 8:15pm, Kino 1
말모이
South Korea 2019, 135 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 12+
Genre: Drama, History, Comedy
Director: EOM Yu-na
Screenwriter: EOM Yu-na
Cast: YOO Hae-jin, YOON Kye-sang, JO Hyun-do
In 1941, during World War II, the Japanese rule over Korea becomes more and more restrictive:
Schools are banned from teaching the Korean language and children are chastised without mercy, should they dare to speak it. A small group of teachers led by RYU Jeong-hwan (YOON Kye-sang) attempt to prevent the looming extinction of their language by creating a comprehensive dictionary. KIM Pan-su (YOO Hae-jin), an illiterate gofer and passerby, soon becomes deeply involved, believing the teachers’ efforts to be crucial to obtaining independence.
After writing the hugely successful drama A Taxi Driver (2017), EOM Yu-na returns with her
directorial debut with a stirring historical drama about the power of language and the Korean identity.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 UEA Korean Film Festival
2019 KOFFIA – Korean Film Festival in Australia
2019 Buenos Aires Korean Film Festival
2019 HIFF Spring Showcase – Korean Fest
2019 Korea Gold Awards Festival
Mother
Fri. 25.10.2019, 8:30pm, Kino 3
마더
South Korea 2009, 128 Min, OmdU, FSK: 12+
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
Director: BONG Joon-ho
Screenwriter: BONG Joon-ho, PARK Eun-kyo
Cast: KIM Hye-ja, WON Bin, JIN Goo, YOON Je-moon
Widowed for a long time, a mother (KIM Hye-ja) lives alone with her only son – Do-joon (WON Bin), a grown man with the mind of a child – in a provincial backwater. In the aftermath of a terrible murder,
Do-joon becomes the prime suspect. There is no real evidence against him, but the police are eager to close the case and arrest the son after a cursory investigation. The hired defense attorney turns out to be incompetent and unreliable. Determined, his mother sets out to prove her son’s innocence by herself.
BONG Joon-ho’s fourth feature film Mother with its beautiful composition and thrilling, unpredictable plot,
is first and foremost anchored by a strikingly emotional and deep performance by lead actress and titular “mother” KIM Hye-ja, who, amongst other accolades, won Best Actress at the 2010 Asian Film Awards and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2009 Asia Pacific Screen Awards - Best Performance by an Actress, KIM Hye-ja
2009 Korean Association of Film Critics’ Awards - Best Film, BONG Joon-ho
2010 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards - Best Actress, KIM Hye-ja
2009 Mar del Plata Film Festival - SIGNIS Awards, BONG Joon-ho
2010 Munich Film Festival - ARRI/OSRAM Award, BONG Joon-ho
Another Child
Sat. 26.10.2019, 5:00pm, Kino 3
미성년
South Korea 2019, 96 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 15+
Genre: Drama
Director: KIM Yoon-seok
Screenwriter: KIM Yun-Seok, LEE Bo-ram
Cast: YUM Jung-ah, KIM So-jin, KIM Hye-jun, KIM Yun-seok
Another Child tells the story of two high school girls and their families, who are at the verge of breaking apart. 17-year-old Joo-ri (KIM Hye-jun) discovers that her father (KIM Yun-seok) is having an affair with a restaurant owner (KIM So-jin) who happens to be the mother of her classmate Yoon-ah (PARK So-jin).
Even worse, it turns out Yoon-ah’s mother is expecting. Afraid that her family might be torn apart, Joo-ri keeps quiet about her father’s infidelity. However, sooner or later her mother (YUM Jung-ah) finds out and things start to spiral out of control for all the people involved.
