'General Hospital' a cheerful sequel

MBC struck ratings gold for two years running with medical dramas "Behind the White Tower" and "New Heart." Now the broadcasting channel is going for a third win by resurrecting an oldie.

Fourteen years have passed since "General Hospital" aired in 1994. And now, in the hopes that a revival of a past favorite will keep viewer ratings up, "General Hospital 2" is coming to TV screens across the nation tonight.

But in a market saturated by international medical dramas, namely America's "Grey's Anatomy" and "House," and Japan's "Iryu-Team Medical Dragon," MBC's latest medical installment will need novel plot twists and a fresh approach if it wants to wow audiences already numbed by gruesome surgeries, high-stakes stories and touching moments of humanity.

On second thought, a hefty dose of comedy just might do the trick.

And judging from the lead actor and actress, Cha Tae-hyun and Kim Jung-eun, it looks like MBC is going for a feel-good and laugh hard approach.

"I want to make it as fun and cheerful as possible," said Kim, 32, at the press conference last week.

Co-star Cha will be joining in on the fun by playing the usual dimwitted yet lovable sidekick.

Kim Jung-eun/Cha Tae-hyun[MBC]

When asked about his tendency to get typecast into comedic roles, Cha, 32, answered: "I am not an actor who tries to play radically different characters."

Standing in his scrubs, Cha - who bowled Asian audiences over in "My Sassy Girl" (2001) - looked every bit the part. Wearing an expression of childlike wonder, he posed for the press, not, it seems, as Cha, but as first year resident Choi Jin-sang.

Kim Jung-eun, also in scrubs, joined Cha on stage, carefully putting on a pair of spectacles to pose as Jung Ha-yoon, a first year resident who wants to become a lawyer that specializes in medical lawsuits.

While her character has entered the profession with a vindictive purpose in mind, namely to use her expertise against doctors, Kim Jung-eun refrained from pulling a "Kill Bill."

"I think it is more realistic to mix humor with melodrama, rather than just be a dark and vengeful character," she explained. "So, I went for a lighthearted approach."

But not everything will be fun and games on "General Hospital 2." And while both Kim and Cha are more known for their comedies, "General Hospital 2" director Noh Do-chul testified to the hard work this pair put into their roles as surgical residents.

"These scenes are made from the broth of their sweat," he said.

According to Noh, both Kim, Cha, and fellow cast members took part in a three-day workshop at the Catholic University of Korea Kangnam St. Mary's Hospital. They slept for two nights in the hospital's dormitories, shadowed both surgical and medical emergency residents and took part in morning rounds.

A firm believer in teamwork, director Noh even brought his gargantuan cast, which includes four members who starred in the original "General Hospital," to the press conference.

Noh's commitment to his team and his decision to film the series at the Catholic University of Korea Seoul St. Mary's and Kangnam St. Mary's Hospitals may help him pull off the crucial balance of humor, wit and drama needed to make "General Hospital 2" worth watching.

"General Hospital 2" airs tonight on MBC at 9:55 p.m.

Source: Korea Herald

Erotic `Portrait' Fails to Capture Subject

A scene from ``Portrait of a Beauty,'' a film about the famed folk Joseon painter Shin Yun-bok

Shin Yun-bok, the famed folk painter of the late Joseon Kingdom (1392-1910), has received much attention in recent months. It all started last year when a best-selling novel described the male artist as secretly being a woman.

In truth, there is little historical documentation of Shin's life, and none that questions his gender. Nevertheless, the fictional work was popular and provocative enough that it was made into the successful television drama, ``The Painter of Wind,'' as well a new feature film.

If ``The Painter of Wind'' is a family-friendly version of the historical fiction, then the film, ``Portrait of a Beauty,'' is its steamy, adults-only twin. While the TV series stars the perpetually wholesome Moon Geun-young in the lead role, the film features the sexy and feminine actress Kim Min-sun.

Unlike Moon, Kim doesn't quite convince the audience that she is trying hard to pass herself off as a ``he.'' However, this is not a problem in ``Portrait,'' which is less interested in the issue of pretense and more interested in exploring Shin's repressed feminine side. Kim's Shin may be effeminate and awkward, but her sexual longing simmers just beneath the surface.

