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April 24, 2009
Nine booked for actress abuse
Police booked nine people in their investigation into a scandal involving Jang Ja-yeon, who killed herself after alleged abuses by her agent, including pressure to have sex with influential figures.
Police yesterday wrapped up its probe into allegations behind the death of Jang, 30, who hanged herself in her home on March 7.
The charged people include her former agent Kim Sung-hun, who Jang accused of forcing her to attend drinking parties and provide sexual favors to powerful figures in the media and show business. He is currently in Japan.
Her immediate agent, Yoo Jang-ho was also booked for defamation by leaking her memo to the media. He was sued by Jang's family last month. Others accused include two television directors, three financial industry officials, and a businessman and an entertainment agency employee.
Other leading figures in the media industry, who were mentioned in her note were cleared of charges. Police assumed that she had mistaken others for them. An arrest warrant was issued on Kim earlier this month but investigators have so far failed to locate or arrest him.
Police decided to suspend the questioning on five other suspects until Kim is extradited from Japan, said Bundang Police Station, which handles the case.
An arrest warrant was issued on Kim earlier this month. Investigators have so far failed to even locate his whereabouts. "Though we tried to reveal the truth, we faced limits in investigation, as the victim is now dead and the most crucial suspect Kim is overseas," said Han Poong-hyun, head of the Bundang Police Station in the briefing. "Further steps will be taken once Kim is brought in for questioning."
These investigation results were denounced by many as fruitless, especially as they came after a long period of silence from the police. Public suspicion also rose that the police may be covering up for socially influential suspects as their detailed identities remained hidden.
By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldm.com)
http/www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/04/25/200904250019.asp |
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April 24, 2009
Korean Drama OST Concert to Be Staged in Japan
The "Korean Wave Gala Concert 2009" will be held at the Tokyo International Forum on July 11.
The concert will feature Korean singers who took part in the original soundtracks of Korean dramas which have been popular in Japan. They include Ryu, who sang the theme song of 揥inter Sonata, |
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Aoril 23, 2009
Pop star Tsuyoshi Kusanagi arrested
Two firms pull commercials starring the actor-singer
By Rob Schwartz, Billboard
Tsuyoshi Kusanagi leaves Tokyo's Akasaka police station
on April 23, 2009 (STR/AFP/Getty Images photo)
TOKYO -- Japanese pop superstar Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, a member of the leading group SMAP, was arrested early Thursday morning for indecent exposure. Police found Kusanagi in a park near the nightlife district of Roppongi in Tokyo and he was reportedly completely naked and heavily intoxicated.
The 34-year-old singer is among the most high-profile entertainers in Japan, both as a singer and an actor, appearing in numerous films, TV shows and commercials. SMAP, currently a quintet signed to Victor Entertainment, has released more than 30 singles and 20 albums in their 18-year career.
SMAP scored their first No. 1 hit in 1994 with "Hey, Hey Ookini Maidoari!" and the acts has been a leading force in J-pop since that time. SMAP's 2003 single "Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana" has moved over 2.5 million units.
Their popular TV show SMAPxSMAP has kept the band in the limelight and Kusanagi has built a huge Korean fan base as well by learning to speak Korean fluently, and singing in the language.
Kusanagi had at least three TV commercials in rotation in Japan at the time of his arrest; pharmaceutical company P&G and auto giant Toyota have already pulled their ads with him. TV stations, at the request of the Association for Promotion of Digital Broadcasting, are to halt an announcement concerning digital broadcasting that features Kusanagi.
Source: hollywoodreporter.com |
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April 24, 2009
Prada Transformer Opens in Seoul
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
Some of the most outstanding skirts from Miuccia Prada's collection from 1988
to the present are exhibited as part of the "Waist Down" exhibition
at the Prada Transformer. / Courtesy of organizers
Italian luxury goods giant Prada unveiled its most ambitious cultural project to date, the Prada Transformer, in Seoul, Thursday.
Built on the grounds of the 16th century Gyeonghui Palace in downtown Seoul, the Prada Transformer is a one-of-a-kind tetrahedron-shaped pavilion designed by renowned architect Rem Koolhaas' Office for Metropolitan Architecture.
Designer Miuccia Prada and her husband, Prada CEO Patrizio Bertelli, as well as Koolhaas, were in Seoul for the inauguration of the Transformer pavilion.
