Le Zèbre

Im Sang-soo, a Korean director in Paris

Filmmaker Im Sang-soo is currently working on a new project entitled "A Woman in Paris". Pic will be produced by Carole Scotta's Haut et Court and greensky FILMS and filming will begin in 2009.

Im Sang-soo's sixth film will deal with the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and the 7/7 London bombings. "A Woman in Paris" is the story of a Korean woman who is caught in a terrorist bomb blast in Paris.

A detailed synopsis of the film is available here.

The director's statement included in this document shows that Im Sang-soo somehow shares some of Alejandro Inárritu's ambitions in Babel who was also depicting in his film conflicts of culture, race, language and religion in the post-9/11 world.

This project was part of this year's selection of the Hong Kong-Asia Film Financing Forum (HAF).

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UPDATE: I actually discovered that Im Sang-soo had been working on this film project for almost two years! He was originally planning to do a remake of A Lawyer's Wife set in Paris under the title "A Good Woman in Paris".

I found the original synopsis from July 2006 (in French only) and it is quite fascinating to see how the project has evolved. At that time, Im Sang-soo was in Paris on the occasion of the Paris Cinéma Festival and he seized that opportunity to look for French financial partners. The story does not tell us if he met the people from Haut et Court during that festival...

Korean films at the 62nd Edinburgh International Film Festival

Glad to be back on Le Zèbre with the 62nd edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF). The festival started on Wednesday 17 with an opening gala screening in presence of actresses Keira Knightley and Sienna Miller and the local celebrity Sir Sean Connery himself.

The EIFF was traditionally held in August but new artistic director Hannah McGill decided to switch it to June to try to give more visibility to the event. However, the line-up is still ambitious and, to be noted, is the remarkable presence of Korean films in the EIFF.

Last year, four Korean films were shown in Edinburgh, with three of Korea's most acclaimed directors: Kim Ki-duk ("Breath"), Park Chan-wook ("I'm a Cyborg but that's OK") and Im Sang-soo ("The Old Garden"). But instead of "Secret Sunshine" which had already been presented in the official selection in Cannes, the festival organizers decided to select "The Last Dining Table" by Roe Gyeong-tae.

Again this year four Korean films have been selected:
- "Milky Way Liberation Front" by Yoon Seong-ho
- "Cadaver" by Derek Son
- "With a Girl of Black Soil" by Jeon Soo-il
- "Life Track" by Jin Guang-hao

The big difference with last year's selection is that all these movies belong to the South Korean independent scene and as such have an even more limited audience in their country than the likes of Kim, Park and Im. If I remember well, two of these films, namely "Milky Way Liberation Front" and "Life Track", had actually been shown in the new Indie Space which was inaugurated in the Sponge House Joongang Cinema last fall in Seoul.

Yesterday night I went to see the European premiere of "Milky Way Liberation Front" and found that the film was not as good as I thought or expected ("MWLF" had received very positive reactions from critics in South Korea). Here is a clear example of a film which should not be exported to foreign markets because it is full of cultural references and constant assumptions that make it difficult to understand for an non-initiated audience.

However, this story of a young director who struggles to find investors to finance his first film gives us an interesting outlook on the Korean film industry today. In the movie, the negotiations set in the Pusan International Film Festival show that Korean films are increasingly formatted: they aim at a target audience between 20 and 40 years old and must include other Asian actors in order to be sold in other countries of the region. Not exactly what you could expect from a festival that claims that you can "eat delicious movies with your eyes".

Cruel Spring for Korean Films

I hate to say this but it has been in the air for quite a long time. Last year, some Cassandra-like prophecies were already announcing the end of the Hallyu era with producers forced to cut costs, less creativity and demand declining.

So today, I came across an article published in the Seoul Shinmun entitled "Cruel Spring for Korean films", which tries to give elements of explanations for the obvious apathy of the Korean film industry these days.

