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London Korean Film Festival 2022: Now back to being fully and resoundingly in-person, the London Korean Film Festival can build on its reputation as a highlight of the cinematic year. Wonderfully curated to within an inch of its life, it spreads across genres, themes and eras, encompassing both independent and smash hit, popcorn movies. And it keeps on evolving, with more expert cinephile introductions and intense Q&As, and a growing audience across loads of sold-out venues, first in London and then elsewhere around the UK.
Apart from a handful of all-action historical epics and the odd gangster and political film, there was a major theme stretching across the festival this year, focusing on daughters (sometimes sons) and their mothers or fathers, plus families conventional, dysfunctional and improvised.
My highlight of the entire festival has to be the thriller The Anchor (above), from director Jeong Ji-yeon, making her feature debut eight years after she made her last short film, A Cold. I’m already a sucker for Hitchcock style thrillers, and Jeong really shows she knows her Hitch here, with echoes of Vertigo, Psycho, Spellbound, and even Marnie. The plot veers from realism in the shiny world of a successful TV news anchor Jung Se-ra – superbly played by Chun Woo-hee – to a hinterland where she’s crowded out by her overbearing mother (Lee Hye-yeoung) and an intrusive psychiatrist Cho In-ho (Shin Ha-kyun) in which nothing is quite what it seems.
Piled high with foreshadowing and tremendous use of sound, it ratchets up the tension for Jung and the audience alike, as the anchor becomes a central part of the story on which she’s reporting. Plot-wise there’s bags of Freudian shenanigans and Hitch-esque MacGuffins going on, plus the idea that a woman with ambition is a dangerous thing (of course). But apart from that I’d advise you to go in with an open mind and some nails to bite, because you’ll need them. We were lucky enough to have the director, Jeong there for an in-depth Q&A after, in which she (only half-jokingly) said she felt she gave up her youth to make this movie, and told us that it’s hard to be a female director and tell a female narrative while males remain the default – and you can see how this affected her plot.
The epic treats came in the shape of two historical, naval warfare blockbusters from Kim Han-min. First, The Admiral: Roaring Currents is still the most successful Korean film ever, with over 17 million admissions, plus its follow-up, Hansan: Rising Dragon which is a prequel, in chronological terms. And in an entertaining bonus masterclass at the Korean Cultural Centre, Kim said that the third in this trilogy (Sea of Death) will be released in 2023, as he shot this at the same time as Rising Dragon (filmed, Kim informed us, in the speed skating arena used in the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympics), which he described as a bigger set than Pirates of the Caribbean!
As for the films themselves, expect tiptop millinery and lavish costumes, plus epic sequences in both. Set in 1592, Rising Dragon also has great performances, including Park Hae-il (from Park Chan-wook’s Decision To Leave), in the leading role of the Admiral, Yi Sun-sin, with his subtly expressive face and acting chops. Along with the sea sequences, there are spies, big drums, much hand-to-hand combat, and a would-be female assassin.
There used to be loads of car chase movies coming out of Korea, across neon-lit cityscapes in glamorous vehicles in super slo-mo. Stellar: A Magical Ride from director Kwon Soo-kyung may feature a car at its heart, but is a different beast altogether. For the getaway vehicle is a beat-up old Hyundai that belonged to the protagonist, Yeong-bae’s father – which leads to flashbacks of that relationship. The route is rather less exciting too, along dusty, rural and mundane roads, where Yeong-bae finds it easier to express his affection for the car than for his own loved ones. All as he pursues his fleeing friend, Dong-sik (Lee Kyu-hyung) and young family, while he is himself being chased by moneylenders. Very much a recline-your-seat-and-devour-popcorn film.
Roaring Currents takes place in 1597 as the 300-strong Japanese fleet invade and Admiral Yi (this time played by Choi Min-sik) has to face them with just a dozen ships. But what made this screening even more exciting and visceral was sitting right behind the director himself, not to mention being one row in front of a loud and lairy drink-fuelled fight that spilled over at the height of the onscreen battle. It was hard to know where to look! Back to the actual film, and you really feel the suffering and bravery of Yi’s followers while the dangerous currents swirl around them and they face and overcome their fears. Tactical nous, stubbornness, bloody vengeance, fire and water, and a key father-son relationship are the other key components, and you can see why this was such a massive hit.