The Prada Transformer will be the venue for events devoted to art, film, fashion and of course, the Prada brand, for the next six months. Koolhaas described the Transformer as a "dynamic organism," since the steel-framed structure can be rotated into four distinct floor planes: hexagonal, rectangular, cruciform and circular, to fit the specific events.
Bertelli said the choice of Seoul for the Transformer project is the company's recognition of the importance of Asia and its rapid development of business and culture.
Tomaso Galli, Prada group communications and external relations director, said the project represents the culmination of the Prada's long-standing interest in art, architecture, fashion and film. "At Prada, the day to day work for fashion is to set trends and innovate every six months when we do our fashion shows in Milan, but today you have to go beyond that. This project is the way we can contribute to the world that goes beyond fashion," Galli told reporters, Wednesday.
The first event to be held at the Transformer is "Waist Down -- Skirts by Miuccia Prada," featuring 65 of the most outstanding skirts from Prada's collections since 1988. The exhibit first opened in 2004 at the Prada Epicenter, Aoyama, Tokyo, and has traveled to Shanghai, New York and Los Angeles.
"Before the exhibition was shown in an existing space like a hotel or shopping district, so we always inhabit someone else's house. Now, we have created our own space. Here, it is totally free. The space was made to integrate the exhibition. There's a huge dynamism that we can enjoy here," Kayoko Ota, exhibition curator, told The Korea Times.
Ota said Prada unleashes her creativity in her favorite form, the skirt. With all the skirts that Prada has designed, it was difficult to pick which skirts to show, so Ota relied on intuition and picked the most eye-catching skirts. Prada's skirts are full of "curious contradictions." A skirt made of military uniform material has been embellished with glass beads and exquisite embroidery, transforming something utilitarian like a uniform into an utterly feminine creation.
Ota pointed to another skirt made of metal discs, which caught everyone's attention because of its noisy swishing sound. "It's very noisy and in a way, very impractical, unless you're thinking of haute couture. But this is one unique point about Miuccia Prada. As a woman, she tries to have more courage and more fun. Why not? Why not make a skirt that makes noise and have some fun? ... There's also the clarity of idea. The other skirts may look simple, but the material is not. Sometimes, the skirts exaggerate motion and other times, it can restrict mobility as a kind of humor," Ota said.
The skirts are displayed in unique ways, some are spinning or moving from side-to-side, while others are glowing with lights underneath. A few skirts look like delicate flowers packed in vacuum-sealed plastic, while skirts made of rigid materials are displayed like sculptural busts.
Gigantic two-dimensional mannequins, which show images of skirts worn by models, are placed all over the pavilion's walls and ceilings. Adding a touch of Korean flavor to the exhibition, eight skirts designed by Korean fashion students have been included. The skirts reflect the traditional Korean culture and aesthetics, but with a very contemporary feel.
At the end of May, the Transformer will be rotated to create a new cinema auditorium for the film festival "Flesh, Mind and Soul." Mexican director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and film critic Elvis Mitchell specially chose the films to be shown.
The building will once again be rotated for the contemporary art exhibition "Beyond Control," curated by Prada Foundation artistic director Germano Celant. The special closing event has yet to be announced.
Admission is free. Visit www.pradatransformer.co.kr.
Credits: cathy@http://koreatimes.co.kr
Photos from joynews.inews24.com
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April 24, 2009
Korean Filmmakers to Appear at Cannes
By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Director Park Chan-wook
Top Korean movie directors have been invited to the prestigious Cannes Film Festival running from May 13 to 24.
The festival delegation announced the list of this year's competitors and jury members Thursday through the festival's official Web site ― they included Koreans Park Chan-wook, Bong Joon-ho and Lee Chang-dong.
According to the list, Park's "Thirst" will vie for the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded to competing films at the event. This is the second time that one of Park's films has been nominated, the first being "Old Boy" in 2004. The movie won the Grand Prix at Cannes that year. The thriller "Thirst" tells the story of a priest who becomes a vampire and falls in love with his friend's wife. It's slated for release here on April 30.
"I've worked on experimental works, even in the past, when people worried about the local movie industry, and I'm happy that my hard work has been recognized," Park said.
Fellow filmmaker Bong will also join Park at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard section with his new film "Mother." Bong won the award for Best Director at the 2007 Oporto International Film Festival for his monster film "The Host" (2006). This is his third invitation to the event. Mother stars veteran Korean actress Kim Hye-ja as a distressed mother who fights to prove her son's innocence against false charge of homicide. The film is slated for release in May.
