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Korea Crowds out Hollywood in Japan's Top 10 of Foreign Movies

Four of the Top 10 foreign films in Japan for 2004 came from Korea, according to a list compiled by the nation's leading movie magazine "Kinema Junbo".
The magazine's annual roundup of the cream of the foreign film crop is selected by film critics and viewer's votes. It is one of the most prestigious movie charts in Japan, with this year's publication marking its 77th appearance.

In the foreign film category, Clint Eastwood's "Mystic River" was voted the top flick, followed by Bong Joon-ho's "Memories of Murder", which was based on the crimes committed by a Korean serial killer.

Lee Chang-dong's "Oasis" came fourth, while Park Chan-wook's compellingly macabre "Oldboy" ranked sixth and Kim Ki-duk's magnum opus, "Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring", ranked ninth.

Although Korean films failed to perform highly in the Japanese market last year, they were on the whole highly acclaimed by film critics there.

Third place went to Russian director Andrey Zvyagintsev for "The Return", fifth place was reserved for "Motorcycle Diary" by Walter Salles, and sixth place was stolent by the final instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "Return of the King".

Gary Ross's "Seabiscuit" clinched eighth place and Tim Burton's "Big Fish" narrowly made it to the bottom of the list.

In the Japanese movie category, Hirokazu Koreeda's "Nobody Knows", which took Best Male Actor at Cannes, was voted the best film of the year.

Choi Heub

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