Top 8 Park Chan-wook Movies
Park Chan-wook is a one of the most acclaimed and popular film makes of South Korean film. His films are noted for their immaculate framing, black humor and often brutal subject matter.
Oldboy
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Min-sik Choi, Ji-tae Yu, Hye-jeong Kang
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Oldboy 2003 Korean Movie
After being kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must find his captor in 5 days.
My views
Oldboy is the best South Korean film I have ever seen and always suggest this Asian movie to my friends as this movie can't be missed at all. Oldboy had such an effect on me that words are too little to describe it. At start of film for 5 minutes I wasn't sure what is happening but I am glad I watched it totally. This movie is just one step ahead of Americans. the plot is simply interesting and the film do has an strong violence of graphic nature. My advice to the one's who haven't seen this film is go and watch this movie. This is an definitely must watch movie with world class acting, cinematography, music and the plot. Once you have opened yourself up you will find a whole new world of cinema. Enjoy the show !
Ratings:Oldboy is the best South Korean film I have ever seen and always suggest this Asian movie to my friends as this movie can't be missed at all. Oldboy had such an effect on me that words are too little to describe it. At start of film for 5 minutes I wasn't sure what is happening but I am glad I watched it totally. This movie is just one step ahead of Americans. the plot is simply interesting and the film do has an strong violence of graphic nature. My advice to the one's who haven't seen this film is go and watch this movie. This is an definitely must watch movie with world class acting, cinematography, music and the plot. Once you have opened yourself up you will find a whole new world of cinema. Enjoy the show !
- Acting/Cast: 9
- Story: 9
- Music/Sounds:9
- Overall: 9
The Handmaiden
Title: The Handmaiden "Ah-ga-ssi"(Original Title)
Genre: Drama, Romance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Min-hee Kim, Jung-woo Ha, Jin-woong Jo
Watch movie here
Synopsis The Handmaiden 2016 Korean Movie
A woman is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, but secretly she is involved in a plot to defraud her.
My views
This movie is from critically acclaimed director of Oldboy and Thirst and not just another love story related to vampires or anything. 'The Handmaiden' is just pure cinema, disturbing fable of love, a dizzying and disloyalty that overloads the viewer with opulent imagery, while never losing track of the tragic, human core of its story. Set in the 1930's Japanese occupied Korea, it's a story of a young female pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri) who becomes a handmaiden to a beautiful Japanese heiress (Min-hee Kim). However, she must manage to convince the heiress to marry a conman (Jung-woo Ha) who poses as a count, for which she will get a chance for a better life. She gets into a moral dilemma when she starts developing feelings for the heiress. The Handmaiden is a elation on every level. The movie is divided into 3 chapters, all giving different outlook. It offers a few surprises along the way as well. Visually, it's a delight for the eyes. The term "every frame a painting" gets overused, but it really fits here. The three leads all gave terrific performances. Musical score by Yeong-wook evokes, or better said, escalate the emotions and the suspenseful tone. Despite the film run time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, it never gets dull, it's very evenly paced throughout. It is a unique movie that you can watch. It is sensuously lavish, occasionally perverse, ghastly powerful and frankly sexual. Park Chan-Wook has reached a new summit with this movie - which is, to be honest, pure seduction.
Ratings:This movie is from critically acclaimed director of Oldboy and Thirst and not just another love story related to vampires or anything. 'The Handmaiden' is just pure cinema, disturbing fable of love, a dizzying and disloyalty that overloads the viewer with opulent imagery, while never losing track of the tragic, human core of its story. Set in the 1930's Japanese occupied Korea, it's a story of a young female pickpocket (Kim Tae-ri) who becomes a handmaiden to a beautiful Japanese heiress (Min-hee Kim). However, she must manage to convince the heiress to marry a conman (Jung-woo Ha) who poses as a count, for which she will get a chance for a better life. She gets into a moral dilemma when she starts developing feelings for the heiress. The Handmaiden is a elation on every level. The movie is divided into 3 chapters, all giving different outlook. It offers a few surprises along the way as well. Visually, it's a delight for the eyes. The term "every frame a painting" gets overused, but it really fits here. The three leads all gave terrific performances. Musical score by Yeong-wook evokes, or better said, escalate the emotions and the suspenseful tone. Despite the film run time of 2 hours and 24 minutes, it never gets dull, it's very evenly paced throughout. It is a unique movie that you can watch. It is sensuously lavish, occasionally perverse, ghastly powerful and frankly sexual. Park Chan-Wook has reached a new summit with this movie - which is, to be honest, pure seduction.