Meanwhile, Lee Chang-dong ("Secret Sunshine," 2007) will be part of the jury, headed by French actress Isabelle Huppert, Taiwanese actress Shu Qi and American director James Gray. Lee's "Secret Sunshine" was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes in 2007, while ``Oasis'' (2002) won the Special Director's Award at the Venice Film Festival in 2003.
Credits: sanghee@koreatimes.co.kr
[ Last edited by katt at 24-4-2009 20:28 ] |
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April 23, 2009
'Dressed in Prada,' traditional Korean palace set to greet visitors
A transformable steel structure built as part of a pure arts project by Italian Fashion brand Prada opened at a traditional palace in Seoul Thursday, ready to showcase a series of cross-cultural exhibitions and live events for Seoulites and more, Yonhap News reported.
"Prada Transformer," designed by world-renowned architect Rem Koolhaas, is a comprehensive art house that combines four different structures -- hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle -- to be reconfigured with each new program it features.
"The Prada Transformer project will be our key communication platform in 2009. The fact that we have selected Seoul to implement it is a recognition of the importance that we give to Asia, Korea particularly, because of its fast growing pace both in the business and cultural space," said Patrizio Bertelli, organizer of the event.
Situated in the front courtyard of the 16th-century Gyeonghui Palace, Prada Transformer was realized with the support of Korea's LG Electronics, Hyundai Motor Company and Red Resource Inc. to juxtapose Korean history and tradition with a 21st-century multi-dimensional event space.
Source: koreaherald.co.kr / Photos from innolife.net / joynews.inews24.com
April 23, 2009 - Stars at Prada Transformer "Waist Down" exhibition
   
L-R: Song Hye Kyo, Joo Ji Hoon, Daniel Henney, Sung Yuri
    
L-R: Lee Beom Soo, Go Ara, Kim Sung Soo, Lee Seung Ki, Oh Ji Ho
  
L-R: Yoon Eun Hye, Chae Ye Ryun, Kim Min Hee, Song Hye Kyo, Go Ara, Sung Yuri |
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April 25, 2009
Uhm Jung-hwa on Playing Ruthless in New Film
Uhm Jung-hwa
Singer and actress Uhm Jung-hwa is a powerful mover and shaker in the art world who does not hesitate to get involved in faking and smuggling of art in the movie "Insadong Scandal," which will be released on April 30. A cold-blooded greedy, ferocious woman in the movie, Uhm in person is gentle and affable.
"I wanted to play this character because it was something new, something that I hadn't done before," she says. "I was hesitant at first because the character was so different from what I really am, but I liked the script: it was interesting with a unique plot."
She says she had to think hard about the makeup, hairstyle, and fashion to best represent the character. "I had to be a woman who dresses up not to look pretty but to dominate. I had to represent a sexy woman whom people wouldn抰 dare to approach."
Asked if she is proud to be successful in both singing and acting, Uhm said, "I wouldn't say I achieved something yet. I'm still active in both professions, so I think I'm in the process of attaining something. One of my dreams is to be a really good actress in a really good film. But I also want to have a long career as a singer and continue to play the music that I really love."
Credits: englishnews@chosun.com |
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April 24, 2009
Adoption agency wins services of musical star Alex
Singer and musical actor Alex was appointed as a goodwill ambassador for Holt Children抯 Services, Inc.
The organization is one of the largest adoption agencies in Korea, established for orphans, the disabled and facilitating both domestic and international adoptions.
The appointment ceremony was held on Wednesday afternoon at Holt抯 auditorium in Mapo District, northwestern Seoul.
Alex, who is currently starring in a romantic musical called 揙n Air: Season 3, |
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April 24, 2009
Police book nine in sex-for-favors scandal involving late actress
SEONGNAM, South Korea, April 24 (Yonhap) -- Police said Friday that they have booked nine people in an unfolding probe into the suicide of an actress amid allegations she was forced to provide sexual favors by her former agent.
Jang Ja-yeon, the 30-year-old actress, hanged herself at her house in Bundang, south of Seoul, on March 7. The case snowballed a few days later when her agent disclosed a seven-page suicide note, supposedly written by Jang, which said that a former agent had forced her to provide sexual and other favors to several high-powered entertainment figures and journalists.
