Chan-Wook Park

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Damn - good review Pacino, but that's something of a shame. I'll still see it though - I don't see a UK release in the near future, so I think import might be the way to go with this.

[Pacino86845]

Thanks guys, and especially tapehead for reading my review after the Zodiac debacle.

I watched the import DVD I guess, but I hadn't purchased it myself. Nothing in the soundtrack really stood out for me, except for some bits here and there. There were actually several outstanding scenes, where everything just came together magnificently: the staging, the photography, the music, the editing. Some parts really did feel like nothing I'd seen before, but unfortunately they were few and far between.

I think my favorite part was the yodelling and dancing in Switzerland, and singing about the Berner Oberland. Hilarious! It was such a random scene, but it really livened things up.

[tapehead]

Thanks guys, and especially tapehead for reading my review after the Zodiac debacle.

hehehe - I always read your reviews buddy.... they should be longer.

[magicmonkey]

Can the cyborg be read as North Korea, or is it pure frivolity?

[Pacino86845]

Thanks guys, and especially tapehead for reading my review after the Zodiac debacle.

hehehe - I always read your reviews buddy.... they should be longer.

Thanks again man... but it's always a daunting task for me to write the sort of substantial and eloquent reviews that a lot of you seem to write so easily.

[tapehead]

Can the cyborg be read as North Korea, or is it pure frivolity?

I'm really interested in this idea too, especially after a film like the Host last year, which even officials in the North Korean Government went on record as praising

[Pacino86845]

Can the cyborg be read as North Korea, or is it pure frivolity?

Well to me is seemed frivolous, but I might've missed a couple of subtleties throughout the film... the way I saw it, Young-Goon's cyborgness was a kind of emancipation from the mundane world around her. This is how the film opens. And her delusion(?) could've been anything: she could've just as easily been a chicken or porpoise or something.

EDIT: Heheheh, you guys are making "I'm a Cyborg" seem a lot more interesting than I remember it being! If you fellas watch it and heap praise upon the film, I might just give it another viewing!

[Pacino86845]

Ladies and gentlemen, I met Chan-Wook Park yesterday. I met Chan-(gunshot) Park yesterday!!!

In the flesh, shook his hand, called him a "visionary," and the man thanked me for my geeked-out gushing (I of course didn't mention my dislike for "I'm a Cyborg," but it was like meeting Stanley Kubrick fer cryin' out loud!)

This was after a roundtable discussion at a festival I attended yesterday... his next project will be about vampires, I don't know if anyone knows this yet. Maybe when I'm less drunk I will write a little more, but for now I'm in geek heaven, peoples. GEEK HEAVEN!!!

[TonyWilson]

Ladies and gentlemen, I met Chan-Wook Park yesterday. I met Chan-(gunshot) Park yesterday!!!

In the flesh, shook his hand, called him a "visionary," and the man thanked me for my geeked-out gushing (I of course didn't mention my dislike for "I'm a Cyborg," but it was like meeting Stanley Kubrick fer cryin' out loud!)

This was after a roundtable discussion at a festival I attended yesterday... his next project will be about vampires, I don't know if anyone knows this yet. Maybe when I'm less drunk I will write a little more, but for now I'm in geek heaven, peoples. GEEK HEAVEN!!!

OMGZ!! Pacino, you lucky lucky man. What was he like in person? Always seems very reserved in the interviews and sounds like that on the commentaries. I'd love to meet him and I am very jealous.
And Chan-Wook Park doing vampires is just about the greatest idea I can imagine right now. I am moist at the news.

[Pacino86845]

OMGZ!! Pacino, you lucky lucky man. What was he like in person? Always seems very reserved in the interviews and sounds like that on the commentaries. I'd love to meet him and I am very jealous.
And Chan-Wook Park doing vampires is just about the greatest idea I can imagine right now. I am moist at the news.

I barely recognized him as I'd only seen him in a couple of photos before, and I only learned about the interviews after I'd met him... to me he was a graceful and gentle man, generous with his smile, he really seemed sincere. It was a brief conversation, with me doing most of the talking, as I knew that he wasn't so comfortable speaking in English. I was glad that he seemed to understand what I was saying, and I used all my energy to keep from rambling incessantly.

During the roundtable discussion though, he was fairly soft spoken, but he didn't shy from talking about his films and experiences, as well as his influences and the Korean films of yesteryear. He even spiced things up with some anecdotes, so overall it was a terrific experience.

