#ISupportBIFF - The Political Darkside of the Busan Film Festival - Written by Marc Smith

#ISupportBIFF - The Political Darkside of the Busan Film Festival

Written by Marc Smith 

[Foreword: I will be very, very careful as to what I write in this post. The laws in Korea around topics such as this one are somewhat sketchy. I will not include names where I can but you should be able to find them through quick Google searches]

There were murmurs and rumblings around the quad today. Boycotts. Cuts. Decisions and omissions. Truth be told, I'd heard them last year too. To my shame I hadn't really taken notice. I mean, my festival wasn't really affected by anything like that so I didn't look into it.

Yesterday I attended my fourth Q&A of the festival. It was the second where the film's director did not attend and the first where a lone producer held the event. I wanted to know why. So that's why I've made this post. Perhaps others will also wonder about, or at least be interested in, the behind-the-scenes happenings of this far-away festival.

To explore what's happening, we need to go back to 2014. On 16th April, 304 people, many of whom were school students, lost their lives when the Sewol ferry from Incheon to Jeju Island capsized and sank. A documentary was made that criticised the Korean Government's reaction to the situation. Diving Bell (다이빙벨), which you can watch on YouTube with English subtitles by following that link, is a journalist's story recording of that reaction. It strongly criticises the current administration and senior members of the public and military services. Combined with what I said in my foreword leads to what follows.

Come BIFF 19, or 2014 BIFF if you prefer, the then-director of the Busan International Film Festival decided to air Diving Bell at the festival. Senior figures were very... unimpressed with this decision. He was consequently removed from his post just in time for last year's festival and was replaced by Busan's Mayor. The ex-director was then arrested on corruption charges but they have since been dropped. Once the replacement was brought in, the public spending budget for BIFF has plummeted and the general public opinion for these actions has been poor. Even the BIFF hall contained works dedicated to what is going on behind the scenes.

As for the documentary, it's a work of art in itself. 'The Media' has had a lot to answer for around the world as of late but the reports, like this one, remind me of how great it is having a press with the freedom of stand up and speak. 

I will leave you with some pictures of the pieces from the BIFF hall and one of my favourite quotes, by George Sand.

"Art for art's sake is an empty phrase. Art for the sake of truth, art for the sake of the good and the beautiful, that is the faith I am searching for."

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#ISupportBIFF

Derailed (두 남자) – The Story of Troubled Youths in Korea’s Underworld - Written By Marc Smith

Derailed (두 남자) – The Story of Troubled Youths in Korea’s Underworld

Written by Marc Smith 

          I expected it to be good. I didn’t expect this. I can honestly say this is my favourite Korean film, not just of the festival, but of the year so far. This gritty drama of runaway teens and malicious gangsters really packs a punch.

Minho Choi and Don Lee in Derailed

          In the post film Q&A, director Lee Seong-tae said that he wanted to make the story of a desperate man. Derailed, aptly named 두 남지 (Do Namja - Two Men) in Korean, is the story of two desperate men. Min-ho Choi (최민호), famous for his music and modelling careers, is excellent. He plays Jin-il, a boy in his late teens, living on the streets of Seoul. Together with his three friends, they face down the fear and uncertainty of living rough, getting by through various crimes and cons. It is through one of these cons that they meet Don Lee (마동석)'s character. By day, his character is a doting father and husband. By night, a crooked karaoke bar owner that exploits teenagers into working for him. After trying to recruit Jin-il's girlfriend, their paths intertwine, eventually leading to dire consequences for both of the do namja.

          Don Lee was singled out for praise by Director Lee for his role in the film. He said that he "never envisioned to make the movie have so much action and so many fight scenes but [Don Lee] brought such power it seemed to happen naturally." Fresh from his success with Train to Busan (부산행), many articles over the past few weeks have linked Don Lee to productions in Hollywood. He wasn't at the screening, having returned to the U.S, where he lives, to work on other projects. This latest movie will only build on whatever plaudits he has already received. His towering presence and physicality didn't just reach the audience. "You didn't have to act when you were in a fight scene with 마동석," one of his co-stars told us with a chuckle. 

          The tension mounts throughout the movie and ends when the two men meet for the three way showdown with a gangster played by Jae-young Kim (김재영), which you could really call a coming together of The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The whole sequence is fairly reminiscent of THAT SCENE (profanity, violence) from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Without ruining it for you, I'll just say: punches are thrown, blood is spilled and the mounting tension hits its climax.

Director Lee Seong-tae with a handsome, dashing, charismatic stranger

I can't recommend this movie enough.

Another Whirlwind (...) Week of the Busan International Film Festival Begins - Written by Marc Smith

Another Whirlwind (...) Week of the Busan International Film Festival Begins

Written by Marc Smith

You may have been forgiven for thinking the 21st Annual BIFF might pass by a little under the radar following the landmark festival last year. Well, Mother Nature had other plans. Typhoon Chaba rocked the seaside city on Tuesday, causing severe damage and flooding. BIFF's usual 'beach village' was battered and many wondered if the festival would go ahead as planned.

Photo by Cody Kimball

The intense weather however did little to hold off the party and, while much of the construction is still ongoing, the 'BIFF buzz' is definitely in full storm. (... no.) The workers I stopped to talk to are optimistic everything will be ready for the weekend and there was a real community spirit - not just at the festival - but around the rest of the city to overcome the disaster. 

I was fortunate enough to attend the packed-out opening ceremony. The red carpet managed to invoke my first 'over-the-top fan boy' moment of the festival when Ken Watanabe (Inception, The Last Samurai) made the walk. I didn't bounce up and down clapping my hands, I swear... Fine. His presence certainly blew me away. (... stop it.) This marks his return after hosting the 19th Busan International Film Festival. I'll be catching his performance in Rage next weekend.