Veteran actor KIM Yoon-seok, known for his award-winning roles in movies such as The Chaser and 1987: When the Day Comes, gets behind the camera for the first time in his career. His directorial debut Another Child, based on a short play and adapted for the screen, the film is a compelling character drama that draws on KIM’s many years of on-set experience, to create unique and genuine characters within a seemingly ordinary melodramatic setup.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Vancouver International Film Festival
2019 New York Asian Film Festival
2019 Busan International Film Festival
2019 Fantasia Film Festival – Special Mention: Best First Feature
2019 London East Asia Film Festival
The Dude In Me
Sa. 26.10.2019, 5:15pm, Kino 1
내안의 그놈
South Korea 2019, 122 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 15+
Genre: Comedy, Fantasy
Director: KANG Hyo-jin
Screenwriter: KANG Hyo-jin
Cast: PARK Sung-woong, JUNG Jin-young, KIM Kwang-gyu, LEE Joon-hyuk, LEE Soo-min
Pan-su (PARK Sung-woong) is a career criminal, savvy entrepreneur and the son-in-law of a mob boss. After a freak accident, Pan-su wakes up to find out that his body had been swapped with that of a 17-year-old boy, Dong-hyun (JUNG Jin-young). Trapped inside a teenage body, Pan-su is forced to go back to high school, where he is ostracized and bullied by his classmates. While trying to fix some of Dong-hyun’s problems, he discovers that he now has the chance to fix his own past mistakes.
Packed with action, romance, humor and heart, The Dude in Me is a Korean take on body-swap comedies, by director KANG Hyo-jin, also known for the action-filled Punch Lady (2007) and heartwarming Wonderful Nightmare (2015).
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Fantasia International Film Festival – Selection 2019
2019 Korean Film Festival in Hungary
2019 BFI London Film Festival
2019 Korean Film Festival in Australia
A Resistance
Sat. 26.10.2019, 8:00pm, Kino 3
항거: 유관순 이야기
South Korea 2019, 105 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 12+
Genre: History, Drama
Director: CHO Min-ho
Screenwriter: CHO Min-ho
Cast: KO Ah-sung, KIM Sae-byuk, JEONG Ha-dam
Independence fighter YU Gwan-sun (KO A-sung) is jailed for taking an active part in the March 1st Movement during the time of the Japanese colonial rule in Korea. Despite her situation, YU pushes on and enlists her fellow inmates to continue to resist the Japanese Empire from behind bars. YU’s provocations are discovered and she is tortured by a Japanese security chief. Following her ordeal, she pretends to toe the line, all the while preparing a new protest, which begins to spread beyond the prison walls.
Based on a true story, A Resistance is the fourth film by director CHO Min-ho, who previously made A Million (2009), Les Formidables (2006) and Jungle Juice (2002).
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 New York Asian Film Festival
2019 Diaspora Film Festival
2019 London Korean Film Festival
2019 Korean Film Festival in Australia
2019 Muju Film Festival
Clean Up
Sat. 26.10.2019, 8:15pm, Kino 1
Q&A with director KWON Man-ki after the film
호흡
South Korea 2018, 101 Min, OmeU, FSK: not rated
Genre: Drama
Director: KWON Man-ki
Screenwriter: KWON Man-ki
Cast: KIM Dae-gun, Yoon Ji-hye
Jung-je (YOON Ji-hye) is an expressionless woman in her forties working for a cleaning service. Her everyday life consists of heavy drinking, smoking and regular church visits, where she prays for repentance. Jung-je’s seemingly dull and monotonous life takes an unexpected turn after she meets her new co-worker, Min-gu (KIM Dae-gun), a 21-year-old ex-convict. Through herer encounter with the anxious, reserved young man, Jung-je is forced to confront her past that she would rather forget.
KWON Man-ki’s graduation project “Clean Up” is a carefully crafted, character-driven psychological drama about the meeting of a perpetrator and their victim many years after their traumatic first encounter.
