‘Office’
The 13th Annual New York Korean Film Festival has revealed the full lineup of its 2015 program, taking place November 6 – 11 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Queens.
The opening night film will be the New York premiere of Hong Won-chan‘s Office, with the director and star, Ko Ah-sung, in attendance.
Take a look below for the full lineup and be sure to head over to the Museum of the Moving Image webtite here for more information.
OPENING NIGHT
Office (오피스)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 6:30 P.M.
New York Premiere
With director Hong Won-chan and star Ko Ah-sung in person
Followed by a reception in the Museum lobby and cafe
Dir. Hong Won-chan. 2015, 111 mins. B.R. With: Ko Ah-sung, Park Seong-woong, Bae Seong-woo. After gruesomely murdering his family, a midlevel manager (Bae Seong-woo) dutifully returns to the office, haunting the building like a vengeful ghost and turning the otherwise bland workspace into a house of terror. Legitimately alarmed, his colleagues nonetheless sing his praises to the police—a hint that there’s more to the matter than a disgruntled employee suddenly snapping. Described as “hearty genre entertainment” by Variety, this Cannes “Midnight Madness” selection is a perfect outlet for young leading actress Ko Ah-sung.
Trap (덫, 치명적인 유혹)
International Premiere
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1:00 P.M.
Dir. Bong Man-Dae. 2015, 107 mins. DCP. With Yoo Ha-joon, Han Je-in, Kang Yong-gyoo.
Maladjusted screenwriter Jeong-min (Yoo Ha-joon) travels to the countryside to rethink his life and concentrate on his career. But instead of working on his screenwriting, he finds transgressive distraction in the person of temptress Yumi (Han Je-in). The frontier between reality and fantasy blurs as Jeong-min’s mind and body are engulfed in a fatal attraction to the innocent-faced but dangerous Lolita, leading him to increasingly poor life decisions. A standout entry in the filmography of softcore erotic meister “Playboy” Bong Man-Dae.
Confession (좋은 친구들)
With director Lee Do-yun in person
New York Premiere
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 3:15 P.M.
Dir. Lee Do-yun. 2014, 114 mins. DCP. With Ji Sung, Ju Ji-hoon. Since a tragic mountain incident in high school, Min-soo (Lee Kwang-soo), Hyun-tae (Ji Sung) and In-chul (Ju Ji-hoon) have remained best friends through thick and thin. But when two of them agree to burn down an illegal gambling hall for the insurance payout, the spilt blood of loved ones unearths the bitter ghosts of a dark past. Soon, the group of childhood friends turn on each other in the bleakest of fallouts. Lee Do-yun’s debut feature has been compared with the slow-burning noir of Sidney Lumet’s final film, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead.
The Shameless (무뢰한)
With director Oh Seung-uk in person
New York Premiere
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 6:00 P.M.
Dir. Oh Seung-uk. 118 mins. DCP. With Jeon Do-yeon, Kim Nam-gil, Park Sung-Woong. In Oh Seung-uk’s highly anticipated return to the director’s chair since his debut masterpiece Kilimanjaro in 2000, Cannes award-winning actress Jeon Do-yeon plays a bar hostess in love with a suspected murderer. Kim Nam-gil (The Pirates) is outstanding as a detective who plays a game of seduction with a dangerous woman. Selected for the Un Certain Regard program at the Cannes Film Festival, The Shameless is an unforgettably stylish noir.
Assassination (암살)
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 8:55 P.M.
Dir. Choi Dong-hoon. 2015, 140 mins. B.R. With Jeon Ji-hyun, Lee Jung-hae, Ha Jung-woo. Choi Dong-hoon’s follow-up to his 2012 hit The Thieves was Korea’s biggest box office hit of the year. Drawing inspiration from 1980s Hong Kong action comedies and South Korea’s little-known 1960s Manchurian Westerns, Assassination follows the journey of three resistance fighters as their mission takes them to the Manchurian countryside, pre-war Shanghai, and Japanese-occupied Seoul to assassinate an evil Japanese governor and his Korean acolyte. Boasting an all-star cast led by screen-goddess Jeon Ji-hyun and superstar Lee Jung-jae, Assassination is “a sensationally entertaining mash-up of historical drama, Dirty Dozen style shoot-‘em-up, spaghetti Western-flavored flamboyance, and extended action set pieces that suggest a dream-team collaboration of Sergio Leone, John Woo and Steven Spielberg” according to Variety’s Joe Leydon.
Madonna (마돈나)
With director Shin Su-Won in person
New York Premiere
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2:00 P.M.
Dir. Shin Su-won. 2015, 121 mins. DCP. With Seo Young-hee, Kwon So-hyun, Kim Young-min.
After her festival hit Pluto (2012), a critically acclaimed high-school drama about bullying and murder which won a Special Mention at the 2013 Berlinale, director Shin Su-won delivers a shocking, noir-tinged tale of privilege and poverty: a nurse’s aide uncovers and tries to prevent the horrific use of a brain dead pregnant street-walker for a heart transplant to a rich patient.
The Beauty Inside (뷰티 인사이드)
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 5:00 P.M.
Dir. Baik (Baek Jong-yeol), 2015, 127 mins. B.R. With Han Hyo-joo, Park Seo-jun, Mun Suk, Lee Dong-hwi, Lee Mi-do. Since his 18th birthday, Woo-jin wakes up each morning as a different person in a new body. Sometimes he’s old, sometimes he’s young, sometimes he’s not Korean…or even a man. But inside, he remains the same down-to-earth, honest cabinet maker devoted to his craft. And each day he fights to connect with the woman he loves (Han Hyo-joo, in a luminous, standout performance). Beneath the slick romantic fantasy and the gorgeous cinematography, the film asks real questions about identity and true love.
Veteran (베테랑)
With director Ryoo Seung-wan in person
U.S. Festival Premiere
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 7:45 P.M.
Dir. Ryoo Seung-wan. 2015, 123 mins. DCP. With Hwang Jung-min, Yoo Ah-in, Yoo Hae-jin. In this instant action/comedy classic—a massive theatrical hit earlier this summer—hardboiled detective Seo Do-cheol (top actor Hwang Jung-min can throw—and take—a punch) and his misfit team defend the powerless against the vicious scion of a prominent family (played with villainous delight by heartthrob Yoo Ah-in, in a widely acclaimed performance).
Wonderful Nightmare (미쓰 와이프)
With director Kang Hyo-jin in person
New York Premiere
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 7:00 P.M.
Dir. Kang Hyo-jin. 2015, 125 mins. DCP. With Uhm Jung-hwa, Song Seung-heon, Seo Shin-Ae. Heaven makes a clerical error, so ambitious lawyer Yeon-woo (played by superstar Uhm Jung-hwa) returns to Earth to find herself married to a salaryman and mother to a rebellious teenager and know-it-all six-year-old. A sharp, hilarious satire about the shift in gender roles in contemporary Korean society that struck a deep chord with local audiences.
