love

Poll

What's your favorite film from Jee-woon Kim?

haven't seen any
3 (20%)
don't like any
3 (20%)
other
0 (0%)
The Quiet Family
0 (0%)
The Foul King
0 (0%)
A Tale of Two Sisters
2 (13.3%)
A Bittersweet Life
4 (26.7%)
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
3 (20%)
I Saw the Devil
0 (0%)
The Last Stand
0 (0%)
The Age of Shadows
0 (0%)
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade
0 (0%)

Total Members Voted: 15

Author Topic: Kim, Jee-woon  (Read 3889 times)

1SO

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Kim, Jee-woon
« on: July 10, 2008, 12:18:51 AM »
It's no secret that some of the most exciting cinema right now is coming from South Korea. Chan Wook-park is probably its most famous export, but Kim Ji-woon is building a career any director would envy. His storytelling ability is crisp, engrossing and often breathtaking, while his camera technique is as fluid as it is stylish.

Some of you may know of his complicated horror jigsaw puzzle, A Tale of Two Sisters which was little seen but very well reviewed. He followed that with A Bittersweet Life. Michael Mann often struggles to make a crime film this emotionally dense. Kim Ji-woon makes it look simple and easy. The film is a soft center wrapped in a crunchy, bad-ass shell.

Now Ji-woon is set to release a Western (you heard me...a Korean Western). Steeped in the style of Sergio Leone, it's even titled The Good, The Bad and the Weird. It played to rave reviews at Cannes.

A Horror Film, followed by a Gangster Pic, followed by a Western. Kim Ji-woon is like a Korean Tarantino, but with much more serious ambitions. In fact, if you've seen his films, you'd be more likely to compare him to the cerebral thrills of Christopher Nolan.

In short...he's simply a Great Director. If you haven't discovered him yet, there's a cinematic gold mine in store.

I didn't post a poll because I know he's largely unknown. Copies of A Bittersweet Life are not easy to find, but I swear to you this guy's the real deal and I couldn't leave him off just because he's not well known. Fans of Bella Tarr and Tsai Ming-liang should understand.
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 07:56:49 AM by 1SO »

duder

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Re: The Top Directors Working Today: Kim Ji-woon
« Reply #1 on: July 10, 2008, 02:42:43 AM »
I have A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life right here. I guess I should watch them...
...

1SO

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Re: The Top Directors Working Today: Kim Ji-woon
« Reply #2 on: July 10, 2008, 03:05:10 AM »
I have A Tale of Two Sisters and A Bittersweet Life right here. I guess I should watch them...

I'd suggest watching them in that order and if you don't like one don't let that turn you off on the other.  On the surface they're very different films in style.

Best thing would be to watch them both in a short span of time.  And if in 4hrs, you hate them and want to call me an a-hole, then I apologize.  But I think it will be time well spent.  I did this with Takeshi Kitano (Fireworks & Sonatine), and Park Chan-wook (JSA, Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance & Oldboy).  Both times I was changed by the discovery of the new.

duder

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Re: The Top Directors Working Today: Kim Ji-woon
« Reply #3 on: July 17, 2008, 07:58:01 PM »
So, first impressions after seeing both movies in two days. I don't know about great. He has a strong sense of style, but he tends to overdo it, and both these movies are variations on pretty tired formulas. I see potential (there are great moments in both), but I'm not yet entirely convinced. Implying he's better than either Mann or Tarantino is just silly :) Am contemplating watching The Foul King .
« Last Edit: July 17, 2008, 08:06:16 PM by duder »
...

NedMeier

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Re: The Top Directors Working Today: Kim Ji-woon
« Reply #4 on: July 17, 2008, 09:50:07 PM »
I saw The Tale of Two Sisters a few years ago. It was a very scary and heartbreaking movie. I enjoy Asian horror movies, they seem to be much more cinematic than Hollywood horror. It is so disappointing that every quality horror movie has to be remade in America. Why can't Hollywood use these movies as inspiration rather than just stealing them and making them crap. If you haven't seen this thriller and enjoy great horror check this out.
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1SO

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Kim, Ji-woon
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2013, 11:43:17 PM »
1. A Bittersweet Life
2. I Saw the Devil
3. The Good, The Bad, The Weird
4. A Tale of Two Sisters
5. The Quiet Family
6. One Perfect Day
7. The Last Stand

8. The Age of Shadows
9. The Foul King
10. Doomsday Book - "The Heavenly Creature"
11. 3 Extremes II - "Memories"
« Last Edit: February 20, 2020, 07:57:23 AM by 1SO »

AAAutin

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Re: Kim Jee-woon - The Top Directors Working Today
« Reply #6 on: January 25, 2013, 08:57:06 AM »
5.) THE LAST STAND
4.) A TALE OF TWO SISTERS
3.) A BITTERSWEET LIFE
2.) THE GOOD, THE BAD, THE WEIRD
1.) I SAW THE DEVIL
« Last Edit: May 24, 2013, 02:05:42 AM by AAAutin »

MartinTeller

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Re: Kim Jee-woon - The Top Directors Working Today
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2013, 09:28:33 AM »
1. A Bittersweet Life
2. A Tale of Two Sisters
3. The Good, the Bad, the Weird
« Last Edit: April 25, 2013, 02:25:43 PM by MartinTeller »

roujin

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Re: Kim Jee-woon - The Top Directors Working Today
« Reply #8 on: November 09, 2013, 07:05:11 PM »
The Last Stand had some good stretches but whatever makes Kim an interesting director doesn't survive the film's really boring plot dynamics.

Devil

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Re: Kim Jee-woon - The Top Directors Working Today
« Reply #9 on: November 09, 2013, 07:17:13 PM »
The Good, The Bad, The Weird
I Saw The Devil

A Bittersweet Life
The Last Stand


The Last Stand had some good stretches but whatever makes Kim an interesting director doesn't survive the film's really boring plot dynamics.

Pretty much felt the same way. There were some fun and stylistic moments but was overall dragged down by a fairly generic overall approach.
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