The author Lee Eun-joo first says that between March and April only 10 films will be released on the South Korean screens, making it the lowest number of releases in years. Usually, two or three new local films are released every week in Korea, so this is quite a change. For Lee, the situation in the Korean film industry is quite similar to the draught South Korea has been experiencing this spring: local films are as sparse as rain.

Today, film producers decided not to fund projects based upon a named director or actor but to focus on the qualities of their films.

Predicting the future of Korean films?

Film production in Korea is at a slower pace than before and distributors are more careful when releasing new films. For instance, the film Modern Boy (모던보이), originally scheduled for April, will finally be released in September. And how will a film like The Hankyoreh (흑심모녀) be able to compete in May with the simultaneous releases of Indiana Jones 4, Narnia 2 and Speed Racer?

There are higher expectations from distributors in terms of return on investment: 2 or 3 million spectators is seen as a passable score for a film; The Chaser is considered to be a huge success with more than 4 million spectators.

But there are also higher expectations from the audience according to Lee. As a matter of fact, Korean spectators have changed considerably over the past years: they have developed an increased sensibility to the quality of the films shown and they do not mind waiting to see the interesting films late after their release. They are helped in doing that by the huge offer of films available on cable TV and on the Web.

I must say however that I am not totally convinced by this article since March to May is the traditional lull in the number of films released because most distributors keep their best films for the upcoming festivals. Let's see what will the coming trend look like later this year in South Korea!

A day with Bill Plympton

Some call Bill Plympton the “new Tex Avery”; others consider him to be the illegitimate son of Robert Crumb, Roland Topor and the Marx Brothers together. Who is the real Bill Plympton?

I had the privilege of spending one day with the American animator who was the guest of honour of the fourth edition of the Lille Animation Film Festival. It was a day full of humour, craziness, excitement and adventures.

Driving to Calais

It all began with an epic drive to Calais. Bill Plympton first asked us if it would be possible to stop in Dunkirk to see the beaches and maybe for a bit of swimming too since he had brought his bathing suit. We parked the car, and Bill took off his shoes, as he walked towards the sea! But alas we were not graced with seeing Bill Plympton trying to swim the Channel, instead seeing him dip his toes in the cold water would have to suffice.

After this memorable episode, we went to see the remnants of the Battle of Dunkirk and Bill Plympton decided to climb a bunker.

Will this be in his new cartoon? / Copyright © Le Zèbre

And when we were finally ready to leave Dunkirk, our driver Vincent did not see a bus coming and the two vehicles crashed. Just imagine the scene: I was left alone with Bill Plympton for one hour while Vincent was negotiating with an angry bus driver and an irate mob of passengers!

Film lovers

What happens when one film buff meets another film buff? Well, they speak film. And that is exactly what I did during that day with Bill Plympton. I discovered that we have had the same favourite films in 2007, namely Ratatouille and Atonement. I told him how much I had liked The Darjeeling Limited but he said that maybe Wes Anderson was a bit over hyped.

Of course, we discussed a great deal about animation films. I knew Bill Plympton was a huge Pixar fan and he mentioned several times how successful the move of Brad Bird (Ratatouille’s director) from 2D to 3D had been and he said that he had been really impressed by the new Blue Sky production Horton Hears a Who. And Mr. Plympton recommended me two films he had especially liked in the last animation film festivals he had attended: a Japanese film called Mind Game and a brilliant Norwegian CGI film entitled Free Jimmy.

And South Korea?

Bill Plympton told me that he had visited South Korea a couple of times and that he had been very impressed with the effort made by the government in promoting the animation film industry. According to Mr. Plympton, there are currently over 100 animation studios in South Korea; he also said he had been lucky enough to be introduced to the legendary Nelson Shin.

I was really glad to learn that some of his films had already been released in selected South Korean cinemas and were also available in DVD. And, for my Korean readers, you will be glad to learn that Bill Plympton's new film Idiots and Angels will be released soon in South Korea!

