10th London Korean Film Festival

Despite a hectic work and social life this November, I had to do all in my power to watch at least one film from this year’s London Korean Film Festival – the tenth that has now been held in this there city of fair London. But, in fact, I was able to go one better, quite literally, fitting two, count them, films in. This year’s schedule was quite a long one, with films shown only the once over numerous different strands. I missed some ones that I would have very much liked to have observed, and was unable to make any of the late-night, bag-o-snacks screenings that were on offer for midnight popcorn fodder.

So, what does the celebration of ten years of Korean cinema in London have to offer?

The Royal Tailor

This is quite a strange one for me. I have watched Korean period dramas in the past, and while I can appreciate the production qualities, they do not quite hit the spot for me. That said, I ended up in the cinema watching this one. And it was a little different from what I was expecting.

Making an ass of myself with my assumptions, I anticipated quite a slow piece, living up to costume dramas the world over. But this is a drama about costumes with a great deal of comedy thrown in for good measure, never getting too heavy, but with enough seriousness to steer it away from an all-out, knockabout comedy.

Dol-seok is the royal tailor: he is tasked with making all the formal clothes for the King, a man who seems less than content in his life and his sex-less marriage to his young Queen. Outside of the royal court, a young tailor is making a name for himself among the woman-folk, and soon he is brought to the King. Successful in his endeavours, Kong-jin finds himself under Dol-seok’s tutelage, but soon his more masterful skills become both a blessing and a curse, bringing scandal in his designing for the Queen and jealousy from Dol-seok, costing him dear.

Director Won-suk Lee starts off fairly light with this film, using comedy in his catwalk-style montages of Kong-jin’s ‘daring’ new designs being sported about town. The film then becomes a character piece, charting Kong-jin’s relationships: in passion with Dol-seok; and unspoken romance with the Queen. All is well and good in the lives of the three leads, with the tailors happily learning from each other, while Kong-jin builds the virgin Queen’s confidence.

  

However, as the King becomes more involved, the film moves to a darker tone, with loyalties tested, and inevitably the new, young tailor being put in his place, feeling the wrath of his superiors.

An incredibly high percentage of the budget for this film was spent on the costumes – the majority, even. For a period drama, it is perhaps not unusual for this to be the case, though this stands out in ‘Royal Tailor’, with countless numbers of costumes throughout. But, is this at the expense of other areas? Thankfully not. The acting between the leads is strong, necessary for a story built on relationships, and the look and style of the film are in keeping with the wardrobe budget.

Perhaps the links to the true story on the film’s conclusion feel a little unnecessary and detract a little, but for something that’s not my usual style, this is  a well-cut piece.

Romance Joe

A film by any other name, would not be as much of a draw as ‘Romance Joe’. With a name like that, you just simply have to watch it, don’t you?! The debut feature by Hong Sang-soo protégé, Kwang-kuk Lee, his mentor’s influence is laced throughout this non-linear, post-modern piece, that could prove an editor’s – and indeed a viewer’s – nightmare.

‘Romance Joe’ is a film of stories within stories, though by the film’s conclusion, we realise that these are all in fact part of one greater story that doesn’t care much for chronology. Someone is missing and his parents come to his flat to look for clues, accompanied by one of his friends. We then switch to a struggling film director, staying in a small town motel to get ‘inspired’ to write a new script. Ordering ‘coffee’, the extra cream delivery girl begins to tell the story of ‘Romance Joe’ – another struggling film director that was distracted from his suicide attempt when she accidentally bought him some ‘coffee.’

Along the way, and in no particular order, the story of ‘Romance Joe’, the ‘coffee’ girl and teenagers in love play out for us, switching between narratives, though gradually pulling themselves together by the end so that the viewer can piece together the story that they think they have just watched. Confused? Yes, as are many of the lead characters.

A love story full of twists and turns, this could easily have been made by Hong Sang-soo himself, feeling very similar to many of his films. However, made in 2011, this comes before many of Hong’s more recent unconventional rom-coms, and so Lee must be given some credit for his attempts at originality. Like all films structured –or not structured – in this way, ‘Romance Joe’ can take a little while to get a grasp of. However, once you’re in, you’re in, and you find yourself engrossed in the story as more and more unfolds and is revealed, or at least I did.

Films like this aren’t for everyone, and I know more than a few that have got confused, bored or both by Tarantino’s work, including myself. But if you don’t try to make it too epic and make too much of the switching of narrative, it can be a nice way to keep the audience interested and paying attention.

Beyond Da-wit Lee of ‘Pluto’ fame as a young Romance Joe, there are no established actors with long CVs to draw people in. Instead, Lee’s debut feature is a simple complicated film about some confused individuals.

Prior to ‘Romance Joe’ being screened, the good people of The London Korean Film Festival treated us to Kwang-kuk Lee’s short ‘Hard to Say’. This is a strange tale of a girl who tries to impress a boy by learning to play the guitar badly. She then dreams of the roles being reversed and the boy intrigued by her, before waking from her slumber. Like ‘Romance Joe’ and the films of Hong Sang-soo, ‘Hard to Say’ is simply confusing.

Recent film festivals and talks from Japanese directors have shown a gulf in Japanese cinema between the haves and the have-nots. Films are either mega-budget, idol-laced movies to eat popcorn by; or low-budget, having to work creatively shorted films that are perhaps restricted in quality by lack of proper funds. As a result the Japanese film industry is struggling.

At the last couple of BFI London Film Festivals, stand out works for me have been Hong Sang-soo’s ‘Hill of Freedom’ and documentary ‘My Love, Don’t Cross that River’. Both Korean films among a mix of global offerings show that Korean cinema is healthy, thriving from government funds and international film festival screenings. The fact that a thing such as the London Korean Film Festival exists – and has done for a decade – is testament to this.

With Third Window’s Adam Torel comparing the way Korean cinema is run versus Japanese, we can see that Korean cinema is a thriving, well-run industry, and the number of strong low to medium budget films making their way to the UK only confirms this. For me, Korea is one of the leading lights in cinema, and should serve as a blueprint for how the art form should be handles.