Source: http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/ ... 90424004400315.HTML |
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News Index page 3
April 24, 2009: Fans Continue to Flock to Choi Jin-sil's Gravesite
April 24: Park Chan-wook's 'Thirst' to Compete at Cannes
April 24: Thirst抯 preview attracts A-list VIPs
Celebrity PHOTOS - THIRST VIP Premiere
April 26: Movie Star Nabbed on Drug Charges / Joo Ji Hoon
April 26: Blood-soaked and morbid, "THIRST" likely to polarize reaction
April 26: Epik High Gets Serious About Music
April 26: [MOVIE REVIEW] 'Thirst' charts a new course in vampire film
April 26: Skirts exhibition launches Prada Transformer
April 26: Park's 'Thirst' Is Riveting
April 27: 'Thirst' Stirs Audiences with Star's Private Parts
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April 24, 2009
Fans Continue to Flock to Choi Jin-sil's Gravesite
 
Half a year has passed since actress Choi Jin-sil took her own life. Choi was found dead at home on Oct. 2, 2008, and was buried in Gapsan Park in Yangpyeong, Gyeonggi Province. "People visit her grave everyday. About 100 people come on weekdays and 250 during weekends," said an official at Gapsan Park. The park connected its CCTV system to the computer at the home of Choi's family so that her family could see Choi resting in peace everyday.
Credits: englishnews@chosun.com
[ Last edited by katt at 26-4-2009 14:56 ] |
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April 24, 2009
Park Chan-wook's 'Thirst' to Compete at Cannes
Song Kang-ho (left) and Kim Ok-bin in scene from "Thirst" Park Chan-wook's most recent film, "Thirst," has been selected to compete at the 62nd Cannes International Film Festival from May 13 to 24.
It is the second time that one of Park's films has entered the official competition at Cannes, the first being in 2004 with "Old Boy," which won the Grand Prix at Cannes in 2004.
Twenty other films are competing at this year's Cannes, including " Inglourious Basterds" starring Brad Pitt and directed by Quentin Tarantino, and "Taking Woodstock" directed by Ang Lee.
Bong Joon-ho's "Mother" has been included in the non-competition Un Certain Regard section.
Credits: englishnews@chosun.com
[ Last edited by katt at 26-4-2009 15:00 ] |
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April 24, 2009
Thirst抯 preview attracts A-list VIPs
April 24th, 2009 // by javabeans
Whoaaa. Check out this new still from the vampire film Thirst [박쥐], which recently confirmed that it will be screening at Cannes International Film Festival later this year.
The much-buzzed-about film held its press conference and VIP preview screening on the afternoon of April 24 in Seoul. Given the movie抯 high profile (and its director and lead actor), the screening attracted some big names, such as Lee Byung-heon, Jeon Do-yeon, Won Bin, Rain, and Song Hye-gyo.
Lead actor Song Kang-ho, playing the vampire priest who falls for his friend抯 wife (Kim Ok-bin), discussed some of the film抯 more provocative scenes, one of which serves as the crucial point of the film. He had discussed the scene in some depth with director Park Chan-wook and had no qualms shooting it, as he agreed that it was essential to the story.
Park Chan-wook said, 揑 watched the film as just an audience member, and the acting in that scene really came off naturally. Perhaps it was the camera location or the size of the screen, or the composition or something like that, but rather than giving the feeling of trying to show something naturally, it felt more like something that couldn抰 be hidden. I think the audience may have felt that nuance too. |
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April 26, 2009
Movie Star Nabbed on Drug Charges
Joo Ji-hoon
Popular South Korean model and actor Joo Ji-hoon may stand trial on drug charges, police said Sunday.
Joo, 27, is accused of having used narcotics about a couple of times around March in 2008 during drug parties with fellow entertainers, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Police said they booked Joo for further investigation without physical detention while requesting arrest warrants for an actress and a model.
The 28-year-old actress, only identified by her surname Yoon, smuggled in hundreds of capsules of drugs from Japan for more than a year from 2007, according to police. "It is the first case that has been discovered in which entertainers smuggled in drugs from a foreign country for their own use," a police officer was quoted as saying.
Joo is well-known for his role as Crown Prince Lee Shin in the drama " Princess Hours (Goong)," which was his acting debut, and his leading role in the movie "Kitchen," about the life of a gifted chef.