- Acting/Cast:9
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8.5
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance
Title: Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance "Boksuneun naui geot" (original title)
Genre: Crime, Drama
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Ha-kyun Shin, Doona Bae
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance 2002 Korean Movie
A recently laid off factory worker kidnaps his former boss' daughter, hoping to use the ransom money to pay for his sister's kidney transplant.
My views
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is an stunning piece of work. It's a very grim and depressing movie, full of violence and some great performances. The characters in the movie will genuinely empathize you. The movie when I watched immediately fascinated me and the interest level for the movie never decreased. The actors are all first class and the directions is difficult to fault. The movie will keep on surprising till the end. The movie is in all great and make sure you get to see this vengeance.
Ratings:Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is an stunning piece of work. It's a very grim and depressing movie, full of violence and some great performances. The characters in the movie will genuinely empathize you. The movie when I watched immediately fascinated me and the interest level for the movie never decreased. The actors are all first class and the directions is difficult to fault. The movie will keep on surprising till the end. The movie is in all great and make sure you get to see this vengeance.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8.5
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
Joint Security Area
Genre: Drama, Thriller, War
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Yeong-ae Lee, Byung-hun Lee, Kang-ho Song
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Joint Security Area 2000 Korean Movie
In the DMZ separating North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers have been killed, supposedly by one South Korean soldier.
My views
JSA centers around the investigation over a border-side killing. The movie presents an not an easy subject to tackle about the two countries fighting the cold war divided by loyalty and creed. I can't think of many more emotive subjects or films that I have seen this year. The direction and acting in JSA is perfect, whilst the script is emotional. South Korean films are just far ahead of everything. I highly recommend this movie, you can't go wrong with this gem of a movie.
Ratings:
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
Lady Vengeance
Title: Sympathy for Lady Vengeance "Chinjeolhan geumjassi" (original title)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Shi-hoo Kim
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Sympathy for Lady Vengeance 2005 Korean Movie
After thirteen and half years in prison for kidnapping and murdering the boy Park Won-mo, Geum-ja Lee is released and tries to fix her life.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Horror
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Yeong-ae Lee, Min-sik Choi, Shi-hoo Kim
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Sympathy for Lady Vengeance 2005 Korean Movie
After thirteen and half years in prison for kidnapping and murdering the boy Park Won-mo, Geum-ja Lee is released and tries to fix her life.
Lady Vengeance is somewhat made in the poetic form for the users. Just like the other vengeance movie of director Chan-wook Park, Lady Vengeance is gorgeous. The flow of the movie is extraordinary and the film frames are simply beautiful. The use of colors and light is inspirational. With a beautiful and haunting score, "Lady Vengeance" is a memorable and emotional ride.Yes, "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance" is exactly what you will feel when you leave the cinema.
- Acting/Cast: 9
- Story: 8
- Music/Sounds:8
- Overall: 8
I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK
Title: I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK "Ssa-i-bo-geu-ji-man-gwen-chan-a" (original title)
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Su-jeong Lim, Rain, Hie-jin Choi
Watch trailer here
Synopsis I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK 2006 Korean Movie
A girl who thinks she is a combat cyborg checks into a mental hospital, where she encounters other psychotics. Eventually, she falls for a man who thinks he can steal people's souls.
My views
Have you ever imagined sometime in your life that you had an imaginary power with you that you can do anything with it.If yes than this is the movie for you. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK is one of the most entertaining films with a perfect weird combination of comedy, romance, action, sci-fi which places the movie into completely new genre of its own. Almost all the cast in this movie are weird and insane but you will definitely feel emotionally attached and connected to them. Rain who is certainly an talented actor has showed great talent in this movie as well. The visuals in the movie are extremely fun to watch and gives you an unique and original feel to them. This movie is splendidly written and performed and will surely surprise the audience.