He went on and on about how the Bond films were a great influence for him as a filmmaker, LOL. Apparently he was a critic before he was a filmmaker, and also present at the discussion was a dude I'd never heard of before: Seung-wan Ryoo, who always regarded Park as a mentor.

And the real kicker about the entire affair was that I had no idea it was happening... I showed up early to the festival with a friend who still needed to get a ticket (I was going to start things off by attending a screening of Lady Vengeance), and I just happened to notice that there was a small little event organized where Chan-Wook Park and Seung-Wan Ryoo were going to be basically hanging out, LOL. It was a truly awesome surprise!

[The Garbage Man]

That's amazing, Pacino! Did he say anything more about the new film other than it involves vampires?

[Pacino86845]

He did indeed, and I'll do my best to recollect all the details:

He said that the film wasn't going to be about vampires as typically known in western literature, but it seemed that he was taking the "vampirism as illness" approach to the mythological aspect of the story. Otherwise he said that it was going to be about love between three characters.

The moderator (some filmatist snob, but seemed like a really nice guy) then noted that there are no Korean vampire films as far as he knows, and Park PWNTs him by saying that actually there were quite a few Korean vampire films, but that they weren't very good.

I think that was about it, and as far as casting news it seems the lead actor of The Host is confirmed. If I remember anything else I'll let you guys know.

The other director, Seung-wan Ryoo, said his next project was going to be about zombies!!!! Seeing the two guys together was really cool, as they had a terrific rapport with one another. And the fact that this was really a small gathering (we couldn't have been more than 50 people in attendance, sitting outside under the shining sun), really added to the candid and open atmosphere of the discussion.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Ladies and gentlemen, I met Chan-Wook Park yesterday. I met Chan-(gunshot) Park yesterday!!!

In the flesh, shook his hand, called him a "visionary," and the man thanked me for my geeked-out gushing (I of course didn't mention my dislike for "I'm a Cyborg," but it was like meeting Stanley Kubrick fer cryin' out loud!)

This was after a roundtable discussion at a festival I attended yesterday... his next project will be about vampires, I don't know if anyone knows this yet. Maybe when I'm less drunk I will write a little more, but for now I'm in geek heaven, peoples. GEEK HEAVEN!!!

How utterly cool. You're a lucky sod, Pacino - I am suitably jealous.

[burlivesleftnut]

Did you punch him in the nuts for what he put that poor octopus through? You know that octopus had a FAMILY!

[Pacino86845]

No, 'cause he promised that he'd do the same thing to David Hasslehoff for his next film...

*NSFW* Here's what we're talking about

[Keepcoolbutcare]

Did you punch him in the nuts for what he put that poor octopus through? You know that octopus had a FAMILY!

random trivia from a recent Trivial Pursuit game I partook in...

5 (or so) people (maybe just Koreans, I don't remember) a year die from consuming live octopus.

[Flumm]

So I watched Sympathy for Mr Vengence last night, my second film from the five on the poll, following Oldboy.

I'm not sure what I was expecting, especially after some a distinctive film as Oldboy was, but what I saw on the screen was was not quite it.

That's not to say I was dissapointed, though.

Perhaps I was a little unfairly jaded in anticipating too much in the nature of violence and all round EXTREME'ness, (not something I dig on just for the sake of it), but I let my gaurd down, and wasn't really assaulted by anything of that nature that hadn't flickered across the back of my eyeballs before.

It was stylised, to be sure, but I felt considered with it. Something that was indicitive of the film as a whole, I would say.

It doesn't feel as if Chan-wook Park wants to depict or explore the horrific because he seeks to get some thrills from it... or at least it's not the first thing on the days itinerary. He's compelled by a higher calling it seems. An "artist", or something. The fruitcake.

Anyways, as cinephile2000 noted, even without George Lucas' minions sponsering my sound system, (read falling apart Sennheiser tincans), I drunk in the use of sound across the film. With one of our anti-hero's deaf and dumb, it was almost inevitable, I suppose. Aural autopsies, the deployment of radio, what happens when people take to the walls and listen back, from the opening titles to the accompanying stuttured, blood-choked sobs across the credits, it seemed an integral part of the pallete and telling of the film. It definately contributed a substantial deal to the abiding atmosphere.

