KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: KING AND THE CLOWN
Korean smash KING AND THE CLOWN is based on the Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty
EPIC ROMANCE: KING AND THE CLOWN (WANG-UI NAMJA) (Lee Jun-ik, 2009)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, May 15, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through June 19
212-759-9550
www.koreanculture.org
www.tribecacinemas.com
Adapted from Kim Tae-woong’s award-winning play Yi (You) and inspired by the Royal Records of the Chosun Dynasty, Lee Jun-ik’s historical epic, King and the Clown, was a critical and popular smash in Korea despite its homosexual subtext. In the early sixteenth century, a troupe of traveling minstrels is making its way across the country when Jang-saeng (Kam Wu-seong) decides that he no longer wants Gong-gil (Lee Jun-ki), an androgynous member of the group who plays all the sexy female characters, to be pimped out to towns’ local leaders. After a deadly fight, the two clowns are on the run, soon taking up with another small troupe and getting arrested for mocking King Yeonsan (Jeong Jin-yeong) and his mistress, Jang Noksu (Kang Seong-yeon). Facing execution, they are saved when the king takes a liking to them, and especially to Gong-gil. But as they continue to stage routines criticizing important ministers and other VIPs, they make high-ranking enemies and once again find their lives in danger. While the first half of King and the Clown tends to be a bit goofy, it sets up the masterfully told second half, an intense, compelling combination of love, fear, politics, and power. Jeong is excellent as Yeonsan, capturing the yin-yang of a leader trying to break free of his late father’s far-reaching grasp, laughing at the clowns one moment, brutally killing someone the next. Lee is alluring as Gong-gil, a beautiful boy uncomfortable with his role but willing to do whatever is asked of him. But the film’s centerpiece is Kam as Jang-saeng, a confident, forward-thinking, risk-taking performer who believes in justice, honor, and creative and personal freedom. King and the Clown is screening for free May 15 at Tribeca Cinemas as part of the Korean Cultural Service film series “Epic Romance,” which continues June 5 with Kim Dae-woo’s Forbidden Quest and June 19 with Kim Yong-gyun’s The Sword with No Name.
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT
Soo-ji (Kim Ha-neul) and Jae-joon (Kang Ji-hwan) attempt to save the world and maybe salvage their relationship in MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT
IT’S A FINE ROMANCE: MY GIRLFRIEND IS AN AGENT (7KEUP KONGMUWON) (Shin Tae-ra, 2009)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, March 27, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through April 10
212-759-9550
www.koreanculture.org
www.tribecacinemas.com
A box-office blockbuster in South Korea, Shin Tae-ra’s My Girlfriend Is an Agent is a goofy but fun mosh-up of Mr. and Mrs. Smith and the television shows Get Smart and Mission: Impossible. As the movie opens, the weak-kneed Jae-joon (Kang Ji-hwan) is threatening to leave Soo-ji (Kim Ha-neul), tired of her many lies. What he doesn’t know is that she is actually a secret agent working undercover for the government, but she is not allowed to tell anyone, instead claiming she is a travel agent to explain all the time she spends away from him. Three years later, they accidentally meet up again — Soo-ji recognizes his, um, member in a men’s room while he is relieving himself at a urinal and she is pretending to be a cleaning lady — but now Jae-joon is a secret agent for a different department, working the same case but from another angle while telling her he is an accountant. Crazy hijinks ensue, including plenty of mistaken identity, a wacky car chase, and a shootout in an amusement park, with Soo-ji and Jae-joon continually bumping into each other as they get closer and closer to the international terrorists seeking to gain control of a lethal virus that could wipe out much of the country. My Girlfriend Is an Agent, which is getting the Bollywood treatment in a remake directed by Bosco, is screening on March 27 at 7:00 at Tribeca Cinemas as the second installment of the free Korean Movie Night series “It’s a Fine Romance,” which concludes on April 10 with Kim Jeong-hoon’s 2010 chick flick, Petty Romance.