Les jeunes Coréens, fashion victimes

En Corée, nous avons un proverbe qui dit : « 옷이 날개다 » ("vos vêtements sont vos ailes"). Cela signifie que l’on peut juger la personne selon la manière dont elle s'habille. Si quelqu’un s’habille de manière élégante, cela produit instantanément une impression très positive chez son interlocuteur. Le problème, c'est que les Coréens ont tendance à prendre cette maxime un peu trop au pied de la lettre. Et particulièrement les jeunes.

La marque K-Swiss est très populaire en Corée du Sud.

Les jeunes Coréens suivent la mode obsessionnellement. Je crois que cela tient au fait que l’identité de groupe est encore plus forte chez les jeunes et beaucoup ont peur de paraître différents et d'être jugés sur leur apparence. Je me souviens qu’un jour où il neigeait beaucoup, j'ai enroulé mon visage dans mon écharpe pour me protéger. J’ai eu le droit à beaucoup de commentaires de la part de mes amis qui trouvaient cette manière de s’habiller « différente » et « bizarre ». L’extravagance n’a pas vraiment sa place en Corée du Sud : la règle est de se fondre dans le groupe et cela explique en grande partie la standardisation de la mode coréenne pour les jeunes.

Aujourd'hui, les jeunes Coréens sont influencés par les séries télévisées américaines, la mode japonaise, la publicité sur Internet ou encore les magazines. De la tentation à l’achat, il n’y a qu’un pas : on peut acheter facilement des vêtements ou des accessoires sur Internet. On peut aussi trouver à Séoul les dernières tendances de la mode japonaise, notamment dans les quartiers Dongdae-moon (동대문) et Myung-dong (명동). Les Coréens peuvent donc suivre la mode plus rapidement et plus facilement, mais, au bout du compte, tout le monde s’habille de la même manière.

Le site Internet de WIZWID dont le slogan est : "Je ne veux plus aller à New York, parce qu’il y a WIZWID".

Si je compare la mode coréenne à celle des jeunes Européennes ou Américaines présentes dans mon campus, j’ai l'impression que les jeunes filles occidentales s'habillent de manière plus confortable et plus libre que les jeunes filles coréennes. Par exemple, elles n’hésitent pas à porter un simple jean avec un t-shirt ou un pull-over et des chaussures plates. Or, chez les jeunes filles coréennes, la norme est de porter des chaussures avec talons et des vêtements de marques connues, et preuve de bon goût, avoir un sac de luxe assorti de type Chanel ou Louis Vuitton.

Néanmoins, j'ai constaté que tout cela était en train de changer en Corée. Le nombre de jeunes qui veulent donner leur opinion sur la mode ou s’affirmer par l’originalité et la créativité de leur habillement augmente de jour en jour. Nous avons un nom spécifique pour désigner ces personnes : ce sont des « fashion leaders ». Ce sont des personnes qui ont la capacité de lancer ou développer de nouvelles modes. Si on leur demande ce qu’est la mode, ils disent tous que c'est un moyen de pouvoir affirmer leur personnalité.

Même si je n’oublie pas que ces « fashion leaders » sont un nouveau produit de nos envies consuméristes, je trouve ce mouvement plutôt salutaire pour un pays comme la Corée du Sud. La mode en Corée est aujourd’hui devenue une véritable quête d’identité pour beaucoup de jeunes Coréens.

À découvrir : La météo de la mode du site Naver

Statistics about Chungmuro

In January, Darcy Paquet announced that the 2007 statistics will be out by the end of the month on the Korean Film Council website but apparently these people of the KOFIC are a little bit overdue because there is still nothing on their webpage.

However, the same Darcy Paquet has published on his own website the box office of the top ten local films for 2007, according to the KOFIC figures. This top ten stands as follows (total admission given nationwide):

1. D-War ............................... 8,420,000
2. May 18 .............................. 7,280,000
3. Voice of a Murderer ............... 3,245,865
4. Le Grand Chef ..................... 3,028,713
5. Miracle on 1st Street ............. 2,750,457
6. Paradise Murdered ................ 2,231,417
7. Going by the Book ................ 2,148,639
8. Seven Days ......................... 2,037,678
9. Love ................................. 1,966,422
10. Sex is Zero 2 ....................... 1,925,504

Source: Korean Film Council

Now, for more recent figures, the KOBIS still publishes on its website the weekly box office figures. The problem is that most foreign readers are not able to understand these tables as there are only available in hangul.