We gleaned even more from Kim’s masterclass and Q&A session, in which the director said his sole source of information for all three films was the set of diaries that Admiral Yi wrote, and Kim kept copies of them with him at all times. His aim was to make it all from Yi’s point-of-view, and let the viewers really get to know the character across the trilogy. Laughing after the Roaring Currents screening, Kim said watching it reminded him “never to shoot that way again!” He also explained that there’s a different actor playing Yi in each film because Choi Min-sik said one was enough for him, which ended up being a great decision for the breadth and variety of characterisation through the films.
Admiral Yi is a sacred hero in Korea, “even more than Nelson” according to Kim, “so if I didn’t treat him well, it would be a disaster.” He decided to lean on the genre in these period action movies, and admitted that he chose to film the middle battle first in the trilogy because he only really needed a dozen ships for it, which made the budget work! With Sea of Death the subject is how to end a war, and Kim draws parallels with the conflict in Ukraine right now. Crucially, the director admits that he makes a decision about each project by asking himself if it will touch his heart, and if so he quickly tries to calculate the budget required. And he said he doesn’t need to go to Hollywood now, because the Korean film industry and its distribution is really working, with the upshot being that “a famous Hollywood actor” is coming over to guest in Kim’s next movie. Exciting times.
Previously best known for his Japanese films, including the wonderful Shoplifters, director Hirokazu Kore-eda has gathered another fabulous ensemble cast for his new Korean movie, Broker. From the outset it has a strong narrative about a baby abandoned by his struggling young mother, then just as it feels like it’s about to turn into something warm and cosy, it becomes far more complex. All typically Kore-eda. As with Shoplifters, this is a ‘family’ unit thrown together by circumstances, somehow getting by, despite appearing to be utterly dysfunctional. About that cast though – which will feel like a who’s who of Korean cinema to LKFF addicts and even casual Korean film fans. It includes Song Kang Ho of Parasite, The Host and Snowpiercer fame, Gang Dong Won from Kundo: Age of the Rampant and Master, and Doona Bae from Next Sohee and The Host (here playing a detective). Guarantee you’ll be rooting for them all by the end.
Choi Dong-hoon’s The Thieves was a hit back in 2012, when it first appeared at LKFF as the opening gala feature. It’s got a lot to offer and even now you can see how it was influenced by the likes of Ocean’s Eleven, with bags of visual wit and style. It similarly boasts an all-star cast. Including Kim Yoon-suk (from Yellow Sea), Kim Hye-soo (from Coin Locker Girl), Lee Jung-jae (from Squid Game), Simon Yam (from Election), and Derek Tsang (from Better Days), this is an unashamedly crowd-pleasing movie, and became a huge box-office smash. Just like the Oceans franchise, it has a bunch of unlikely criminals – a family of sorts – teaming up, all with different skills and backgrounds, and each one a master of disguise. Their aim is to pull off the ultimate heist, with loads of wise-cracking along the way. You can see how this track record persuaded the festival to make the director’s latest, Alienoid, its opening gala feature ten years later.
The festival’s Cinema Now strand is bursting with recent box-office hits, which means they always sell out quickly. Byun Sung-hyun’s Kingmaker plots the story of the rise to the top of politics by Kim Woon-bum (Sul Kyung-gu), assisted by his win-at-all-costs Svengali, Seo Chang-dae (Lee Sun-kyun). It’s a dog-eat-dog world and based on real events and people in the 1960s. Skulduggery abounds as the Dominic Cummings/ Alastair Campbell spin doctor figure makes dodgy deals for votes. It’s principled idealism versus pragmatism, and the latter always wins. As they rise and fall, the main duo’s fates are inextricably intertwined… and the shadowy figure gradually emerges from the shadows. Terrific stuff.
With Hot Blooded, renowned screenwriter Cheon Myeong-kwan finally steps out of the shadows himself to become the director – and he’s conjured up a gangster movie reminiscent of The Godfather story arc, based on the celebrated novel by Kim Un-su. It’s all centred in the fictional port of “Kuam”, which the protagonists dub a “shithole”, and quickly plunges us into a world of power and patriarchy where there are merely degrees of villainy. No-one is a hero here, and would-be gangster Park Hee-su (Jung Woo) is prepared to wade through bloody violence, corruption and drug dealing to become a big fish in this little pond. Don’t get up from your seat too soon at the end though, as every time you think it’s all over, there’s another ending and twist in the tale. Very promising switch and debut by Cheon.