As the film makes clear, the real Shin did in fact often deal with erotic subject matter in his paintings. Along with vivid and often humorous depictions of daily life, Shin was also a keen observer of the lives of gisaeng, or female entertainers, and their relationship with the upper class. ``Portrait'' is at its best when drawing connections between Shin's art and his - excuse me, her - observed world. The film also shows the conflict between Shin's art and the moralizing attitudes of the Joseon royal court.

Ultimately, the film implies that the real reason for Shin's interest in the sensual world of gisaeng was not her wish to observe them, but rather to be one - or more precisely, to be a woman. Indeed, Shin's womanly desires become more blatant as the film progresses.

Confused and conflicted, the artist finds help exploring her sexuality in a poor but smoldering hunk from the lower class. To spice up the amorous tale, "Portrait" then proceeds to throw in generous portions of romantic drama cliches, including love triangles, secret trysts, tragic choices and - what else - naked body painting.

This is where ``Portrait'' begins to look uncomfortably like a half-baked erotic offering on late night cable television. That's fine if you're just looking for a little titillation, but if that's all this film was after, then there was probably no need to drag a historical figure like Shin into the whole gender-switching business in the first place.

Source: Korea Times

Postwar Pain Made Into Bad Melodrama

Actors Song Chang-ui, left, and Lee Wan star in ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul.

When the Korean War ended in July 1953, South Korea was in a state of chaos. Much of the country, especially Seoul, was in shambles, many of its buildings were destroyed, and law and order had a fragile hold on society.

The film ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul'' (titled ``Boys Don't Cry'' in Korean) is set in this tumultuous period in South Korean history and describes the daily struggle shared by the war's survivors. The story is told through the experience of orphaned children - the most destitute and helpless of Seoul's residents - and their contact with the world of crime as they fight to survive.

According to the film, the black market was one of the few aspects of postwar Seoul that was thriving. Cigarettes, liquor, canned foods and other rare items made their way out of U.S. military bases and into the hands of those who could afford it. (And they continued to do so for many decades afterwards.) This underground market of imported goods was controlled by criminal gangs led by violent and corrupt war veterans.

There's a sense here that we are witnessing the birth of the nation's organized crime world, as the violent urges and codes of conduct that were perhaps needed to fight in the Korean War are redefined and used in the accumulation of personal wealth and power. Through this transformation, familiar archetypes from the gangster film genre, seen and done to death in countless Korean dramas and comedies, take on an added layer of meaning.

Sadly, after working so hard to create such a complex historical setting, ``Once Upon a Time in Seoul'' then proceeds to dilute it with a formulaic storyline and one-dimensional characters. The film revolves around Jong-du (Lee Wan) and Tae-ho (Song Chang-ui), two orphaned friends who become involved in the black market but dream of making enough to one day escape from crime and poverty. Their journey takes them deeper into the world of both gangsters and street children.

This main storyline - of criminals trapped in a cycle of violence and compromise, and their longing to break free - is one of the most overused formulas of gangster films, and aside from its novel historical approach, ``Once Upon a Time'' adds little to the genre. Rather, the pathos evoked by the orphans and their desire for a better future are played up for maximum sentimental effect. And in place of character development, the movie relies on predictable scenes of violence and dramatic plot twists to get its point across.

There are several moments when ``Once Upon a Time'' hints at something deeper, particularly regarding the anger lingering from the Korean War and its tragic effects on postwar Seoul and beyond. Unfortunately, the film chooses to avoid its own painful questions, and opts for pat, melodramatic answers instead.

Source: Korea Times

[MOVIE REVIEW] Shin Yun-bok painted with a lewd brush

"The Portrait of a Beauty (Miindo)," directed by Jeon Yun-su, starts off with a tricky warning: "Some of details in the movie are not based on historical facts."

This is misleading. The film's core assumption - that a famous Joseon painter was in fact a woman disguised as a man - is utterly, if not outrageously, fictional.

Shin Yun-bok, better known by his pen name Hyewon, is a real figure who produced a host of thematically provocative and artistically excellent paintings in the 18th century.