Frequent readers of this blog know that last semester I tried to translate each week's top ten films. I definitely think it is important to have a running view of the situation in the Korean film industry. But eventually I stopped because my effort was becoming redundant since the KOFIC website was already doing it on their own!

The box office in English is accessible from here and looks like this:

As you can see, it is very detailed (including nationality, w-e admission/total admission, w-e gross/total gross, release date, number of screens). However, I still recommend the KOBIS box office figures for those who can understand Korean because it has many added functions and features for instance the Seoul figures.

Finally, for those who want even more information, The Hollywood Reporter has opened a new Asian website, vaguely inspired from the Variety Asia edition. Mark Russel from the Korea Pop Wars website is one of the journalists writing there. And they also have a newsletter in Korean.

Bill Plympton and the Korean animation

A frequent visitor of South Korea (he was invited to give a master class in the Puchon International Student Animation Festival – also called "PISAF" – last November), animated filmmaker Bill Plympton will be tomorrow in the Alhambra cinema in Calais, Northern France.

Bill Plympton will make a special appearance on the occasion of the screening of his multi-awarded film "I Married a Strange Person!". As a huge fan of his works, I have been asked to moderate and translate the debates with Plympton.

"Bill Plympton is God" (Matt Groening)

I will have the opportunity to talk with him tomorrow and I am curious to know what he thinks of South Korean animated films as well as Korea's ambition to become the leading world center of animation.

A special report to be published soon on this blog!

Monday Mourning

Very sad today because Sungnyemun (숭례문) burnt yesterday night. It was South Korea's top national treasure: it was both the most famous monument and the symbol of Seoul. This gate was erected during the Chosun era and was the oldest wooden structure in Korea. It is as if for instance the Arc de Triomphe in Paris had been destroyed!

Photograph by Tylerdurden

I can't find words to describe the absurdity of such a criminal act.

I suddenly remembered the lines by Korean poet Ze-hyong Czoe (최재형):

FIRE

A fire broke out.
A fire broke out in the house of fate.

My wife and my kids,
Sins and tears,
All my numerous husks,
All fates that made me suffer,
- All these are burning!

When the dreams of bygone days
Flare up their red-tongues in the night sky,
I wish to live on with my best.

Nothing is regrettable.
The fire is burning all through the night.
I dared not positively burn my body
And waited till the day broke out.

Smell,
Smell,
Smell,
The smell of the burning of evils.
The smell of the burning of nihility.

Andreas Gursky à Pyongyang

Andreas Gursky
Pyongyang I, 2007
307 x 215,5 cm
C-Print
© Andreas Gursky / VG Bild-Kunst
Courtesy Monika Sprüth / Philomene Magers

C’est au cours de mon séjour écossais que j’ai découvert le travail du photographe allemand Andreas Gursky. J’ai en effet pu parcourir le catalogue d’une exposition qui se tient en ce moment au Kunstmuseum de Bâle dans laquelle Gursky présente une série de clichés rares pris en Corée du Nord.

Je suis toujours surprise par le regard qui est porté sur la Corée depuis l’Occident. Dans les esprits, le nom de la Corée reste irrémédiablement attaché à la Corée du Nord. Il est vrai que c’est un des derniers pays communistes dans le monde avec Cuba. Au contraire de la Chine et de la Russie qui se sont ouvertes sur le reste du monde, la Corée du Nord s’est repliée sur elle-même. Ce refus des influences étrangères m’évoque l’expression « royaume-ermite » que l’on employait à l’époque de la dynastie Chosun.

