Two Korean Classics to be Remade

Two Korean classic films from 2 prolific Korean directors whose films were part of and contributed to the famous Golden Age of Korean cinema are about to be remade. This period between the 1960's and 1970's helped lay the ground work for many of today's modern directors. The original "The Housemaid - 1960" (1960), a melodramatic, sexual thriller became a signature film for director Kim Ki-young known for his eclectic mix of genre combining anything from the above through intense psychological horror to realism. The careful manipulation of genre is a style now exemplified by many modern day directors such as Bong Joon-ho. The film concentrates on a family who take in a housemaid because of the wife's exhaustion working at a factory. Soon after, the housemaid starts to exhibit bizarre tendencies, catching rats with her hands, spying on the family and then finally seducing the husband who she becomes pregnant to. So starts a wicked journey of murder, intrigue and the break up of the family.

Director Im Sang-soo, equally renowned and controversial with today's audiences will helm the remake of "The Housemaid - 1960". The director of "The Old Garden" (2006) and "The President's Last Bang" (2005) will work with Jeon Do-yeon in the film who won the Best Actress award at Cannes in 2007 for her gritty portrayal of a grieving mother in Lee Chang-dong's "Secret Sunshine". She will play the modern version of the dangerous nanny.

"Late Autumn" (1966) the other film to be remade, originally directed by the prolific Lee Man-hee-I was part of a 50 film career spanning the years between 1961 through to 1975. Not as famous perhaps as Kim Ki-young he has however, like Kim had his own retrospective at Busan and started to garner a following. Full Autumn profiles a young woman, out on parole who falls for a man on the run because of counterfeiting. The high profile film "Late Autumn - 2010" will star Chinese actress Tang Wei, Korea's Hyun Bin and will be directed by Kim Tae-yong ("Memento Mori" 1999, "The Birth of a Family" 2006).

The new version of "The Housemaid - 2010", which will have its international distribution handled by Mirovision is set to be released in 2010 in time for the 50th anniversary of the original. ""Late Autumn"", a U.S/Korean co-production will start shooting in Seattle this month.

David Oxenbridge (KOFIC)