Ratings:Have you ever imagined sometime in your life that you had an imaginary power with you that you can do anything with it.If yes than this is the movie for you. I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK is one of the most entertaining films with a perfect weird combination of comedy, romance, action, sci-fi which places the movie into completely new genre of its own. Almost all the cast in this movie are weird and insane but you will definitely feel emotionally attached and connected to them. Rain who is certainly an talented actor has showed great talent in this movie as well. The visuals in the movie are extremely fun to watch and gives you an unique and original feel to them. This movie is splendidly written and performed and will surely surprise the audience.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 7
- Music/Sounds:7
- Overall: 7.5
Thirst
Genre: Drama, Horror, Romance
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Kang-ho Song, Ok-bin Kim, Hae-suk Kim
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Thirst 2009 Korean Movie
Through a failed medical experiment, a priest is stricken with vampirism and is forced to abandon his ascetic ways.
My views
Park Chan-wook films are brutal, poetic, tragic, and artistic, with splashes of very grim humor. Thirst is clearly Park's style, and I loved every second of it, from the cinematography to the story, which blends Shakespearean tragedy, murderous love, Gothic horror, and layered character drama. The characters are complex and there is plenty of moral ambiguity to go around. The direction is restrained and the performances are nuanced - like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, there are too many subtleties to take in on the first viewing. It's unpredictable - scenes go from brutal and heart-wrenching to laugh-out-loud hilarious in an instant. If you like beautifully told vampire stories or are a fan of Park Chan-wook, seeing Thirst should be obvious.
Ratings:Park Chan-wook films are brutal, poetic, tragic, and artistic, with splashes of very grim humor. Thirst is clearly Park's style, and I loved every second of it, from the cinematography to the story, which blends Shakespearean tragedy, murderous love, Gothic horror, and layered character drama. The characters are complex and there is plenty of moral ambiguity to go around. The direction is restrained and the performances are nuanced - like SYMPATHY FOR MR. VENGEANCE, there are too many subtleties to take in on the first viewing. It's unpredictable - scenes go from brutal and heart-wrenching to laugh-out-loud hilarious in an instant. If you like beautifully told vampire stories or are a fan of Park Chan-wook, seeing Thirst should be obvious.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 7.8
- Music/Sounds:7.5
- Overall:7.5
Stroker
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Director: Chan-wook Park
Cast: Mia Wasikowska, Nicole Kidman, Matthew Goode
Watch trailer here
Synopsis Stroker 2013 Korean Movie
After India's father dies, her Uncle Charlie, who she never knew existed, comes to live with her and her unstable mother. She comes to suspect this mysterious, charming man has ulterior motives and becomes increasingly infatuated with him.
My views
"Stoker" is a beautiful, twisted, hypnotic trance - it's meant for an audience not overly concrete in it's thinking but who have an open imagination and are able to take the plunge into the darkly poetic vision of it's director. "Stoker" doesn't exist in a normal, everyday reality - it's more of an alternative dream reality, hyper-aware and sexually charged. The three principle actors are superb, but Mia Wasikowska really gives the film a beating heart, as she emerges from her innocence into her latent self - a mesmerizing performance. This movie is filled with images that are as disturbing as they are lyrical and open to endless interpretation.
Ratings:"Stoker" is a beautiful, twisted, hypnotic trance - it's meant for an audience not overly concrete in it's thinking but who have an open imagination and are able to take the plunge into the darkly poetic vision of it's director. "Stoker" doesn't exist in a normal, everyday reality - it's more of an alternative dream reality, hyper-aware and sexually charged. The three principle actors are superb, but Mia Wasikowska really gives the film a beating heart, as she emerges from her innocence into her latent self - a mesmerizing performance. This movie is filled with images that are as disturbing as they are lyrical and open to endless interpretation.
- Acting/Cast: 8
- Story: 7
- Music/Sounds: 7
- Overall: 7.5
(Source: MyDramaList, Wikipedia)
Post a Comment