Right, enough gushing, time to talk shop. The film selected to open this years festival was A Quiet Dream, directed by Zhang Lu (Grain in Ear, Gyeongju). AQD followed the story of three men (양익준, 박정범, 윤종빈)  in their attempts to woo their local bartender (한예리) . What follows is a roller-coaster character drama that is sincerely gripping at its highest but a little convoluted at its lowest. Zhang Lu is known for his tendency to mix reality with fantasy and perhaps for this film the clue is in the title. The movie jumps from gritty reality to  a dream-like state where characters disappear or exhibit very odd behaviour - here's to you strange, armed bar patron! These leaps make the movie difficult to follow at times, personified by the Korean gentleman sat behind me that declared "what the..." in English as the title credits rolled. Even though the story seemed lost at times, the quality of the characters carried the film through, leading to an enjoyable experience that I will sit down and watch again. 

As for upcoming movies over the next week and a half, I'm terribly excited for Derailed, directed by Lee Seong-tae and starring 마동석 "Don Lee" and 최민호 "Minho Choi." Don Lee is fresh from his crowd-pleasing performance in Train to Busan (부산행) and I for one can't wait to see more of him. It is Lee Seong-Tae's first feature film but his catalogue of short films show a quality I am hopeful will shine through. 

You can take a bite (seriously, the typhoon puns weren't awful enough?) out of my non-spoiler review of Train to Busan right here.

Photo by Marc Smith

Films That You Should Have Watched Yesterday - Untouchable (2011)

Mon Cher Ami, Mon Raison D'être: Love, Friendship and Moving Forward

          French politicians especially have been known to hold up their nation's film industry as a national champion; perhaps they have once or twice even thought of the strength of France's cinematic legacy as superior if not at least equal to that of its other national treasures, such as cheese, wine, Molière and Nutella crêpes. Fortunately, every now and again, a French movie manages to break into the world of the English-speaking cinema mainstream and illustrate how, on this occasion, the politicians are telling a full-fledged and sincerely heartfelt truth. Like Amélie (2001) or A Very Long Engagement (2004), Untouchable (2011) firmly established a place upon the mosaic within the international collective cinema psyche because the movie was nothing short of a masterpiece, not least because it is one of the few films in existence that truly succeeded in blending the genres of drama and comedy so brilliantly that it seems farcical to seek to define it as either predominantly one or mostly the other. Thus, it is therefore just about the only film that would have been taken seriously, without any need for even its harshest critics to pretend to do so in public, had it been nominated for a Golden Globe Award in both the Best Musical or Comedy and Best Drama categories. While the undeniably charming and poignant buddy comedy-drama may not have even won the award for Best Foreign Language Film from the Hollywood Foreign Press, there was indeed still much to celebrate. 

          After just nine weeks passing since its release date, Untouchable became the second most successful French movie of all time. The movie's co-writer and co-director, Eric Toledano, shared news with the world about how he had received over three-thousand thank you letters from wheelchair users all over the world for his work. One of its stars, Omar Sy, became the first actor of African origin to win the César Award for Best Actor, (France's answer to the Oscars), for his outstanding performance, launching his Hollywood career to new heights with films like X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), Jurassic World (2015) and Inferno (2016). What was it about this picture that warranted success on such a grand scale? The roughly two-hour running time of the movie would be more than well-spent by movie lovers in particular, since the undeniable answers are illuminated within minutes and consistently re-affirmed with expert craftsmanship throughout the tale of finding treasure of delight within chests of tragedy.

          First up flies a soundtrack that achieves the colossal feat of employing era-defining classical music, piano tracks that amount to the status of unsung heroes within their field and landmark pop songs in such a way that re-invigorates the passions for all of those marvellous melodies and for life beyond the movie theatre, as if their musical sheets were written solely for this film alone. In combination, the blend of musical genres and mellifluous harmonies effortlessly carries the audience around in circles from more woebegone tones right up to totally contrasting moods of glee that prompt an inclination to boogie the scene away with the protagonists. Without giving too much away, rest assured, for so long as the right questions are posed to the search engines, these musical gems can be found on the internet in no time.   

          Omar Sy and François Cluzet perform their respective roles with consistently boundless levels of effortless grace and cautious attention to detail in equal measure, aided more than aptly by a great supporting cast while they set ablaze universal social issues that range from race, class and disability, to the somewhat less urgent debates surrounding modern art. In the end, when all is raised and considered, one at least uncovers an avenue through which to see light but nonetheless infectious humour within subjects of incomprehensible peculiarity. Moreover, one also grows to realise the sheer value of embracing the protective quality of friendship as the umbrella against the pouring rain, the freezing snow or the scorching sun, while simultaneously offering that same shield to others, continually striving for the fruition of their friend's joy, which, once achieved, brings about a sense of fulfilment and utter completeness to all involved that no other act can ever hope to rival.    

          The very thought of sitting through a movie with subtitles can sometimes bring about all but total exhaustion to the mind, for even the fastest reader may feel held back from fully indulging in, for instance, a character's facial expressions or the action taking place around that character by having to ensure that they are positioned well enough to comfortably read, even only in their head, all the dialogue from start to finish. An American remake, currently underway with impressive names attached to it like Bryan Cranston and Kevin Hart, will certainly address that problem in the not-too-distant future. Yet, albeit it is a timeless story that could easily be retold with a guaranteed positive impact by the right assemblage of dedicated talent, to deny giving a chance to the original French interpretation would ultimately leave a void that would be impossible to fill via any other means. Furthermore, if there was ever a reason to demand that more than just four 'foreign' films a year get any attention from the Oscars or the BAFTAs especially, Untouchable, or Intouchables, as it is known in in French, is and forever will be the proposal's sole justification that simply cannot be countered.