'Legendary Libido' twists Korean sex folklore

"A Tale of Legendary Libido (Garoojigi)," directed by Shin Han-sol, is loosely based on "Byeon Gang-soe Tale," one of the most notoriously decadent and sexually provocative theatrical songs which took its current form in the late 19th century.

Byeon Gang-soe is a Joseon-era version of Austen Powers, as he has an amazing sexual energy. The original tale, transmitted by word of mouth, was documented and extensively edited by Shin Jae-hyo (1812-1884). Many of the explicit sexual descriptions were cut out in the process; nevertheless, the extant version contains imagery and expressions that are shockingly frank about sexuality, even by today's standards.

The challenges facing director Shin were obvious. First, the highly inflated and exaggerated metaphors throughout the risque story could not be easily revised for mainstream moviegoers, including adults not familiar with the sex-comedy genre. Second, the theme has been adapted for the big screen several times, with ho-hum responses even from the targeted B-movie audiences who are only after cheap laughs, plenty of nudity, and meaningless sex.

"A Tale of Legendary Libido (Garoojigi)"

Despite the enormous challenges to such a project, director Shin can be credited for impressive casting. Not only the top-notch talent Bong Tae-gyu, but also veteran actors such as Oh Dal-soo and Yoon Yeo-jeong signed on to the movie for some reason - a far more intriguing mystery than the overflowing sexual energy of the film's central character. Bong Tae-gyu plays Byeon Gang-soe, a loner in an obscure mountainous village in the Joseon period. He makes a living, barely, by selling Korean cakes on the street, but wherever he goes, he is jeered by scantily clad village women. Byeon, it turns out, has become a laughing stock because he lacks sexual energy.

He has a dedicated and understanding brother, Gang-mok (Oh Dal-soo), but their ties are disrupted when they encounter a seemingly disoriented beauty who has no qualms about swimming naked in the river and dancing voluptuously on a bridge.

A string of events push the depressed Gang-soe to look for some solution. From this point on, the movie charges ahead with its trademark sex scenes, some of which seem to be borrowed from famous comic strips.

But the relentless presentation of luscious female bodies cannot fix the movie's characterization problem, especially when it comes to the movie's supposed superhero, Gang-seo. Bong Tae-kyu is mostly sullen throughout the film, rarely showing off his renowned talent in fleshing out a realistic and likable character.

In an earlier movie adaptation of this story, veteran actor and sex symbol Lee Dae-geun created a unique character who was at times entertaining and amusing. In contrast, Bong Tae-kyu seems out of place amid a horde of lusty women in a village where desirable men are in short supply.

In this film, the matter of clothing is also problematic. The costume designer apparently opted for a hybrid fashion that resulted in revealing clothes for most actresses, but its effect is, at best gaudy, and at worst, unbearable.

"A Tale of Legendary Libido," to be released on April 30, has taken the peculiar subject of unabashed sexuality in conservative Joseon times, but it might have provided the sorely lacking mojo of the supposed sex symbol if it had taken some cues from the purely comical approach of the Austen Powers franchise.

Source: Korea Herald

'The Moonlight of Seoul' portrays twisted role of men at a host bar

Director Yoon Jong-bin created a favorable buzz in 2006 when he unveiled his thought-provoking debut feature "The Unforgiven," highlighting the hidden talent of actor Ha Jung-woo. Yoon's casting choice turned out to be prescient. Ha is now the most sought-after film star following the runaway success of "The Chaser," a thriller that further showcases the actor's passionate acting spirit.

But it seems questionable whether Yoon has made a right casting choice for "The Moonlight of Seoul" (Korean title: "Beastie Boys"), a drama in which Ha is recruited to play a central character for the second time with the same director.

The film, to be released on April 30, loosely reflects filmmaker Yoon's continued interest in the painful social trap that puts a stifling screw upon the life of Korean men. Previously, Yoon brought to life the suffocating pain in his award-winning "The Unforgiven" in a way that impressed critics at film festivals. The trouble is that, unlike Yoon's first feature, "The Moonlight of Seoul" is a commercial project which can be easily tossed out at the cutthroat box office unless it's armed with some mainstream appeal.