The possibility that he might have been a woman, according to existing historical documents, is not almost zero but absolutely zero.

But viewers should be aware of the second trick hidden up Jeon's sleeve: explicit sexuality, sleekly packaged as a statement on the nature of art.

In one crucial scene, main characters debate the boundary between art and vulgarity. The conclusion foisted upon us by the director, who solidified his filmmaking career with "Le Grand Chef" last year, is that if you see obscenity in a picture where sexual innuendo abounds, it's because your mind is muddled with dark, sinful thoughts.

Such simplistic justification is, after all, inevitable in a film that gratuitously indulges in nudity, trans-sexuality, homosexuality, and China's version of the Kama Sutra. Add to the already complicated mix the sexual tension between a teacher and his beautiful student, and the impact is disturbingly powerful.

"The Portrait of a Beauty"

Of course, the movie is not entirely about sex. Universal human emotions, notably obsessive jealousy, are juxtaposed along with Hyewon's gracefully satirical paintings, many of which poke fun at adulterous and sexually charged situations involving the pretentious upper class of the Joseon period.

The initial trigger comes from retired court painter Shin Han-pyong's desire to settle an old score with the then top-rated painter Kim Hong-do (played by Kim Young-ho).

Shin expects his son Yun-bok to emerge as a new star painter and then confront Kim, but the plan skids to a halt when Yun-bok commits suicide over his lack of talent.

Shin's twisted passion, however, does not end. He pushes his daughter Yun-jeong to disguise herself as her brother and enter the turbulent world of court painters. The grown-up Yun-jeong (played by Kim Min-sun), who is now known as Hyewon Shin Yun-bok, finally makes it to the court and learns to paint under the guidance of Kim Hong-do, a prominent painter who has the trust of King Jung-jo.

Kim Hong-do quickly notices Yun-bok's huge potential as well as his girlish features. Things remain normal until Yun-bok goes out and comes across a playful seller of mirrors, Gang-mu (Kim Nam-gil). When their romantic adventure takes off, it is Kim Hong-do who ends up heartbroken. Kim's jealousy, and his desire to own Yun-bok physically and emotionally, soars to a perilous level.

A love triangle is by no means a creative novelty. What's new is the boldness of the underlying attraction that bolsters the treacherous relationship: Yun-bok's trans-sexual appeal. Even in a man's clothes, she's beautiful thanks to her radiant boyish charms. Gang-mu seems to be struck chiefly by Yun-bok's feminine beauty but Kim's obsession about her is much more complex, because he lives in the same quarters of the court where Yun-bok pretends to be a man.

The movie throws in other explicit scenes, one of which is a closed-door demonstration of Chinese sex positions by two scantily clad female entertainers.

Actress Kim Min-sun has certainly created a new silver-screen image by taking a role that involves plenty of nudity. The film, to be released on Nov. 13, is expected to post better box-office numbers than other historical pieces, not least because of the huge publicity about explicit sex scenes. But a relentless mixture of sex and art does not necessarily make it appealing - or even all that inspiring - however creative director Jeon's interpretation about Hyewon's life may be.

New comedy tests Cha's star power

No Korean actor automatically conjures up a comic image on the silver screen as much as Cha Tae-hyun

This is largely due to the huge success of his role in "My Sassy Girl," which opened the floodgates for the Korean Wave of cinema across Asia. This cuts both ways, however.

Cha comes back to the big screen with another comic role in "Speed Scandal (Gwasok Scandal)," to be released on Dec. 4. It is hardly surprising that he plays a character who is supposed to create, well, comic relief.

What's surprising, though, is that he has accepted a role whose identity is somewhat similar to his own experiences as a leading star in Korea. In the film, directed by Kang Hyung-chul, Cha plays Nam Hyun-su, a former idol who captured the hearts of teenage fans.

Yes, he "was" a big star in the good ole days, but he is now in his mid-30s, and his star power has significantly diminished.

But Nam retains some of his recognition. That is why he keeps a DJ post at a local radio show, a situation which may remind local audiences of numerous other Korean entertainers who have followed a similar path.