Source: koreatimes.co.kr |
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April 26, 2009
Movie Review
Blood-soaked and morbid, "THIRST" likely to polarize reaction
By Shin Hae-in
SEOUL, April 26 (Yonhap) -- Using the most unappealing of human desires as a cinematic subject clearly has its pros and cons. A common thread in us is touched, even if it is one of revulsion, and heartstrings may be tugged in viewers.
Some, however, may be disgusted enough by Park Chan-wook's latest vehicle to shun the film and its maker altogether, although this is a risk the director has been taking for the past decade.
Befitting his reputation as a filmmaker who dealt head on with the most uncomfortable subjects -- incest, revenge, insanity and brutality -- in the past, Park's newest release "Thirst (Bakjwi)" again covers territory that may be unbearable for some.
A secret vaccine project involving a Catholic priest named Sang-hyeon (Song Kang-ho), sparks a series of shocking events when the priest is given a strange blood transfusion that turns him into a vampire. While torn between his new desire for human blood and his religious faith, Sang-hyeon meets Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), a friend's wife and a femme fatale who appears "thirstier" than he is for blood and something much more.
Facing desires he has never dreamed of exploring before, Sang-hyeon begins to question the moral boundaries he had once locked himself in as the illicit relationship turns deadly.
Park says the vampire story, a rare genre to be explored by South Korean directors, has taken preparation of nearly 10 years to make it to the screens. "Thirst" has already been sending waves across the global film society, being nominated as one of the 20 films competing for the top prize at the Cannes International Film Festival, which opens on May 13.
This is the second time Park has aimed for the top honor at the influential French contest, after his 2004 win with "Oldboy," which is currently being remade in Hollywood. "Thirst" is also the first South Korean film to be co-produced and distributed by major Hollywood studio Universal Pictures.
"I am happy just to be nominated among the admirable filmmakers," Park said after the film's preview Friday. Quentin Tarantino, Pedro Almodovar, Xavier Giannoli and Ang Lee are among his competitors at the upcoming Cannes. "Vampirism wasn't something I really wanted to talk about. It was merely a tool," Park added. "I wanted to delve into the dilemma a Catholic priest faces when he comes across an inescapable desire and his faith."
Teaming up with Park for the third time after pulling off a superb duo in "JSA (1999)," Song Gang-ho again proves himself to be one of the most compelling actors in South Korea. But it would be fair to say he is this time outshone by Kim Ok-vin, a rising starlet with a relatively brief acting career.
With the littlest change of expression -- an eyebrow arching or pout of the lips -- Kim manages to convey the bored housewife's hidden sexual and deadly desires. And in a sense, the film's main character is not the priest, but his temptress who transforms into something altogether more dangerous.
Park's brilliant cinematography appears to shine at its best in "Thirst" with the vivid contrast of white and red -- a splash of blood on the eye-watering white walls and blood oozing from pale bodies -- a visual symbol of sin and morality.
Although director Park has long been in a class by himself with his name recognized internationally, his fame has not always brought him an automatic success. "I'm a Cyborg, but That's Ok," his most recent release in 2006, was slammed by critics as "too cute to be a creation of Park's" and was somewhat of an embarrassment for the director, failing miserably in the local box office.
For this reason, it remains to be seen how "Thirst" -- perhaps not the most startling of Park's creations thematically, but still every bit shocking in visual terms -- will be received by local film buffs and the judges of the Cannes film fest.
One thing moviegoers must remember: a movie can be good, but still severely uncomfortable at the same time.
"Thirst," with a running time of 133 minutes, will hit the local cinemas on April 30.
Credits: hayney@yna.co.kr via yonhapnews.co.kr |
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April 26, 2009
Epik High Gets Serious About Music
By Cathy Rose A. Garcia
Staff Reporter
.jpg)
Epik High talks to The Korea Times about starting their new company,
their music and their upcoming concert tour in the United States, Japan
and Korea, as well as their enduring friendship. / Korea Times
"Expect the unexpected." That's what Tablo, frontman of popular hip-hop group Epik High, says fans can expect from their upcoming concert tour in the United States, Japan and Korea.
But he might as well have been talking about Epik High's career. The trio, composed of Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, burst onto the Korean music scene six years ago, armed with catchy hip-hop tunes with socially relevant lyrics and a positive message. After five studio albums and numerous hit songs and awards under their belt, Epik High members surprised everyone with their decision to break from a major record label and go independent.
The band met with The Korea Times last week at a studio in Hongdae, where members were in the middle of rehearsals for their upcoming concert tour and candidly talked about the ups and downs of starting their own company. "When our contract ended, we had a lot of offers. The hardest thing about this project was deciding that money is not important and what was more important for us was music," Tablo said.