"The Moonlight of Seoul"

Desperate, cash-strapped men who serve drinks and dance with female clients at what is called a "host bar" is not fantastic subject matter for such mass appeal, to begin with. Petty struggles, emotional tug-of-war, and a hunger for genuine love are juxtaposed with the exotic night life of male hosts, but the plot falters helplessly as if the intoxicated main characters try to remain sober after ceaseless drinking night after night.

In the film, Yoon Kye-sang plays Seung-woo, who has recently joined the peculiar nighttime business to stay afloat. His life, as far as he remembers in his dreams, was not always like this. He used to enjoy an affluent life and he knew every corner of Cheongdam-dong where he had lived with his family.

For some reason, which is not explained explicitly, his life plunged into poverty, and he is now forced to sell his handsome appearance and refined manners at the bar where dozens of similarly good-looking men await their female clients, most of whom are professional hostesses venting their frustrations with the money they have earned serving men at sleazy bars.

Ha Jung-woo's character, Jae-hyeon, is slightly different. He is the so-called PD, or partner director, a host bar equivalent to the madam at a men's club. Jae-hyeon is constantly testing his luck: gambling, lying and cheating on his girlfriend to squee

ze out easy money. His world is steadily disintegrating; undaunted, he keeps rolling the dice to get away from an immediate crisis, only to confront another.

The host bar is portrayed as a sort of underground sex trade venue where female clients buy the attention and care of young, well-groomed host boys, but the film does not pay due focus to the shady details. Instead, Seung-woo's encounter with Ji-won (Yoon Jin-seo), one of his clients, takes center stage in the plot, bringing to the background the real travails supposedly embedded in the host business.

The couple, after a brief honeymoon-like period, falls into the depths of mistrust and deception, a development that pummels the soft-hearted Seung-woo - a melodramatic set-up dragging the host bar drama back to the emotionally abrasive shouting game, plus a widely expected revelation that fails to steer the plot in a meaningful direction.

Jae-hyeon comes up with lame excuses around the clock to get by in his debt-laden life, but that's all there is to see. His life is so boringly predictable that even the last-minute twist does not generate the intended impact. Ha Jung-woo's nuanced perf

ormance occasionally lightens up the otherwise depressingly static storyline - but doesn't do enough to save the movie.

Source: The Korea Herald

Zooming in on the hidden side of youth

Director Ahn Seul-gi has a discerning eye for Korean youth and their wanderings. As a teacher, Ahn has observed how they struggle to figure out their roles in society where the outlook remains gloomy for many poverty-stricken students.

"My Song Is ..." (Korean title: "Na-ui norae-neun") is a small-budget film that Ahn shot and produced during a school vacation period. Though the movie's overall scale is small, the challenges facing key characters are profoundly intense and realistic.

On a cold day, Hee-cheol (Shin Hyeon-ho) wakes up to find out he is missing a crucial college entrance exam. His indifferent grandmother has apparently turned off his alarm clock. Frustrated at her carelessness, Hee-cheol vents his anger at his grandmother, but she simply shrugs it off as if nothing important has happened.

In fact, the grandmother's gesture is telling in many respects. Hee-cheol lives with his aloof grandmother at a shabby house in an obscure area of Seoul. His father, a foul-mouthed drunkard, sometimes comes home, but he's never of any help in terms of money and emotional support.

With the hope of entering a college completely gone, Hee-cheol works as a delivery boy for a small eatery shop - a situation that he vaguely senses offers few changes or improvement.

A change in momentum comes when Hee-cheol encounters two college students that are his age, working on a film production project. Yeon-ju (Min Se-yeon), a manipulative female college student and self-styled film director, recruits Hee-cheol as an actor. But his role does not require spectacular talents. After all, what Yeon-ju wants from Hee-cheol is merely the mundane image of him as an obscure delivery boy on a bike.

What's interesting is Hee-cheol's emotional change - and a slight hint of mental growth. At first, Hee-cheol finds the part-time job as a fun activity. But he finds himself comparing his own life with those of relatively well-to-do students. In the eyes of Hee-cheol, the college students equipped with expensive video cameras are living in a different world: schools, identity, money and homes. In contrast, Hee-cheol is not a student, his identity is murky at best. He's also penniless for the most part, and he hates coming back to his home where there is no comfort at all.