Although “Clean Up” is KWON Man-ki’s first feature film, it has been well-received international, even winning the young director a few awards, such as the Best Film Award the the 3rd International Film Festival & Awards Macao.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2018 International Film Festival and Awards – Best Film Award
2018 Busan International Film Festival – New Currents Award
2018 Busan International Film Festival – KTH Award
2018 Chicago International Film Festival
2019 Florence Korean Film Festival – Jury Prize
Memories of Murder
Sat. 26.10.2019, 10:30pm, Kino 3
살인의 추억
South Korea 2003, 132 Min, OmdU, FSK: 16+
Genre: Thriller, Drama, Crime
Director: BONG Joon-ho
Screenwriter: BONG Joon-ho, SHIM Sung-bo, KIM Kwang-rim (Theaterstück)
Cast: SONG Kang-ho, KIM Sang-kyung, KIM Roe-ha, PARK Hae-il, PARK No-shik
Based on the story of South Korea’s first-ever documented serial murders, multiple young women are found murdered and raped in the rural province of Gyeonggi in 1986. As the boorish, local detective
PARK Doo-man (SONG Kang-ho) struggles to find any leads, special investigator SEO Tae-yoon (KIM Sang-kyung) arrives from Seoul to join their investigation, but due to their differences, the detectives are at odds with each other. In the meanwhile, more and more women fall victim to the murderer.
A reflection of rural 1980s South Korea under military dictatorship – Memories of Murder is a suspenseful, somber masterpiece by director BONG Joon-ho (The Host, Snowpiercer). Praised for its skillful cinematography and masterful storytelling, critics have declared the film to be not just the very best of Korean cinema – but also one of the best thrillers to be released in the 2000s worldwide.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2003 Busan Film Critics Association (BCFA) - Best Director, BONG Joon-ho
2003 Korean Association of Film Critics Awards - Best Film, BONG Joon-ho
2003 San Sebastián International Film Festival - Best New Director, BONG Joon-ho
2003 San Sebastián International Film Festival - FIPRESCI Prize, BONG Joon-ho
2003 Tokyo International Film Festival - Asian Film Award, BONG Joon-ho
Spring, Again
Sun. 27.10.2019, 2:00pm, Kino 3
다시, 봄
South Korea 2018, 104 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 12+
Genre: Drama, Romance, Fantasy
Director: JUNG Yong-joo
Screenwriter: JUNG Yong-joo
Cast: Lee Chung-Ah, Hong Jong-Hyun, Park So-Yi, Park Ji-Il, Park Kyung-Hye, Park Ji-Bin
Eun-jo’s(LEE Chung-ah) life falls apart following the death of her precious daughter. But one day, rather than tomorrow, she wakes up yesterday. As her life begins to proceed in reverse, she is soon reunited with her lost daughter, but without any control over her time travel, she is forced to go even beyond. During her backwards journey she meets Ho-min (HONG Jong-hyun), a young man who may hold the key to her fantastical reverse journey through time.
Based on a webtoon, Spring, Again is the latest melodrama from Never Ending Story (2012) director JUNG Yong-joo and follows in the footsteps of a long and illustrious line of time-slip dramas.
Ghost Walk
So. 27.10.2019, 5:00pm, Kino 3
밤의 문이 열린다
South Korea 2019, 89 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 12+
Genre: Fantasy, Drama
Director: YU Eun-jeong
Screenwriter: YU Eun-jeong
Cast: HAN Hae-in, JEON So-nee, HONG Seung-yi
Hye-jeong is a young woman working in a factory on the outskirts of the city. All she wants is to live alone in peace. However, one night, she finds out that she has become a ghost. As a ghost, she goes back in time, day by day and gets a glimpse of the scars and sorrows of her neighbors, realizing all the things she
missed, while living day to day.