Starting lightheartedly, Director’s Intention is clearly influenced by Hong Sang-soo, though debut feature director Kim Min-geun shows he has his own spin on the business of making movies. As viewers, we follow in the footsteps of a location scout, Sun-hwa (Han Sun-hwa) who is making great headway on finding the perfect spots to match the “director’s intention” and emotions for his upcoming film. Then the actual director turns up and it’s Do-young (Lee Wan), who just happens to be her ex-boyfriend, and who immediately sets about turning down all her location suggestions. You also start to wonder whether Do-young might have contrived the entire thing just to reunite with Sun-hwa. It becomes very meta, with lots of knowing, insider observations – much like the recent Spanish movie, Official Competition, but with a smaller budget. The look and feel and storytelling bodes well for Kim’s next project.
One of the most rewarding strands in the festival shines the spotlight on Indie Talent, which means we get to see films that might otherwise go under the radar. Hot in Day, Cold at Night is a perfect example. Written, directed and starring movie partners Park Song-yeol and Won Hyang-ra, this is the story of a couple down on their luck and out of money, with all their bills hanging over them. It’s basically a focused, chamber drama about two young people who have pretty much nothing but each other. Everyone else lets them down. Shot like an obs-doc, it shows their never-ending daily struggle, as their debt spirals and they take on dead-end jobs, though thankfully it’s leavened by wit, and boasts superb, believable performances.
If you like a film that unfolds like a novel, really examining the hearts and minds of its subjects in unhurried fashion, then A Lonely Island in the Distant Sea is for you. Every character is flawed yet entirely empathetic, and director Kim Miyoung clearly spent much time developing them and their involving, meandering narratives. There’s early fleshing out of the stories of being bullied and outsiders for artistic daughter Gina (Lee Yeon) and her estranged, sculptor father Yuncheol (Park Jong-hwan). He’s initially a bit commitment-phobic too, until he realises his history lecturer Youngji (Kang Kyung-hun) has taken a fancy to him. The catalyst to the rest of the movie comes when Gina decides to join a Buddhist monastery as a novice, and Yuncheol decides to follow her there. Will all three get a fresh start or are their destinies already set? An award-winning film to really savour.
The Special Focus this year was on the late Korean superstar, Kang Soo-yeon, who sadly passed away in 2022. Apart from watching rare material, even stretching back to her early TV appearances in High School Diary from 1983, we got to see some of the standout films from her brilliant career. One director she returned to more than once was of course, Im Kwon-taek, and his searing 1989 movie Come Come Come Upward is not for the fainthearted. She plays a Buddhist novice, and the film shifts back and forth to give us glimpses of her previous life and experiences. These flashbacks help to explain why she’s left her world behind, and there are some disturbing scenes involving sexual assaults on her character that feel voyeuristic yet maybe commonplace, which is perhaps part of the point the director is making. I’ll also try to track down Kang’s 1986 film with Im, The Surrogate Woman, which has been highly recommended by everyone.
Finally, the part of the festival nominally labelled Women’s Voices was a gathering place for various shorts, plus one documentary and one feature. Hopefully it’ll be a bit bigger next year. Byun Gyu-ri’s documentary Coming to You focuses on a couple of Korean mothers, one with non-binary child and one with a gay son, and uses their awakenings and journeys to tell a wider story. As you might expect, there are fears and tears and regrets along the way as they push back against the bigots.
One last favourite in here is Gyeong-ah’s Daughter from Kim Jung-eun, telling a sadly, increasingly common tale of our age, involving a digital sex crime. We see how the relationship between Gyeong-ah and her teacher daughter is already strained, with the daughter meanwhile stalked and pressurised by her oppressive boyfriend, who won’t take no for an answer or believe they are finished. When he sends the private “sex tape” he filmed to Gyeong-ah, this revenge porn has the desired effect and the daughter’s world crumbles. Victim-blaming of her daughter is Gyeong-ah’s default, kneejerk reaction, and as the vindictive ex spreads the footage everywhere, the filial bonds are strained to breaking point. Clearly a subject that needs airing, and not just in Korea.
So, another storming Korean film festival with something for everyone in London and across the UK. My advice is to basically book as much as you can, the moment it’s announced (the next one will be in November 2023).
That’s all for our review of the London Korean Film Festival 2022, but do also check out these websites: Korean Film.co.uk and Korean Culture Centre UK, and you can also check out last year’s London Korean Film Festival 2021 Review.