Things begin to turn drastically comic, or absurd, when a young woman named Jeong-nam (played by Park Bo-young) shows up and claims to be Nam's daughter. The movie's title, "Speed Scandal," becomes clearer at this point because the central plot turn involves the male character's "speeding" during his past relationship.

The problem is, Nam has no memory of Jeong-nam, who begins to pop up everywhere and proclaim her wretched situation, to the embarrassment of the former idol.

It remains to be seen whether Cha pulls off a box-office success with his latest comic role, but what's certain is that it's time for Cha to reinvent his image and break the mold.

Early last year, he tried to tweak the formula a bit by playing a singer in "Highway Star (Bokmyeon dalho)." In the movie, co-directed by Kim Sang-chan and Kim Hyeon-soo, Cha jumped into the terrain of melodramatic Korean pop songs - a genre known here as "trot" that is quite similar in melody and lyrics to Japanese melodramatic enka songs - but the results at the box office were hardly inspiring.

"Speed Scandal," which is partly about life's timing, will demonstrate whether Cha still maintains public appeal because his box-office power has steadily declined since "My Sassy Girl."

The outlook remains largely negative, however. For all the peculiar plot and details, "Speed Scandal" does not attempt to redefine Cha's image. Rather, it sticks to his decade-long silver-screen persona.

In recent years, "My Girl and I," "Two Guys," "Happy Erotic Christmas" relied on Cha's trademark comic talent but failed to win laughs in the end.

Kong Hyo-jin Shines in 'Crush'

Rudy red face, frizzy hair, criminal fashion sense and a chronic case of inferiority complex and hopeless delusion, Miss Hongdangmu (carrot) is a new antihero among antiheroes. Such a pitiful role can be crafted with grace only by South Korean actress Kong Hyo-jin, who trades in her stylish image for a makeover as shocking as Charlize Theron a la ``Monster.''

Premiering Saturday at the 13th Pusan (Busan) International Film Festival (PIFF), ``Crush and Blush'' signals the promising directorial debut of Lee Kyung-mi as well as feted filmmaker Park Chan-wook's headway into producing. Lee, who had worked on the set of Park's ``Sympathy for Lady Vengeance,'' brings one of those rare movies that are propelled by a most unusual yet utterly believable character development, where the protagonist pushes forth the narrative by fulfilling her own destiny instead of a set of circumstances requiring a particular role.

The film wastes no time in painting an unmistakable caricature of Miss Hongdangmu. One is immediately struck by the awkward presence of the unpopular high school Russian teacher who is always looking in all the wrong places at the wrong time. She's like a cross between MTV's Daria and Morticia of the Addams Family, but neither smartly cynical nor eerily gothic, she dispels the golden rule in fashion that black goes with everything, as her uncomfortable looking turtleneck and shapeless long skirt only highlight her severe problem of going red in the face.

The unattractive 29-year-old had been infatuated with Mr. Seo (Lee Jong-hyeuk), her high school teacher-turned-colleague, for about 10 years. ``Last year he sat next to me at the faculty dinner and also right next to me in the car on the way home. Clearly he must be in love with me!'' insists this paragon of delusion. However, her happy thoughts are short-lived due to the arrival of every women's public enemy, the pretty woman Yu-ri (played by lovely debutant Hwang Woo-seul-hye 황우슬혜).

As Russian becomes increasingly less popular among the students, hardworking Mi-suk is assigned to instruct junior high English while Yu-ri, lax yet popular, maintains her position in high school Russian. Not only is she forced to learn English to teach it, Mi-suk must put a halt to a blooming romance between Yu-ri and Mr. Seo, who is among the beauty's many admirers. Her only hope is to keep Seo tied to his marriage for the meantime, and she forms an odd alliance with Seo's daughter and middle school loser Jong-heui (Seo Woo).

Rising starlet Seo Woo is another reason to watch the movie. The petite actress, known for some oddball TV roles, plays the perfect counterpart to Kong as another social misfit with no less psychedelic charisma. The two eccentrics deliver a multidimensional tragicomedy, spiced with what would be the American equivalent of ``blonde humor'' inspired by the pretty Yu-ri. Along the way, the viewer develops sympathy for the clueless Mr. Seo who gets caught in the middle of four feisty ladies (the fourth being his scary belly-dancing wife who is eight years his senior).

