Must-See (Korean) Films in 2008

2008 has kicked off so naturally people are quick to make predictions for the upcoming year. Although this article from The Korea Times was picked up by KFCC’s Hitman a week ago, it nonetheless stands, although I don’t particularly agree the “must-see” status of some films. The first mentioned film is the high-profiled A Man Who Was Superman, starring the sassy girl herself Jeon Ji-Hyun (aka Gianna Jun) and the ever stellar Hwang Jung-Min. The film, which opens on January 31, is largely banking on the image of Jeon, and her newfound image at that — as a seedy, tomboyish producer. But however intriguing the film may sound, it still seems as if the film is garnering attention for all the wrong reasons and the added pressure on Jeon’s performance could prove to be detrimental.

Speaking of crossovers from the melodramatic/rom-com realm, Kwon Sang-Woo is set to take another stab at being a “serious” actor (after his failed attempt with 2006’s Running Wild) alongside real-life buddy Song Seung-Heon, who recently completed his mandatory military service. A Destiny, which chronicles a friendship gone sour and promises a different side to the two pretty boys, is likely to showcase painstakingly grown stubble, zealous overacting, and a continuous stream of swear words. I wonder if Japan’s Formula Entertainment was expecting this when they pre-bought the rights for $2 million.

Park Chan-Wook continues to attract attention with his highly anticipated Bat, which will hopefully fare better than his previous I’m a Cyborg, but That’s OK. The film, previously titled Evil Live, is apparently a melodrama about a vampire who falls in love with a married woman. Park has also signed on as producer for Scarlet Blush. The screwball comedy follows a young woman (Gong Hyo Jin)’s attempts to deter the affections of a man while entering a shady alliance with his daughter in the meantime.

Festival favourite Kim Ki-Duk returns with Sad Dream, uniting Korea’s Lee Na-Youn with Japan’s Joe Odagiri. I’ve been incredibly fond of everything I’ve seen from Kim so far and Odagiri is dubbed as Japan’s answer to Johnny Depp so this no doubt a project to keep an eye out for.

So is Kim Jee-Woon’s western The Good, The Bad, and The Weird. Since the project was announced, it’s been on every (Asian) movie buff’s radar. And with an A-list cast of Song Kang-Ho, Lee Byeong-Heon, and Jung Woo-Sung, the film has immense star power. Plus, it’d be interesting to see how the film fares against Takashi Miike’s Sukiyaki Western Django.

To round off the year are some Hollywood crossovers. Rain (Bi)’s appearance in the big-budgeted Speed Racer is all the buzz among his fan girls, but it’s unlikely we’ll hear much about it in American media. And before we go pulling the race card, keep in mind that Rain’s role is minor and has only been blown out of proportion by the Korean media. Jang Dong-Gun is likely to have more success with Laundry Warrior and Jeon Ji-Hyun (oops, Gianna) with Blood: The Last Vampire, granted that it remains faithful enough to the source material to please fans. And Song Hye-Gyo’s choice of independent film Fetish is a rather odd choice for a North American debut. It might build her professional reputation, but it won’t provide her with too much exposure.

So that’s about the meat and potatoes of 2008, give or take a few fluff romances and tired concepts. Let’s see what the rest of the year brings for us…