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[HanCinema's Digest] Cinema Snippets

The Korea Times reviews Park Chan-wook's "The Handmaiden" ahead of its local release, there's an infographic from KOBIZ about the country's hottest cinematic season, Maggie Lee reviews Na Hong-jin's "The Wailing" for Variety, and catch films from the upcoming Seoul International Women's Film Festival online.

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"'The Handmaiden' is stunningly enchanting but lacks complexity"

The Korea Times has its review of Park Chan-wook's latest outing up just ahead of its local release: "What makes it stand out from all other films is its lavish-looking artistic elements, ranging from the secluded mansion's interior decorated in hybrid British-Japanese style and Hideko's beautiful costumes...The movie's eroticism never feels cheap. For some audiences not familiar with Park's films, however, it can be a grueling movie to watch for its sexually deviant characters and some extremely violent scenes".

...READ ON THE KOREA TIMES

"The Summer War Begins"

Korea's box office really lights up this time of year. The summer ushers in a cinematic season of blockbusters and top-quality tales all jostling for the crowd's favor. KOBIZ's Kim Hyun-jung gives us a bird's-eye view of some the films to take note of as things heat up...

...READ ON KOBIZ

"Special Future for Women's Film, Fighting against Oppression and Prejudice"

The Seoul International Women's Film Festival (SIWFF) takes place from June 2nd and KOBIZ is all behind the festival's push to get more female-centric films into the public space: "'SIWFF X KoBiz Online Screening' marks the third time this year, providing an opportunity to watch online the Korean film line up in SWIFF, which has become one of the biggest women's film festivals in the world, without having to worry about the time and venue". What a great initiative!

...READ ON KOBIZ

"Cannes Film Review: 'The Wailing'"

Maggie Lee reviews Na Hong-jin's "The Wailing" for Variety. Those familiar with Na's work will indeed have high hopes, so know that the film also "scored the eighth largest Korean opening of all time for a local feature". Here's a juicy snippet: "Na's "The Chaser" remains the definitive Korean serial-killer mystery thriller, while cross-country crime actioner "The Yellow Sea" intensified the writer-director's aesthetic of violence. Exploring the spirit world for the first time here, Na continues to employ raw, visceral film language but his ideas are philosophical and suggestive. Weighed down by a bloody history of Japanese colonialism, civil war and partition, the scars of the Korean psyche find their way into Na's film, whether it's the horror of people being murdered by their own families or the exorcism that serves as its dramatic centerpiece - a likely metaphor for the need to purge ghosts of the past".

...READ ON VARIETY

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