UH-Manoa Outreach College
"Christmas in August" screened at the Cannes
Film Festival last year.

Change adds up to new
dynamic in Korean film

Complete film festival schedule

By Treena Shapiro
Star-Bulletin

Not everyone hates the United States these days. In fact, Edward Schultz, director of the Center for Korean Studies, said that Korea does not want to damage its long-standing good ties with the United States.

As far as the U.S. conflict with China goes, according to Schultz, the Koreans "view the flap with some kind of detachment. What's happening with China right now is kind of a flash in the pan."

Seeing Korea through Korean eyes is one way to dive into the culture, Schultz said. The center offers a glimpse through its annual film series, running Friday through Sunday, featuring the work of Korean and Korean-American filmmakers. The films will be shown at the University of Hawaii Art Auditorium. Admission is free.

Two highlights this year are the Korean hit "Christmas in August," which has been screened in festivals worldwide, and "The Power of Kangwon Province, the second film from director Hong Sangsoo, whose directorial debut garnered awards in Korean and international film festivals. Both films were Official Selections at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.

It takes curator Karl Kim, a UH professor and chair of Urban and regional planning, about a year to organize the festival. Although the quality of film has improved greatly, fewer films are being produced, Kim said, due to lack of funding.

"The most difficult task is finding the best films with English subtitles," Schultz said. Because film is a good way to portray Korea to the world, the center has talked to film sponsors, such as the Korean government, about using subtitles to make the movies more accessible to Western audiences.

"You always have to give the caveat that this is only one view of Korea," Schultz said, however these films do offer an opportunity for the viewer to get a sense of Korean humor and Korean space, as well as a look at Korea's landscape."

Kim said that the themes in this year's film festival reflect the change Korea has experienced in recent years in terms of globalization, modernization and a fluctuating economy. The changes in filmmaking, less government restriction and more independence are also evident.

"(It) makes for a somewhat dynamic period in terms of Korean film," he said. "Interesting as well as controversial, difficult and uncomfortable themes are explored."

Don Brown, the film curator at the Honolulu Academy of Arts said that there has been a recent re-emergence of Korean film because Korea has recognized the value of film as an ambassador for understanding culture.

As a result, there are now several young filmmakers riding on the coattails of master filmmaker Im Kwon-Taek, who has achieved international acclaim for movies such as "Sopyanje," he said.

Brown described Korean films as "a bit parochial. They are good for showing ... specialized slices of life."

The small-scale, character-driven "Christmas in August" is excellent, Brown said.

FILM SCHEDULE For information call 956-7041. Friday and Saturday "Christmas in August": A Seoul photo studio owner is forced to make hard decisions when a meter maid enters his life as his health deteriorates, 7 p.m. Directed by Hur Jin-ho, South Korea, 97 minutes. "The Power of Kangwon Province": In two plotlines, vacationers from Seoul arrive in Kangwon. In Part I, a woman finds herself attracted to a married policeman. In Part 2, an unemployed teacher and an old schoolmate have an unsatisfactory experience with hookers, 9 p.m. Directed by Hong Sangsoo, South Korea, 110 minutes. Sunday "Evening of Korean-American Shorts": Beginning 7 p.m. "Fighting Grandpa": Pak shows his Korean-American mother's relationship with her husband using original verite and interview material, Super 8 home movies, old family photos and historical footage. Directed by Greg Pak, U.S., 21 minutes. "Without Faces": Korean-American and African-American school friends become aware of their differences during the L.A. Riots. Directed by Richard Yi, U.S., 9 minutes. "10 p.m.": When the cello playing that has interrupted an old man's nightly routine stops, his life is disrupted. Directed by Thomas Moon, U.S., 19 minutes "Crickets": Interracial romance erupts between two prepubescent insect lovers. Directed by Jane Kim, Canada, 13 minutes "Po Mo Knock Knock": The Pollyannas, Manhattan-based improvisational comedy group, make postmodern knock-knock jokes. Directed by Greg Pak, U.S., 3 minutes.

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