Ahh... Song Il-Gon, how we missed you.
His films might have barely registered a blip at the domestic box office, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more consistent director than Song (OK, Bong Joon-Ho. But is that human talent?) in Korea. Starting from his masterful Cannes short 소풍 (Picnic), Song went on to direct a collection of excellent, gloriously subtle works like road movie 꽃섬 (Flower Island), the psychological thriller 거미숲 (Spider Forest), the astounding 깃 (Feathers in the Wind) and his last feature film. 마법사들 (Magicians) - which, if you were wondering, was released on Japanese DVD a few years ago, naturally without English subs. I'd say it's worth it even if you don't understand a word of Korean.
With his 사화 (Settlement) still remaining a huge question mark (development hell? Belly up? Haven't heard a thing on this in months), Song has gone ahead and filmed a documentary entitled 시간의 춤 (Dance of Time), which will be released by Indiestory this coming December 3. The subject is pretty interesting, a group of Koreans (or, better, Joseon natives) who, about a century ago, set sail for Cuba, made a fortune in a four year span, and managed to participate financially in some of the biggest events of the early 20th century, funding Kim Gu's efforts with the Korean provisional government in Shanghai, and even joining El Che's revolution. Not a single one of them could fulfill that long lasting dream of coming back to their motherland. The doc interviews the descendants of these Coreanos (Koreans), mixing Latin dance with their Korean roots. Sounds like a potential gem. Here's the trailer.
His films might have barely registered a blip at the domestic box office, but you'd be hard pressed to find a more consistent director than Song (OK, Bong Joon-Ho. But is that human talent?) in Korea. Starting from his masterful Cannes short 소풍 (Picnic), Song went on to direct a collection of excellent, gloriously subtle works like road movie 꽃섬 (Flower Island), the psychological thriller 거미숲 (Spider Forest), the astounding 깃 (Feathers in the Wind) and his last feature film. 마법사들 (Magicians) - which, if you were wondering, was released on Japanese DVD a few years ago, naturally without English subs. I'd say it's worth it even if you don't understand a word of Korean.
With his 사화 (Settlement) still remaining a huge question mark (development hell? Belly up? Haven't heard a thing on this in months), Song has gone ahead and filmed a documentary entitled 시간의 춤 (Dance of Time), which will be released by Indiestory this coming December 3. The subject is pretty interesting, a group of Koreans (or, better, Joseon natives) who, about a century ago, set sail for Cuba, made a fortune in a four year span, and managed to participate financially in some of the biggest events of the early 20th century, funding Kim Gu's efforts with the Korean provisional government in Shanghai, and even joining El Che's revolution. Not a single one of them could fulfill that long lasting dream of coming back to their motherland. The doc interviews the descendants of these Coreanos (Koreans), mixing Latin dance with their Korean roots. Sounds like a potential gem. Here's the trailer.
What a great story ... Song's got it in him to be an amazing documentarian, too.