IT’S A FINE ROMANCE: CYRANO AGENCY
Things get a little too personal for Byung-hun (Uhm Tae-woong) in Korean rom-com CYRANO AGENCY
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: CYRANO AGENCY (SHIRANO) (Kim Hyeon-seok, 2010)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, March 13, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through February 28
212-759-9550
www.tribecacinemas.com
www.koreanculture.org
Desperate to raise cash so they can renovate an old theater and put on productions again, a small theater company resorts to matchmaking, writing real-life scripts and acting out parts in order to light a spark between their client and the object of his or her desire. Using the latest technological gadgetry, including a microphone in a pair of glasses, the secret company, known as the Cyrano Agency — named after the 1897 play by Edmond Rostand in which the ugly Cyrano de Bergerac writes love letters to help Christian capture the heart of the beautiful Roxane, the woman they both love — creates elaborately choreographed scenarios that slowly bring the man and woman together, led by director Byung-hun (Uhm Tae-woong) along with his associates, Min-young (Park Shin-hye), Jae Pil (Jun A-min), and Chul-bin (Park Cheol-min). The Cyrano Agency boasts a success rate of one hundred percent, but that record is suddenly in jeopardy when Byung-hun discovers that their latest client, fund manager Sang-yong (Daniel Choi), has fallen hard for Hee-joong (Rhee Min-jung), the director’s former girlfriend. A huge hit in its native Korea, Cyrano Agency is a silly but fun romantic comedy that riffs on Korean soap operas and the familiar Cyrano tale. The multilayered narrative works well through most of the movie, especially as Min-young starts to suspect something is up with Byung-hun, who seems to be sabotaging their current project. Writer-director Kim Hyeon-seok (When Romance Meets Destiny, YMCA Baseball Team) pours on the melodrama for the sappy finale, but Cyrano Agency is still a light and fanciful story of love and heartache. Cyrano Agency is screening for free Tuesday at Tribeca Cinemas, kicking off the next Korean Movie Night series, “It’s a Fine Romance,” which continues March 27 with the New York premiere of My Girlfriend Is an Agent and April 10 with the U.S. premiere of Petty Romance.
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: THE FRONT LINE
Lt. Kang Eun-pyo (Shin Ha-Kyun) sees the futility of war in Korean military epic THE FRONT LINE
THE FRONT LINE (Jang Hun, 2011)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, January 10, free, 7:00
Series runs every other Tuesday through February 28
212-759-9550
www.thefrontlinemovie.com
www.tribecacinemas.com
During the Korean War, the north and south did battle over a series of hills, with the key locations changing hands of over and over, sometimes multiple times the same day. Director Jang Hun tells the fictionalized story of one such hill, Aero.K, in the tense military thriller The Front Line. Shin Ha-Kyun (Thirst, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance) stars as Lt. Kang Eun-pyo, an investigator who has been sent to the eastern front to uncover a possible spy. Upon joining Alligator Company, Eun-pyo is surprised to find his old college friend, Kim Su-hyeok (Ko Soo), a former scared grunt who had been captured by the North Koreans and has now blossomed into a strong leader — and quickly becomes the leading candidate to be the potential traitor. The hill has changed hands so often that each side has been secretly communicating with the other by leaving such materials as photos, letters, and alcohol in a hidden spot, developing a relationship that reveals their humanity but also could compromise them on the field. And as a possible armistice approaches, the brass ramps up the fighting in a series of last-ditch efforts to take the hill and expand the potential demarcation line in their favor. Park Sang-yeon’s script is filled with clichéd characters and familiar plot lines, leaning toward the melodramatic, but Jang still makes it work, building the violent film around the strong main characters and several powerful, unexpected twists. South Korea’s official entry for the Academy Awards, The Front Line is a gritty epic that reveals man’s inhumanity to man and the ultimate futility of war. The film opens at the AMC 25 on January 20, but you can get a free sneak peek at it tonight at Tribeca Cinemas, where its east coast premiere kicks off the latest installment of Korean Movie Night, “Jang Hun Plus One!” which examines the career of the director, who cut his teeth working with Kim Ki-duk. The series continues January 24 with 2008’s Rough Cut, February 15 with 2010’s Secret Reunion,, and February 28 with the North American premiere of Park Shin-woo’s White Night.
NYC FOOD FILM FESTIVAL
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
October 13-16, $45-$105, All-Access Pass: $299
www.thefoodfilmfestival.com
www.tribecacinemas.com
They’re truly two great tastes that go great together: food and film. Dinner and a movie has been a classic date since the beginning of the cinema, and the two are combined in the fifth annual Food Film Festival. Running October 13-16, this year’s delicious delights include John Craig Ross’s Amor Pulpo and Dinner for Two: An Edible Valentine in Three Acts, Bao Nguyen’s Banh and Mi, Jonathan Jacob’s The Burgerlution, Ximena Sanchez’s Changua, Liza de Guia’s Danny Macaroons: No Such Thing as Boring Macaroons Anymore, Ovenly: Reinventing Crappy Bar Snacks, and Robicelli’s Cupcakes, festival founder George Motz’s Fun with Pig at Saxon+Parole, Michael Fox’s The Good Beer Seal, Hilah Cooking’s Hangover Tacos, Matt Duckor’s Scenes from Staff Meal: Café Boulud’s Fry Burger, and Joel Herm’s Pastry Paris. Food porn aficionados don’t only get to salivate at the gastronomic wonders on-screen but will actually get to sample much of the food they see.