``Crush and Blush'' brings together the most unusual characters in the most embarrassing situations. Mi-suk starts digging a hole in the school yard as to divert eyes away from her ``clandestine'' talk with Jong-heui, but only draws more attention to herself _ physically manifesting her shortsighted ``sapjil,'' meaning hard shoveling and no pay, both literally and figuratively. Yet the viewer cannot help but warm to this self-esteem-less, frustrating character as she pursues her passions with utmost sincerity and futility. But life can surprise you, as the most meaningful secrets lie in things that may seem meaningless.

'Modern Boy': Reinterpretation of Japanese Colonialism?

Following the footsteps of “Radio Dayz,” “Once Upon a Time” and “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” comes “Modern Boy,” another purely entertainment-driven movie set during the Japanese colonial era (1910-45). Gyeongseong, the name of Seoul at the time, is home to flamboyant flappers (so-called “modern boys and girls”), radio stars and charming bandits who aren’t necessarily working for Korea’s independence.

The symbolic power of cinema is extensive, as it often showcases a given country’s aesthetics, technical achievements and entertainment factors, and moreover portrays to varying degrees its cultural, historical and social values. Period pieces in particular become the subject of scrutiny as they speak for the shared history of a people.

A Japanese newspaper made a misleading report about “Modern Boy” and the above-mentioned Gyeongseong movies in January this year. Katsuhiro Kuroda, managing editor of Sankei Shimbun’s Seoul branch, announced “the reinterpretation of Japanese colonialism” in Korea ― how there was an effort to reexamine it as an era of modernization rather than one of exploitation, oppression and resistance, and that the conventional school manual “dark period” version has gotten a facelift and was drawing popularity among the younger generation.

The cheerful characters of “Modern Boy” deliver a colorful story, but by no means do they beautify history. It simply shows that life continued, and that there was love, friendship and fun even in oppressive times. Gyeongseong is another name for exoticism, and rich period details give way to a visually lush film. The film portrays a new side of Gyeongseong, brightly lit with neon signs, where swing dance and jazz music were in full swing.

One can argue that the moral distinction between “courageous” independence fighters versus pro-Japanese “traitors” and evil Japanese authorities has entered a gray zone. “Modern Boy” does indeed feature a sympathetic Japanese character (Lee Han) that suffers over his genuine friendship with a Korean. But this is because the area of central conflict has shifted.

Back in the day, Korean cinema had its fare share of political films. Director Choi In-kyu, for example, made a 180-degree turn away from movies propagating Japanese militarism in the 1930s into making ultra-patriotic ones after Liberation in 1945. Such “nationalistic” filmmaking is not unusual. Hollywood continues to demonstrate the political agenda du jour, as Middle Eastern and even North Korean “axis of evil” terrorists began replacing the public enemy role long held by scheming Russian communists, Neo-Nazis and the ruthless Vietcong.

For Korean cinema’s quintessential bad Japanese imperialist, it’s a different story. The new Gyeongseong films mark a role shift rather than a reinterpretation of history. The Japanese oppressor is still evil but has melted into the background rather than being a strictly dishonorable character. The bitterness over losing sovereignty remains intact. Some of the most affecting moments in “Modern Boy” are when the protagonist, wealthy but deprived of his country, recalls his childhood dream of becoming Japanese rather than a doctor or such, and how a talented artist cannot sing in her own language.

“Modern Boy” is about a rich, hedonistic playboy played by the fabulous Park Hae-il who cannot care less that his country was colonized and falls head over heals in love with a beautiful independence fighter, ingeniously brought to life by Korean sex symbol Kim Hye-soo. Director Jung Ji-woo crafts a dramatic femme fatale story that evokes “Carmen” and “Original Sin,” but which can also be compared to Ang Lee’s “Lust, Caution.” It is essentially a love story, and the dynamics of the time period set the heartbreaking mood for the narrative.

So whether it’s Hollywood or Chungmuro, a common denominator is that no matter who plays the bad guy, movies shift their focus away from the political problem at hand. That’s entertainment.

In theaters Oct. 2. 121 minutes. 12 and over. Distributed by CJ Entertainment.