The absence of China, one of the largest film producers in the international market, has only strengthened South Korean presence at the festival
After being missing for six years, Korean master Park Chan-wook premiered his latest work ‘Decision to leave’ at the Cannes festival. His highly anticipated film won critics with its beauty and intense suspense. Chan-wook has always had a huge impact at Cannes; his first appearance was in 2004 when he premiered his creepy revenge drama ‘Oldboy’. Since then, the director has become almost a fixture at the French Contest, returning in 2009 with his literary vampire horror ‘Thirst’ and again in 2016 with ‘The Handmaiden’, a delusional, taboo-breaking erotic thriller set in the 1930s in Korea.
Park’s style flows in ‘Decision to Leave’ between surprising script twists, framed in a narrative unlike anything he’s written to date. “It’s true, this is another movie in my cinema and the audience may not expect me to do this kind of drama,” said the filmmaker. ‘Decision to Leave’ tells the story of Hae Joon (Park Hae Il), a homicide detective who takes on the responsibility of investigating a murder and falls in love with the ex-wife of the dead man suspected of the crime . “I wanted to make a story that contained both the elements of a police procedure and a romantic genre. Personal emotions between the detective and the prime suspect ultimately influence the investigation, making these elements inextricably linked. The main character is not a stereotypical femme fatale because this film deviates from traditional concepts,” Park reveals.
Written and directed by Park, starring Chinese star Tang Wei. His red carpet presence has been called into question by China’s cancellation of the Cannes Film Festival. The absence of Chinese industry from the competition is due to the harsh measures imposed by the Xi-Jinping government to halt the wave of COVID his country is suffering and the inconvenience caused by last year’s premiere of the documentary on the Hong Kong. Kong riots ‘Revolution of our time’.
The absence of China, one of the most important film producers in the international market, has only strengthened the presence of South Korean cinema in Cannes. The global rise of the South Korean film industry is fueled by a long list of authors: Bong Joon Ho, Park Chan-wook, Lee Chang-dong, Hong Sang-soo. But it has also been increased by the success of series such as The Squid Game (Netflix) or Pachinko (Apple +)
Four films, ‘Decision to Leave’, Broker’ (from Japanese director Hirokazu Koreeda, but Korean production), ‘The Hunt’ and ‘No Return’, have been selected to be screened at the 75th edition of the festival. This year marks the first time that two Korean works have been selected to compete in the official section.
The international impact of the success of Bong Joon-ho’s black comedy thriller Parasite has undoubtedly contributed to the rise of the entertainment industry in Korea. “Parasite” first received the Palme d’Or at Cannes, followed by the Best Foreign Film Award at the Golden Globes and ended with the Oscar, making it the first Korean film to do so. South Korea, the fifth largest film market, is the leader in gross receipts after the United States, China, Japan and the United Kingdom.
Rooted in the 1990s, the industry has come a long way through the damaging effects of the Japanese occupation (1910 to 1945) and the Korean War, which ended with a ceasefire agreement in 1953. Between 1960 and 1990 the country experienced brutal growth and became one of the four Asian tigers and is now the fourth largest economy in the continent.
In the late 1980s, as Korea emerged from a period of censorship, the restrictions that had previously restricted the influx of foreign films were lifted. This led to a greater appetite for Hollywood blockbusters and a decline in Korean cinema. To protect the country’s artists and counter the effects of the economic crisis in Asia in the late 1990s, the government adopted a nationalist policy to promote Korean culture abroad. “Two things contributed in our favor. The influence of social media among young people with a taste for Korean content and the enormous talent in my country,” said Jerry Ko, producer of ‘Parasite’ and ‘Decision to Leave’.
The foundation for the development of the cultural industry was laid in South Korea and as a result, South Korean culture has grown worldwide in recent years. K-pop, K-drama, K-beauty and K-cuisine have found new international audiences, first in China, then in the rest of Asia and finally in the West. Korean cinema is deeply rooted in the Korean experience, eschewing Hollywoodization and producing work that sets a Korean film apart for an international audience. “Korea is a homogeneous country that has maintained its cultural identity throughout history. The Korean audiovisual product is universal in its form of expression, but at the same time it is culturally unique and shows a different perspective for the global audience,” explains Ko. Korean cinema is known for often showing the dark side of the human explores experience.. The films can be disturbing, combining black humor with elements of extreme violence and lush cinematography with high production values.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
