Korean movies opening today 2011/06/23 in Korea

Published on 2011/06/23 | Source

Korean movies opening today 2011/06/23 in Korea "Poongsan", animation "Green Days: Dinosaur and I" and "Play"

"Poongsan" (2011)

Directed by Juhn Jai-hong

With Yoon Kye-sang, Kim Gyu-ri, Kim Yun-tae, Wi Ji-woong, Kim Young-hoon, Jo Jae-ryong,...

Previously known as "Phungsan Dog"
Synopsis
Part love story, part postwar tragedy, with a dose of comedy thrown in, the low-budget film "Poongsan" depicts the sad reality of the division between the two Koreas.
Poongsan (Yoon Kye-sang) has the unenviable - and death-defying - job of delivering messages across the North and South Korean border to separated families.
When South Korean government agents ask him to smuggle in In-oak (Kim Kyu-ree), the lover of a high-ranking North Korean defector, into the South, the damsel and rescuer fall in love instead.
Written and co-produced by Kim Ki-duk, who just won the Prize Un Certain Regard for "ARIRANG - Movie" at last month's Cannes Film Festival, and directed by his protege Juhn Jai-hong, "Poongsan" came to life on just one-tenth of the average budget for Korean films.
Poongsan, whose real name is never revealed, is a mysterious man who delivers whatever brings him money by going back and forth between Pyongyang and Seoul. One day, the delivery man is ordered to bring In-oak. She joins the deliveryman on the life threatening journey.
In the middle of this trip, In-oak and the man start to fall in love, but their romance is put in jeopardy by the obstacles they encounter.
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Poongsan, a young man with the eyes of an innocent child, crosses over North and South Korea to deliver the pain and longings of separated families. Even though this can cause him get shot, he takes the risk without any fear.
One day, by a secret request by South Korean government agents he sneaks into North to bring over In-oak, the lover of a high-ranking North Korean defector. On their way to South Korea, they fall for each other while experiencing life-and-death situations together several times. However upon their arrival, they're welcomed by agents who capture and torture Poongsan while In-oak gets disappointed with her old lover who has changed so much over the past years…

"Green Days: Dinosaur and I" (2010)

Directed by Ahn Jae-huun, Han Hye-jin-I

Voices by Park Shin-hye, Song Chang-eui, Oh Yeon-seo, Seo Joo-ae, Mi So-yun, Kim Gook-bin,...

Synopsis
Not wanting to lose, Yi-rang orchestrates a collapse in the middle of a relay race even though she's on the verge of giving up her dream of becoming an athlete. At the same time, Soo-min transfers in from Seoul and Cheol-soo, who dreams of becoming a scientist, come into her life. They are all immature but they are in the midst of youthful aspiration. With this warm-hearted animation, Han Hye-jin-I and Ahn Jae-huun encourage Yi-rang's dreams and portray the fantasy and flutter of adolescence through encounters with good people. Set in the '80s and '90s, an old umbrella and a railroad crossing the downtown in the film is the stuff that reminds us of our lost past, evoking a reminiscence in the audience of that which is vanished. It is a way of evoking the real "dreams" that we have lost in this modern society where a rapid capitalization is progressing. (LEE Sang-yong)
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The new Korean animated film "Green Days: Dinosaur and I" is a nostalgic coming-of-age story about two teenage lovebirds - Yi-rang, who dreams of becoming an athlete, and her first love, Cheol-su, who dreams of becoming a scientist. Set in the 1980s and 90s, with a soundtrack to match, the film follows their budding romance, growing pains, hopes and dreams.
The film was drawn in pencil, without the high-tech computer graphics and three-dimensional techniques that dominate the animation industry. This gives the film a timeless, more realistic quality.
Co-directed by Han Hye-jin-I and Ahn Jae-huun, the film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2010 and won the grand prize at the 2011 Annecy International Animated Film Festival in France earlier this year, often dubbed the Cannes of the animated film industry.
Korean critics have said that although "Green Days: Dinosaur and I" does not have any villains or dramatic climax, the good-hearted characters and tranquil setting are both touching and entertaining.

"Play" (2011)

Directed by Nam Da-jeong

With Jung Joon-il, Lim Heon-il, Lee Hyun-jae, Jung Eun-chae, Soo Hyun, Kim Jong-soo,...

Synopsis
This movie follows the moments of love three youngsters meet in the process of making their own music after deciding to make a band. Joon-il coincidentally hears Heon-il's music in a café and suggests making a band after showing him his music. Model and drummer Hyeon-jae comes on board after that and these guys form a modern rock band. They portray hesitant love, desperation towards a dream unsteady but unwavering dream in sentimental melody. While waiting to be chosen by a management, these three decide to be the bus king at the worldwide famous Indies band "Swell Season" and this changes their destiny.