Cinema is a big a thing here in Korea. In 2012 for the first time the number of viewers was more than 100 millions, numbers analogue to countries like USA, China and India. A middle aged korean watched more than 3 movies per year. However, I was not one of them, as both I and Dorothea never go to the cinema since when we moved to Seoul. This despite quite a number of cinemas in Seoul are showing movies with english subtitles. The problem is that to go to the cinema we should pay a nanny for 3-4 hours so, in such a case, we choose to have a romantic dinner. Furthermore watching movies at home offers more freedom. For example you can see Marlen singing using her toe as a microphone (while imitating Lucio Dalla). This is something that you cannot do in a theater.
However in 2012 also something else happened: for the first time a korean movie won the first price at one of the main three international festivals (Cannes, Venice, Berlin). Kim Ki Duk, with his movie Pieta, won the the Golden Lion in Venice. When the price was assigned, last summer, I was in Europe, and I have heard that it triggered much controversy as many critics say that this was not his best movie. A friend of mine who has seen most of Kim Ki-Duk's production, however, just commented that a good Kim Ki-Duk is just better than all the stuff of an average international festival. I admit my ignorance, I had never seen one movie of him, and I did not hear about him either, so now that I have been alone for almost three weeks in Seoul, waiting for Dorothea to come back from Switzerland, I decided to recuperate.
In the last weeks I have seen six movies of Kim Ki-Duk in this order: Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring; 3-Iron; Samaritan Girl (Samaria); Dream; The Isle; Crocodile which is almost the opposite order in which they have been made, being Crocodile his first movie. This is only a small portion of his production (18 movies directed in 16 years, plus a number of production, scripts, etc). In fact Kim Ki-Duk is famous for making a movie in one month.
I found them on youtube, at a very limited resolution and quality, mostly with english subtitles (but sometimes in italian or spanish). I feel that I am not infringing copyrights, in fact I would immediately pay the ticket to go to a cinema to watch most of them in all their beauty. Anyway they appear and disappear on YouTube quickly, so the link of this post might not work anymore when you read this.
I found them on youtube, at a very limited resolution and quality, mostly with english subtitles (but sometimes in italian or spanish). I feel that I am not infringing copyrights, in fact I would immediately pay the ticket to go to a cinema to watch most of them in all their beauty. Anyway they appear and disappear on YouTube quickly, so the link of this post might not work anymore when you read this.
Both 3-Iron and Samaria were made in 2004. Kim Ki-Duk won the Silver Bear in Berlin with Samaria and the Silver Lion in Venice with 3-Iron. Probably they are his greatest films. Very modestly in an interview he says that each artist's creativity follows a parabola, and his peak was 2004. When he received the Silver Lion he immediately ran in front of the older and more famous other korean director Im Kwon-Taek, who was present in the hall, and bowed many times in front of him (5:00). In fact in Korea to show that you are better than an elder person is offensive, while to be humble, or even shy, is considered an important value. Although this exists in our culture as well, it is so amplified here that it is hard to imagine for somebody who always lived in the west. When I arrived in Korea, I had some problems at work as my manners were seen as a form of arrogance. Even when I was very respectful, that was nothing compared to korean standards. I think that my friends in Italy are laughing now reading about my "arrogance" and me being "too outspoken", as they know me as such a shy and introverse person. Every culture has its standards.
3-Iron (Bin Jip) is technically almost perfect. Filmed in only 25 days, the protagonists remain mute during the entire movie. Written like that, it might seem boring, but as closing the eyes and meditate in silence empowers the senses, the lack of verbal expression allows the rest to emerge. The beauty of the photography and the communicative power of every scene is amplified ten times. This requires a great aesthetic art, and the ability to insert magic moments on a dull background. And in Bin Jip Kim Ki-Duk does it magisterially.
However the movie that touched me most has been Samaria. I don't know exactly why I loved it so much, whether because it depicts in such a straight way our irrational behavior, or because I feel personally touched. Maybe it is the story of the relationship between a father and his daughter. Or it is the loss of reference points in the adolescent protagonist when she remains orphan of her mother. But whatever it is, Samaria is objectively a great movie, with one of the most moving ending that I have ever watched. The Silver Bear is also there to confirm that.
Dream is a more mature movie. While initially it seems only to explore the unconscious mind, during the development of the story it appears that the real theme is the human passion and the frightening and possibly fatal potential that it includes. Although I could not find in its end the force and originality of the others, it is still a great movie, with a wonderful photography.
However the movie that touched me most has been Samaria. I don't know exactly why I loved it so much, whether because it depicts in such a straight way our irrational behavior, or because I feel personally touched. Maybe it is the story of the relationship between a father and his daughter. Or it is the loss of reference points in the adolescent protagonist when she remains orphan of her mother. But whatever it is, Samaria is objectively a great movie, with one of the most moving ending that I have ever watched. The Silver Bear is also there to confirm that.
Dream is a more mature movie. While initially it seems only to explore the unconscious mind, during the development of the story it appears that the real theme is the human passion and the frightening and possibly fatal potential that it includes. Although I could not find in its end the force and originality of the others, it is still a great movie, with a wonderful photography.
The filmography of Kim Ki-Duk is controversial for completely different reasons in both the west and in Korea, something foreseeable from his personal history. Before beginning to make movies he worked since the age of 16 in a factory, for 6 years. After he entered in the korean marine corp where he spent 5 years. Finally he went to Paris for three years, without speaking french, learning painting until he returned to Korea to write scripts for movies, which eventually gave him the chance to direct his first one, Crocodile. He self-learned to write scripts and to film movies, without following any school. Obviously when such a guy finally manages to express himself, it will be inevitably different from the mainstream.