The architecture of the stories, fading and intertwining with eachother was nicely down also. It's something that can seem so deceptively easy, as it's such a deeply familliar device by now, but it was done in an essential, but somehow understated way.

The think I took from it most was Kang-ho Song's performance as the Father, I think. Balanced with his role in The Host, and a litte of him on the DVD extras, I've come to like the man's mojo. Hopefully there's some things to savour in his catologue, as I'm sure I'll be rooting around there to find out, just in case.


Overall, nothing revalatory, but worth a viewing, and I'll be seeking the rest on the poll with some interest.


7.5 tragic, yet bitterly ironic, dead numerators outta 10(ish).


PS: I should also say, the main motivation for me even contributing/desecrating this at all, was that the thread was such a good one to read in the first place. Nice job, fruitcakes...

[ThisIsTheGirl]

Perhaps I was a little unfairly jaded in anticipating too much in the nature of violence and all round EXTREME'ness

I read something about this once. I think Park said that he wanted to show three different sides to revenge in the trilogy. Mr Vengenace is supposed to show "righteous" revenge, Oldboy is about using revenge as a means to draw a line under events and move on from them, and Lady Vengeance is about using revenge to atone for your sins or something like that.

[TonyWilson]

Great review, Flumm. I rate the film quite a bit higher myself, giving it a 9.5-9.9 or thereabouts, truly one of my favourite films. Of the trilogy SFMV is obviously top, then Lady Vengeance (the axe-handle gag is worth the price of admission alone), then Oldboy comes bottom - although that still makes it a great film.
Has anyone seen I'm A Cyborg But That's Ok yet?

Perhaps I was a little unfairly jaded in anticipating too much in the nature of violence and all round EXTREME'ness

I read something about this once. I think Park said that he wanted to show three different sides to revenge in the trilogy. Mr Vengenace is supposed to show "righteous" revenge, Oldboy is about using revenge as a means to draw a line under events and move on from them, and Lady Vengeance is about using revenge to atone for your sins or something like that.

That's very interesting, TITG. At first I didn't really think SFMV was about righteous revenge but yeh after mulling it over you could say all the murders are in some way justified what's tragic is that the whole story is borne from a completely unjust situation.

[ThisIsTheGirl]

That's very interesting, TITG. At first I didn't really think SFMV was about righteous revenge but yeh after mulling it over you could say all the murders are in some way justified what's tragic is that the whole story is borne from a completely unjust situation.

Definitely! Park is a master at creating situations which don't really have a "right" or "wrong" answer. I dunno how he does it!

As for I'm A Cyborg, I think Mr Pacino is still the only one who got to see it. Sadly, he wasn't too impressed.

[TonyWilson]

That's very interesting, TITG. At first I didn't really think SFMV was about righteous revenge but yeh after mulling it over you could say all the murders are in some way justified what's tragic is that the whole story is borne from a completely unjust situation.

Definitely! Park is a master at creating situations which don't really have a "right" or "wrong" answer. I dunno how he does it!

As for I'm A Cyborg, I think Mr Pacino is still the only one who got to see it. Sadly, he wasn't too impressed.

Damn!

I still really want to see it though.

[Pacino86845]

It's true, I have seen it but it was NOT OK!

[stereosforgeeks]

I have seen it as well.

It's just way out there and it's hard to connect to the film as the film has a detached tone.

That being said I did find things in the film enjoyable. It's been a long time since I have seen the movie so I can't come up with examples at the moment. It's definitely not in the same league as his other films though.

[cinemabuff]

Crap! I selected Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance! I meant Lady Vengeance.

[Brocktune]

crazy.

i actually liked it quite a bit.
sure, it's never as heavy or serious as those in his revenge triolgy. but the story is cute indeed, and quite touching, if you just sit back and let it in. i didnt really have a problem with the pacing, the color palette, or the potentially unbelievable crazies. the film is no 10, but i am a little surprised at the general negativity and/or indifference this picture has seemingly inspired. i mean fuck, what did you guys want to see? some dude cut his dick off after he ate a feedbag full of frogs and realized that he fucked his mother? lighten up guys!
i mean for fucks sake! why cant you guys just cut wook a fuckin break! this guy breaks his ass to give you all some quality entertainment, and you just shit all over it? i just dont see what the fuck you.....