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: RE-ENCOUNTER
Yoo Da-in is mesmerizing in Min Yong-geun’s wonderful RE-ENCOUNTER
THE HIDDEN GEMS OF INDIE CINEMA: RE-ENCOUNTER (Min Yong-geun, 2010)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, May 10, free, 6:30
Series runs every other Tuesday through June 21
212-759-9550
www.subwaycinema.com
www.tribecacinemas.com
The popular — and free — Korean Movie Night returns to Tribeca Cinemas this month with the start of Subway Cinema’s new Tuesday-night series, “The Hidden Gems of Indie Cinema,” focusing on smaller, independent films from South Korea. First up is the North American premiere of writer-director Min Yong-geun’s wonderful Re-Encounter, winner of a number of international festival awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress. Yoo Da-in stars as Hye-hwa, a charming young woman who works in a veterinary hospital, rescues stray dogs from the evil dogcatcher, and helps take care of her widowed boss’s (Park Hyeok-Kwon) son. But when her high school boyfriend, Han-soo (Yoo Yeon-seok), suddenly shows up after a stint in the military, her life is turned upside down, as he convinces her that their baby, the result of a teen pregnancy five years earlier, is living nearby, having been adopted by a local professor and his wife. Re-Encounter is a moving, intimate film about motherhood, family, and adoption, filled with plot twists that echo Hye-hwa’s complex emotional state; at one moment, she can be playing “mom” to a young boy, while the next she clips her fingernails and adds them to her growing collection. While she relates well to canines, her human relationships are far more difficult. Min never gives straight answers, instead keeping things just mysterious enough to keep the audience riveted without getting frustrated. Yoo is outstanding in the lead role; you won’t be able to take your eyes off her. The series continues May 24 with the North American premiere of Lee Seo’s Missing Person, June 7 with Lim Woo-seong’s Vegetarian, and June 21 with Jeong Seong-il’s Café Noir.
KOREAN MOVIE NIGHT: A BAREFOOT DREAM
Korean soccer coach finds more than he bargained for with a bunch of kids in war-torn East Timor
A BAREFOOT DREAM (MAEN-BAL-EUI GGOOM) (Kim Tae-Kyun, 2010)
Tribeca Cinemas
54 Varick St. at Laight St.
Tuesday, January 11, free, 7:00
212-759-9550
www.subwaycinema.com
www.koreanculture.org
www.showbox.co.kr
South Korea’s submission for the 2010 Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film, A BAREFOOT DREAM is an alternately heartbreaking and heartwarming tale of hope in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds. Inspired by the true story of Korean soccer player Kim Shin-hwan, Kim Tae-kyun’s (CROSSING, HIGANJIMA) film follows the broke and broken Kim Won-kwang (Park Hee-soon) as he heads to East Timor in Indonesia to try to make something of his failing life. Urged to immediately return to Korea by Ambassador Park (Go Chang-seok) because of the many dangers and lack of opportunity in the first independent nation of the twenty-first century, he instead opens up a sports store after seeing a group of kids playing soccer in their bare feet. He talks them into leasing counterfeit Nike cleats from him for a dollar a day, not understanding how truly poor they are, but soon finds himself coaching them against a rival team, building their confidence as they dream of playing in an international competition in Japan, their only ray of light in an existence mired in poverty and civil war. Firmly rooted in the tradition of such sports movies as RUDY (David Anspaugh, 1993), BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM (Gurinder Chadha, 2002), HOOSIERS (David Anspaugh, 1986), and THE BAD NEWS BEARS (Michael Ritchie, 1976), A BAREFOOT DREAM is a charming picture despite its many clichés and predictability, lifted by Park Hee-soon’s sweetly innocent lead performance and some fine turns by the kids (particularly Francisco Varela as Ramos and Junior da Costa as Tua), some of whom were actual members of Kim Shin-hwan’s team. The film is being screened on January 11 as part of Korean Movie Night’s free Sports Films! series, presented at Tribeca Cinemas by the Korean Cultural Service and Subway Cinema, with director Kim Tae-kyun on hand to discuss it. The series continues January 25 with TAKE OFF (Muju, 2009), February 8 with LIFTING KING KONG (Park Geon-yong, 2009), and February 22 with FOREVER THE MOMENT (Lim Soon-rye, 2008).
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