Korean cinema has provided us with some memorable films: Old Boy, A Tale of Two Sisters, My Sassy Girl, Musa and The Brotherhood of War, to name but a few. Now it’s time to see the next crop of Korean gems at the 2012 Korean Film Festival, on this weekend.
To mark the Korea-New Zealand Year of Friendship and the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, the Korean Embassy has generously ensured the films in this edition of the festival are free for us to enjoy. Yes, you read that right, free! So make sure you get your tickets early.
The three films on show are: the touching animated family flick Leafie: A Hen Into The Wild, the gripping drama Unbowed, and the hilarious romantic comedy All About My Wife.
Screenings will be held at the Paramount Cinema in Wellington (15-16 December) and Rialto Newmarket in Auckland (16-17 December).
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Official screening times:
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Wellington – Paramount Cinema
15 December (Saturday), 1:30pm – Leafie: Hen Into The Wild
15 December (Saturday), 3:30pm – Unbowed
16 December (Sunday), 6:00pm – All About My Wife
Auckland – Rialto Newmarket
16 December (Sunday), 1:30pm – Leafie: Hen Into The Wild
16 December (Sunday), 5:30pm – All About My Wife
17 December (Monday), 6:00pm – Unbowed
Invited guests will also get to see the historical epic ‘Masquerade’, at special functions in Wellington and Auckland to mark the opening of the festival.
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Film details:
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LEAFIE: A HEN INTO THE WILD
93 minutes | Animation, Adventure, Drama, Family
Directror: OH Seong-yun. Cast: MOON So-ri, YOO Seung-Ho, CHOI Min-Sik.
On a chicken farm among hundreds of hens is Leafie, one amazing hen who dreams of a life outside her cage. She manages to escape from captivity using her wit only to find herself being hunted down by the weasel One Eye. But she is saved by Wanderer, the brave guardian duck. As she gets used to the life in the wild, Leafie realizes that Wanderer has a beautiful female duck with white feathers as a mate.
Then one day, his mate is killed by One Eye. Leafie enters their nest and finds a warm egg and sits on it tenderly. Time passes and the egg hatches on the night that Wanderer is also killed by One Eye. Seeing a patch of green on the baby’s head, Leafie names him Greenie and takes care of him as her son. They move to the swamp where Leafie manages to find a home. However, the difference between a mother chicken and her baby duck prove challenging. And one day, Greenie gets caught by the chicken farm owner and is on the verge of losing his wings. Hearing the news, Leafie rushes to the farm to save Greenie!
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UNBOWED
100 minutes | Drama
Director: CHUNG Ji-young. Cast: AHN Sung-ki, PARK Won-sang, NA Young-hee, KIM Ji-ho.
KIM Kyungho scuffles with a senior judge who ruled against him in front of his house. Meanwhile PARK Jun, a lawyer buried under debt, hears about KIM Kyungho’s case. A few days later, Kyungho’s wife visits PARK’s lawyer office and describes why Kyungho went to the judge’s house and what happened at his last lawsuit. After hearing the whole story, the lawyer has a good hunch about the case. But as soon as she notices that PARK Jun has an alcohol problem, she recants her request for him to take the case.
However, somehow KIM Kyungho and PARK Jun are introduced to one another. But after confronting the obstinate yet principled KIM Kyungho, the lawyer PARK refuses to take the case. Later, as he grapples with his debt problem, he finally decides to take it and quit drinking with the support of his companions. Both having strong characters, PARK Jun and KIM Kyungho begin the trial at loggerheads over each decision. Nevertheless, soon they cooperate with each other and fight the case for Kyungho’s discharge.
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ALL ABOUT MY WIFE
121 minutes | Romance, Comedy
Director: MIN Kyu-dong. Cast: LIM Soo-jung, LEE Sun-kyun, RYU Seung-ryong.
Doo-hyun’s (LEE) wife Jung-in (LIM) is the complete package — a beautiful woman and excellent cook — but he simply cannot stand her endless nagging and complaining. Doo-hyun chances upon a way out of this relationship when his company finally transfers him to another province. However, much to his dismay, Jung-in secretly moves into the house to be with him day and night. But when Doo-hyun sees his new neighbor Sung-gi (RYU) being chased by adoring women day in and day out, he hatches a new scheme, asking Sung-gi to seduce Jung-in. Confident as ever, Sung-gi begins his new conquest, not knowing what Jung-in has in store for him..
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