Director Ahn puts a spin on the dreadful reality of Korean youth by shooting the picture in mostly black and white. All the images related to the real-life situations in the movie are black and white, while the full colors are used only for the video images where Hee-cheol plays a central character for the college student project. Symbolism abounds when the two contrasting worlds - the dark reality in black and white, and the fictional world in full colors - are intertwined in a way that accentuates the travails of Hee-cheol and the wandering youth generation he represents.

As in Ahn's previous film project, "My Song Is ..." has been produced at his own costs, and even staff members have pitched in for the movie to hit a couple of screens. IndieSpace and select theaters in Seoul will show director Ahn's second feature film from April 25.

Source: The Korea Herald

`GP506’ Puts DMZ Back on Map

In his second feature film ``GP506,'' director Gong Su-chang (``R-Point'') tells another agonizing tale about military life. But this time, he takes viewers to the demilitarized zone (DMZ). In this bloody mystery thriller, Gong explores the ever-so relevant yet alien area, where dark secrets and ghosts of forgotten histories lurk.

But the film does not deal with the ideological conflict between the Koreas. Rather, it fathoms the raw human instinct for survival.

On the 38th parallel, between the two Koreas, lies the last remnant of the Cold War. ``Demilitarized'' zone is perhaps the most improper name for one of the most heavily fortified places on Earth. On the south side is the tightly contained Guard Post 506 (GP506), where armed soldiers stay alert for possible aggressions from the North.

One rainy evening, sergeant major Noh Seong-gyu is called to attend to an emergency. A massacre has occurred within GP506, leaving 20 dead and one unconscious. The 30-year veteran and 20 others are dispatched to investigate the bloodbath.

It's a messy situation. There are no signs of external attack and the corpses are mostly unidentifiable. The entire Defense Ministry is on fire because the commander of GP506, first lieutenant Yu Jeong-u, happens to be the army chief's son. They have less than 10 hours to wrap up the case and bring back Yu's body.

Corporeal Gang Jin-won, found with an axe in hand and now lying in a coma, is naturally the prime suspect. ``I will now kill our entire unit. We must all be dead by the time this is discovered,'' says a disturbed-looking Gang in a self-taped video. It seems like another spur of the moment act by a soldier gone mad.

Due to the downpour, the investigation team too becomes trapped in the GP. Noh, however, realizes that there are only 19 dead bodies. The soldiers search the maze-like GP and find lieutenant Yu, alive and traumatized. The 6 a.m. deadline draws near, but Yu refuses to break his silence and tries to escape, violently and to no avail

Yet, as Noh looks into the case, it becomes clear that there is more to it than what appears on the surface. Bizarre happenings had crippled GP506 long before the killings, but critical files have been destroyed and Yu does everything in his power to keep things hidden. Deeper into the night, one ominous secret unravels after another and the 21 investigative soldiers are doomed to face a similar fate.

``GP506'' follows the highly publicized military shooting incidents in recent years. While it takes place over one night, director Gong devoted two years to bring a story he thought of 20 years ago. The movie reveals GP506 for the first time onscreen, and takes us to the DMZ, a place so close, yet so far away. While profoundly ingrained in the heart and soul of Korea, it is also a place that is slipping away from our memories.

No man's land since July 27, 1953, the DMZ remains unspoiled by humans, where rare _ and probably many unknown ― flora and fauna flourish. It's a haven for endangered wildlife, but it's also where unique viruses like the hantavirus are found.

It's a real place but is shrouded with so much mystery that it allows room for fictional fantasies to take flight. While ``GP506'' begins like a typical Agatha Christie thriller, it has a touch of ``Alien 4'' or ``Silent Hill'' as it solely takes place within the claustrophobic labyrinth of GP506.

Veteran actor Chun Ho-jin displays strong charisma and warm humanity as Noh, while heartbreaker Jo Hyun-jae breaks away from his melodramatic Romeo roles to play the agonized Yu. Rising actor Lee Young-hoon shines brightly as Gang, and viewers will be able to sympathize with these young, virile men who are doomed to perish in the confines of forced military service.

This is not recommended for weak stomachs: be prepared for lots of gore and explosive sound effects complete with an actual K2 grenade launcher. In theaters April 3.

Source: Korea Times