Epik High recently launched its own bilingual Web site (www.mapthesoul.com) where fans can watch their videos and live performances, read members' blogs and buy their albums and merchandise from an online shop. In fact, the band's latest album, "Hon: Map the Soul," can't be bought in any conventional or online stores in Korea at all. The decision to deviate from established distribution services stemmed from Epik High's desire to make its music more affordable to fans.
While some called Epik High's new venture "groundbreaking," the group didn't exactly plan on redefining the music industry's business model. They just simply wanted to "do things that are fun." "We realized at some point |
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April 26, 2009
[MOVIE REVIEW] 'Thirst' charts a new course in vampire film
"Thirst," directed by Park Chan-wook, is deeply provocative in various aspects. But those who expect extreme cinematic pyrotechnics seen in "Oldboy" might be only partially satisfied.
Given that Park's latest vampire tale has made it to the prestigious competition section in the forthcoming Cannes film festival next month, it's natural that public expectations are fairly high.
As with Park's other films, however, "Thirst" is not for a mainstream viewer. The film graphically illustrates human thirst in the form of sex, guilt and death -- a merciless concoction that may well shock audiences.
The film starts off in a serene mood. A down-to-earth yet a bit bored priest Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho) routinely witnesses death of patients in a hospital. He volunteers for a secret project abroad, a medical experiment that might lead to his death. Undaunted, he flies off to the lab, gets an injection of blood, and things begin to fall apart in an utterly unexpected way.
"Thirst"
When he wakes up, Sang-hyun realizes that he's the only survivor of the lab experiment. There's only one change: he's a vampire who needs to drink human blood to stay alive. Thankfully, he's always near the very source of fresh blood -- hospital. In the name of performing Catholic rituals for the sick patients, he manages to find and steals blood from patients in a vegetative state and, more conveniently, hospital refrigerators where blood packs are aplenty.
So far, so good. The real challenge arises when he joins a weekly Majong game at his friend's house. And it does not take long time before Sang-hyun notices sexual gestures from his friend's wife named Tae-ju (Kim Ok-vin), a femme fatal armed with gimmicks and yearnings.
It is easy to forecast bloody results when Sang-hyun gets physically entangled with Tae-ju. What's surprising is the filmmaker's resolve to spare no blood to describe the unfortunate priest-turned-vampire's ever-growing thirst for satisfaction.
Sang-hyun, as a priest, feels a sense of guilt and helplessness about his transformation throughout the film. His job is to save souls, but his own soul is now in the hands of an inner vampire. To maintain his life, he has no other choice but to go out and steal some blood, either from living targets or from the hospital's blood storage.
This dilemma gets amplified when Sang-hyun loses the grip on his own vampire blood and a sort of the Korean vampire network begins to form. The ultimate question for Sang-hyun is whether he will stop the spread of lethal blood even at the cost of his own life, and the film's second half is duly devoted to portraying Sang-hyun's painful efforts to turn things around.
Director Park wisely interrupts the unbridled blood-sucking drama by offering several dialogues where Sang-hyun delivers comic lines, as if he's really serious about what he's talking about. Such humor is typical of Park, who seems to want audiences not to take the drama too seriously.
Before the press preview, critics and reporters were given hints about extreme nudity concerning the heroine, Kim Ok-vin. The hints were not totally misguided, but the real show-stopper came from Song Kang-ho's explicit nudity at a crucial scene.
Whether Song's nudity should have been so necessary is debatable. What's certain, however, is that Song's performance in "Thirst" is respectable in every aspect. He brings to life a Korean priest who struggles to deal with a sudden change in fate. Song's facial and body expressions are also expertly performed to reflect the character's angst, self-doubt and uncontrollable desires.
Kim Ok-vin, a rookie in Korean cinema, equally tops expectations. Kim acts up the crucial character who infuses a much-needed toxic dose of vitality and viciousness to the vampire saga.
Despite the first-class acting by the two main characters, "Thirst" may not come as a sequel to "Oldboy" in terms of extreme visuals and thematic boldness. But the film will surely satisfy the thirst for those who want a ruthless blood-sucking vampire fare.
"Thirst," distributed by CJ Entertainment, will be released nationwide on April 30.
By Yang Sung-jin (insight@heraldm.com) via koreaherald.co.kr |
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Author