D’un point de vue plus personnnel, je peux dire que la Corée du Nord reste un pays ambigu pour moi : nous avons les mêmes racines mais nos deux peuples sont séparés depuis un demi siècle. J’ai un sentiment de fraternité avec ce pays, mais en même temps je continue à le regarder avec le point de vue d’un étranger. Pour cette raison, le travail spectaculaire d’Andreas Gursky à Pyongyang en 2007 m’intéresse au plus haut point.

Le Rungnado Mayday Stadium à Pyongyang

C’est en 2005 que le photographe allemand a visité la Corée du Nord pour la première fois mais il a dû y revenir plusieurs fois pour obtenir les photos recherchées. Il souhaitait en effet photographier les manifestations organisées à la gloire du régime dont le fameux « Arirang Festival » qui célèbre l’anniversaire de Kim Il-sung et se déroule chaque année au Rungnado Mayday Stadium à Pyongyang. On peut dire que la rencontre entre les grandes dimensions des clichés de l’artiste (les tirages font 3 mètres sur 2 mètres en moyenne !) et le caractère colossal des manifestations organisées en Corée du Nord s’imposait d’elle-même. Mais ce qui est intéressant chez Gursky, c’est que ses photos ne sont pas des photos à la gloire du régime, au contraire ce sont des clichés très impersonnels, presque abstraits. Ainsi, il ne montre pas les portraits de Kim Jung-il ou les slogans politiques en hangeul. Il détourne les attributs du régime tout comme Andy Warhol qui s’attribue les portraits de Mao.

Ainsi, le travail d’Andreas Gursky reste un travail expérimental à la fois dans sa technique et dans le regard qu’il porte sur l’objet de sa photographie. Dans sa technique, car alors que la majorité des photographes auraient tenté de prendre les mêmes photos depuis le dernier étage d’un immeuble ou au sommet d’une colline, Andreas Gursky se donne les moyens de réussir des photos spectaculaires en les prenant par exemple depuis un hélicoptère. Dans son regard, car ce photographe porte un regard de plasticien bien différent du regard traditionnel qui est porté en Occident sur la Corée du Nord rythmé par l’actualité internationale.

Les photographies de Andreas Gursky sont à découvrir au Kunstmuseum de Bâle en Suisse jusqu’au 24 février 2008.

Sur Internet : http://www.kunstmuseumbasel.ch/fr/expositions/actuel/gursky/

Lust, Caution: another success in South Korea for Ang Lee

Since its release at the beginning of November, Lust, Caution has been doing extremely well in South Korea.

Ang Lee's film, which is distributed locally by CJ Entertainment, has grossed to date a total of $13,316,181 according to Box Office Mojo. It is interesting to note that CJ dominates the whole South Korean box office with major American hits like I am a Legend or August Rush and Korean productions like Le Grand Chef and Sex Is Zero 2.

It is clear that the whiff of scandal and the difficulties with censors in China for some sexually charged scenes, helped the film perform well everywhere in Asia and, more specifically, in South Korea.

Wei Tang and Tony Leung Chiu Wai in Lust, Caution

I finally saw the film on Monday, since the film was only released last January 4 here in the UK. It is probably Ang Lee's best film. The atmosphere in the International Settlement in Shanghai reminded me of the adventures of Tintin in China and I was bewitched by the beauty of the music composed by Alexandre Desplat. Tony Leung Chiu Wai is impressive - as always - and how can't we be but fascinated by the performance of newcomer Wei Tang.

Via French cultural magazine Télérama, I found some very useful notes about the real meaning in Chinese of the title "Lust, Caution". According to Emmanuelle Péchenart, "Se, jie" (色，戒) have different interpretations:

« Se désigne la couleur, le charme féminin et le désir sexuel ; jie signifie l'abstinence, la retenue et la pru­dence, mais les deux termes signifient encore rôle de théâtre, bague et aussi encercler, donner l'alarme. »

The English title is therefore incomplete if one wants to have a deep understanding of the story, what the film is all about. Interesting, isn't it?