i.... im sorry guys.
now im just being childish.
you have to understand, this is really weird for me. usually pacino and i are on teh same page. and everyone was all negative, and then im all "ok, heres pacino to talk some sense into people" and then pacino all hates it too.
it makes me feel like pacino hates me and thinks that im fuckin stupid cuz i liked this movie. fuck i even bought it, and then he goes and slams people that bought it:

I watched the import DVD I guess, but I hadn't purchased it myself

well, look whos too good to buy their import dvds!
way to make me feel stupid, jerk!
you know pacino, you have gone too far this time. i though you and me were "bros" but now that i know what you really think of me and CPW, im lookin for you motherfucker!

to the rest of teh zone, im sorry, but your hatred of park chan wook, and his films, and your rude chastisement of me for purchasing and enjoying his films is simply unacceptable.

there are simply too many of you here for me to bother to try and exact some sort of revenge, or spend the energy bearing a major grudge, so lookout Pacino, cuz you gett all of my rage! im comin for you pal! you better get your ass right onto one of those fancy ski lifts, and hie thee to the top of the highest mountain in teh alps, cuz im comin.
and hell's a comin with me!

I'm a Cyborg but it's OK 11/10

[Pacino86845]

IPAMPILASH!!

Your review displayed such a mastery of wordsmithery that I now retroactively change my initial reaction to a positive one... but don't forget, I shook Chan Wook Park's hand and called him a genius, and that was AFTER watching I'm a Cyborg... so even though I didn't enjoy the film too much it didn't put me off the director at all. And we have that Vampire love story coming up, so I'm a Cyborg could be the first instalment of a NEW trilogy... a trilogy of love! But if the next film is called I'm a Vampire But That's OK then we might be in for a really shitty viewing experience...

[Maui]

Pacino, have you seen Simpan? It's a 26 minute short, a bit difficult to locate but definitely worth it.

[Pacino86845]

Looks pretty interesting... I'll find a way to see it.

[Raziel]

Just watched I'm A Cyborg the other night. It's actually surprizingly disturbing, considering Chan-wook was apparently aiming for something a little lighter than his usual work, although it was certainly funny and even touching.

[Maui]

Just watched I'm A Cyborg the other night. It's actually surprizingly disturbing, considering Chan-wook was apparently aiming for something a little lighter than his usual work, although it was certainly funny and even touching.

It's extremely quirky, funny and very sweet. I'm with Brock on this. Great film.

I'm really looking forward to his latest, Bakjwi (aka Thirst).

[Raziel]

Don't get me wrong, I certainly liked it-it just took a while to warm to it! Yeah, Thirst is on my hit list too!

[caruso_stalker217]

Watched SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE. Funny and offbeat, but also kinda fucked up and depressing. Reminded me of the Coens work a bit. Good acting, especially from Kang-ho Song, who I really liked in THE HOST and THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD. This Chan-wook Park fella has got the directing chops. Guess I should finally get around to watching OLDBOY now and not just because the internet tells me I should.

[Peven]

Watched SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE. Funny and offbeat, but also kinda fucked up and depressing. Reminded me of the Coens work a bit. Good acting, especially from Kang-ho Song, who I really liked in THE HOST and THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD. This Chan-wook Park fella has got the directing chops. Guess I should finally get around to watching OLDBOY now and not just because the internet tells me I should.

have you seen "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance"? if not don't skip it, it is 1/3 of Park's revenge trilogy...and a pretty affecting film in its own way....

[caruso_stalker217]

Watched SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE. Funny and offbeat, but also kinda fucked up and depressing. Reminded me of the Coens work a bit. Good acting, especially from Kang-ho Song, who I really liked in THE HOST and THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD. This Chan-wook Park fella has got the directing chops. Guess I should finally get around to watching OLDBOY now and not just because the internet tells me I should.

have you seen "Sympathy For Lady Vengeance"? if not don't skip it, it is 1/3 of Park's revenge trilogy...and a pretty affecting film in its own way....

I have not. This was my first Chan-wook Park picture. I have added LADY VENGEANCE and OLDBOY to Netflix, though.

[TonyWilson]

The Host is by Boon Jong Ho and The Good The Bad The Weird is directed by Kim Ji Woon, great films but Chan Wook Park isn't responsible for them.