Director YU Eun-jeong, winner of the 2012 Seoul Women’s Film Festival Short Film prize for Lights in the Dusk (2012), impresses with her first feature film Ghost Walk, an understated and contemplative horror drama with beautiful visuals.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2018 Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival – Audience Award
2018 Women’s Film Festival in Gwangju
2018 Seoul Independent Film Festival
2019 Chucheon International Film Festival
Extreme Job
Sun 27.10.2019, 5:15pm, Kino 1
극한 직업
South Korea 2019, 111 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 15+
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime
Director: LEE Byeong-Hyeon
Screenwriter: BAE Se-Young
Cast: RYU Seung-Ryoung, LEE Honey, LEE Dong-Hwi, GONG Myung, JIN Seon-Kyu
Captain KO, the head of a narcotics squad, is looking to reverse their recent poor performance streak. That chance comes around when KO catches word of a major international drug deal that is about to go down and prepares his team to go undercover. To provide a front for their round-the-clock incognito operation, the group poses as the staff of a rundown fried chicken restaurant right across from the safe house being used by the drug pushers. However, team member Detective MA’s culinary skills put a surprise spanner in the works when his dishes turn the restaurant into an overnight sensation, making it harder for the would-be restaurateurs to do their surveillance work.
Currently the highest grossing film in South Korean film history, Extreme Job is a fun and fast-paced action comedy, full of snappy banter and slapstick action, by director LEE Byung-heon, who is also known for his coming-of-age drama Twenty (2015).
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Hongkong International Film Festival Spring Showcase
2019 Edinburgh International Film Festival
2019 Shanghai International Film Festival
2019 Fantasia International Film Festival
2019 Busan International Film Festival
House of Hummingbird
Sun 27.10.2019, 8:00pm, Kino 3
벌새
South Korea 2018, 138 Min, OmeU, KMRB: not rated
Genre: Drama
Director: KIM Bora
Screenwriter: KIM Bora
Cast: PARK Ji-hu, KIM Sae-byuk, JUNG In-gi, LEE Seung-yeon
Set in 1994 and partly inspired by the director’s own life, House of Hummingbird follows the life of Eun-hee (PARK Ji-hu), a 14-year-old girl from Seoul drifting through life, feeling out of place no matter where she goes. Her parents are constantly fighting. Her older brother beats her. School feels like a waste of time. She quarrels with her best friend and experiences the first flush of romance. One day, Eun-hee meets Young-ji (KIM Sae-byuk), the new tutor at her cram school, through whom Eun-hee’s world would slowly start to shift.
Delicately and deliberately crafted, KIM Bo-ra’s debut feature House of Hummingbird tells a compassionate coming-of-age story about a young girl and her family in Seoul during its construction boom in the 90s.
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 Berlin International Film Festival – Grand Prix of the Generation 14plus for Best Film
2019 Tribeca Film Festival – Best International Narrative Feature
2019 Seattle International Film Festival – Official Competition Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film
2019 Taipei Film Festival – Special Jury Prize
2018 Busan International Film Festival – NETPAC Award
Money
Sun 27.10.2019, 8:15pm, Kino 1
Q&A with director PARK Noo-ri and producer PARK Min-jung after the film
돈
South Korea 2019, 115 Min, OmeU, KMRB: 15+
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
Director: PARK Noo-ri
Screenwriter: PARK Noo-ri
Cast: RYU Jun-yeol, YOO Ji-tae, JO Woo-jin
Fresh out of university, Il-hyun (RYU Jun-yeol) dreams of making the big bucks, thus applying for a stockbroking firm in the financial center of South Korea. But things don’t quite pan out as he imagined, after he spends a year running errands for his team. Frustrated, he meets with the expert market manipulator “The Ticket” (YOO Ji-tae) and soon finds himself on the fast track to success.
It doesn’t take long for his life to change, but along with all his newfound riches also comes the terrible price he must pay, as the dire consequences of his actions begin to present themselves before him.
This crime drama is the debut of director PARK Noo-ri, who previously worked as an assistant director on RYU Seung-wan films such as The Unjust (2010) and The Berlin File (2013).
Awards & Invitations (selection):
2019 London East Asia Film Festival
2019 Hongkong International Film Festival Spring Showcase
2019 Korean Film Festival in Australia
2019 New York Asian Film Festival – Screen International Rising Star Asia Award