Besides the occasionally displayed shocking violence, Kim Ki-Duk is controversially famous in the west for the animal cruelty used while filming his movies. The Isle is plenty of cruelty on fishes. Cruelty that was really done while recording the scenes. Different animals are harmed in other movies. In Korea this is seen as a silly point, but not so in America and Europe, where the respect for animals is a serious topic (for example 1, 2, 3, 4). Kim Ki-Duk offered his viewpoint few years ago as:"We cooked all the fish we used in the film and ate them, expressing our appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on animals in my films. And I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life." And even more clearly "In America you eat beef, pork, and kill all these animals. And the people who eat these animals are not concerned with their slaughter. Animals are part of this cycle of consumption. It looks more cruel onscreen, but I don’t see the difference". I have been living in Korea for two years, and I have seen cruelty on animals, and sometimes psychological brutality on humans (also a frequent topic in his movies). The way I see it is that his filming is like a documentary. The cruelty that has been employed by Kim Ki-Duk's is real, and it is something that one gets used while living here. He must have seen it, and done it, so often in his life that he developed an exterior insensibility to it that he shamelessly expresses. Somehow he follows the principle that showing the violence is always better than hiding it. This will remain an unpopular viewpoint in the west and I respect him for not following our morality just for selling a bit more.
Besides the occasionally displayed shocking violence, Kim Ki-Duk is controversially famous in the west for the animal cruelty used while filming his movies. The Isle is plenty of cruelty on fishes. Cruelty that was really done while recording the scenes. Different animals are harmed in other movies. In Korea this is seen as a silly point, but not so in America and Europe, where the respect for animals is a serious topic (for example 1, 2, 3, 4). Kim Ki-Duk offered his viewpoint few years ago as:"We cooked all the fish we used in the film and ate them, expressing our appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on animals in my films. And I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life." And even more clearly "In America you eat beef, pork, and kill all these animals. And the people who eat these animals are not concerned with their slaughter. Animals are part of this cycle of consumption. It looks more cruel onscreen, but I don’t see the difference". I have been living in Korea for two years, and I have seen cruelty on animals, and sometimes psychological brutality on humans (also a frequent topic in his movies). The way I see it is that his filming is like a documentary. The cruelty that has been employed by Kim Ki-Duk's is real, and it is something that one gets used while living here. He must have seen it, and done it, so often in his life that he developed an exterior insensibility to it that he shamelessly expresses. Somehow he follows the principle that showing the violence is always better than hiding it. This will remain an unpopular viewpoint in the west and I respect him for not following our morality just for selling a bit more.
The reasons for Kim Ki-Duk being controversial in Korea are more complex and, as a foreigner, I might just have a naive understanding of it. Still I want to write it down, waiting to be rectified. Korea is an education-centered country. Most parents devote their time, their money, simply their all life, to give the best possible education to their children and to send them to the best university. I work in such a university and I perceive from what the students have emerged. Korean students are also trained to focus on competition, for example by hanging a graded list on the wall, or forcing the students to rival in velocity while solving an exercise on the board. Under such pressure obviously there is little space for adolescent dreams and passions. And here it comes this guy, with no education whatsoever, who does not care about the consequences of his art, nor about money, or about anything except his interior desire of describing Korean society as he saw it, ignoring societal tabu. A guy who recklessly expresses himself and reaches the greatest worldwide success ever for a korean director, filming 15 years old prostitutes, women destroying them-selves through abuse of plastic surgery, people in extreme poverty, accustomed to violence, where raping or self-inflicting physical pain is normal. I can understand that many koreans simply feel humiliated both by what he shows and by his international prestige.
The Isle and Crocodile, among the first in his production, are very different from later movies. If you violence disturbs you, do not watch them. It is not like to see a movie from Tarantino, who shows violence for fun. This is violence like it happens in the real life. It represents the strong against the weak, and the weak against him- or her-self. One of the actress who worked with him just declared that Kim Ki-Duk likes to show the sufferance and pain of the korean population.
Crocodile has been his first movie, and for this it deserves to be watched. Many of the themes that will be developed in other movies are present here, although the powerful silences in much of his production are not there yet. His talent is here still hidden but his vision of the society and what he wants to express is clear, as well as his temerity in showing violence and self-destruction.
Crocodile has been his first movie, and for this it deserves to be watched. Many of the themes that will be developed in other movies are present here, although the powerful silences in much of his production are not there yet. His talent is here still hidden but his vision of the society and what he wants to express is clear, as well as his temerity in showing violence and self-destruction.
The protagonist of The Isle is a women who does not speak, like in 3-Iron, but here the sufferance associated with her condition is much more pronounced and clear than in the following films. This was the first movie of Kim Ki-Duk that reached international festivals and, compared to Crocodile, it is evident that he gained a much greater ability to display a profound psychological condition of sufferance. It became also famous because apparently some spectators felt sick and even fainted during the projection in Venice, due to the brutality of some scene. I found the worse scenes acceptable, however I had seen several movies of Kim Ki-Duk already.
Overall, after watching many of Kim Ki-Duk movies, and reading that they are all in some way autobiographical, I feel to know him a some way, and I am grateful that he has let me see such a remote and secret portion of korean society, mostly hidden to a scholar like me. Now that we live in the same city, I would like to meet him once and give him a hug.
P.S. while I was writing this post his last movie Pieta appeared on YouTube, subtitled in english. This is the movie that he made after living 3 years in seclusion growing his own food. Although not so original as his 2004 movies, it is still a great Kim Ki-Duk.
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