[Peven]

The Host is by Boon Jong Ho and The Good The Bad The Weird is directed by Kim Ji Woon, great films but Chan Wook Park isn't responsible for them.

read more carefully next time, Tony. he was talking about actor Kang-ho Song, not Park.

[TonyWilson]

I thought it was weird that caruso had got so mixed up. Damn. Welp, I'm never gonna stop posting stoned, but I'll try to double check.

[Peven]

I thought it was weird that caruso had got so mixed up. Damn. Welp, I'm never gonna stop posting stoned, but I'll try to double check.

you could pass that thing, too....bogart

[Ribbons]

As for I'm A Cyborg, I think Mr Pacino is still the only one who got to see it. Sadly, he wasn't too impressed.

It's true, I have seen it but it was NOT OK!

I have seen it as well.

It's just way out there and it's hard to connect to the film as the film has a detached tone.

That being said I did find things in the film enjoyable. It's been a long time since I have seen the movie so I can't come up with examples at the moment. It's definitely not in the same league as his other films though.

Yeah, count me in on the Cyborg-hate as well.

One thing I appreciated was that the insane asylum wasn't a metaphor for some sort of social/existential dilemma, which I've been conditioned to expect what with the Cuckoo's Nests and 12 Monkeyses and all. If I'm a Cyborg was about anything, I suppose it would be... two misfits overcoming their own neuroses long enough to find love with each other? Which is nice and all, but the story was so fucking weird that it was hard to connect with. The only reason it's not an unmitigated disaster is because Park "can fucking well shoot a picture," in the immortal words of Sir Ridley Scott.

[Tyrone_Shoelaces]

Brilliant: Chan Wook Park Has Nicole Kidman Go Off The Deep End In A Single Menacing Take From Stoker

[Spandau Belly]

STOKER

This film is the first 2013 release I have seen that I feel actually lived up to its potential. This film proved to be a smart match with Park's directorial style. He does a good job getting the dark comedy tone just right so that it's never as cartoonish as Tim Burton, but still weirder than Hitchcock. He generally gets good performances from the actors. Mia Wasikowska in the lead role mostly looks like a less sexy Emily Blunt (less intense gaze, thinner lips, less curves) but it's obviously a character and performance aimed at being a late 80s Winona Ryder type of sarcastic outcast and I would say she mostly hits the mark. Park uses Nicole Kidman's creepy plastic face to good effect, but Matthew Goode is the real standout here. His sex eyes and soothing g@y voice just steal every scene.

Visually it is a good film. There are some wipe transition effects that might feel a bit showy, but for the most part it manages to look good without the style overwhelming the characters. Also, something I noticed was that a lot of the shots were composed so that the subject was in the lower half of the frame. It was like being tall.

The film is mostly a mystery. I feel it succeeds because it invests in making its scenes entertaining in a pervy dark comedy way, I never found myself growing impatient and just wanting everything explained already because I was always having fun watching the characters interact. Watching Wasikowska chug a glass of wine bottled the year she was born while making odd guzzling noises while Matthew Goode makes sex eyes at her from across the table was when I realized the movie was for me. After that it just kept rolling. You get tons of wacky shit throughout the film. Pianogasms, post-kill wanks, spiders crawling up girl's kunises, but the craziest thing has got to be vanilla and chocolate icecream in yellow and red containers respectively. I mean, come on, yellow containers for vanilla maybe, but red containers are for stawberry icecream, Mr. Wook.

When they do resolve the mystery, it's a reasonable conclusion and they avoided twist movie bullshit. I think even if this turned out to be another one of those movies where some main character turns out to be another main character's imaginary friend, it would've taken it all down a couple notches. But it didn't, so I really liked this film.

[caruso_stalker217]

His sex eyes and soothing g@y voice just steal every scene.

Really it's the cornerstone of his craft. It's why I love him.

I wish this film would play here, since it's one of the few this year I'd actually bother to go out and see.

Instead, we're getting SCARY MOVIE 5.

[TheButcher]

BUSAN: Park Chan-wook Shooting Bonus ‘Oldboy’ Footage at Fest

[TheButcher]

‘Oldboy’ Director Boards Sci-Fi Thriller (EXCLUSIVE)
“Second Born,” based on an original screenplay by David Jagernauth, takes place in a futuristic world in which neural microchip implants are used to store one’s consciousness, leading to black market body-swapping.

[TheButcher]

Oldboy (2003) - How To Make A Fight Scene | Ryan's Theory