Olympics 2012 Film Part 4 - Norway, Denmark, Cuba, South Korea, Netherlands & Canada
South Korea 215 Medals
With many political issues, South Korean cinema has an extremely problematic history. Post Korean War, the film industry had somewhat of a boom in the late 1950s. This unfortunately did not last due to the appointment of Park Chung-Hee as leader of the country. With his tenure, came an increase in restrictions on the film industry. He helped to suffocate domestic production by demanding propagandist narratives and restricting imports into the country. Paranoid about narratives that could hinder the countries progress, he denied any narrative that claimed or hinted at disdain or unhappiness at social and political issues in the country; censorship was carried out with an iron fist. It wasnt until Chung-Hees assassination, that the restraints of censorship relaxed and the countrys cinema began a revival. However, starved of domestic products, the new governments relaxation on imported cinematic goods, meant that an audience which had a cinematic identity consisting of propagandist material, instead began adopting western productions. Domestic production was therefore neglected. It is only within the last 10 years or so that South Korean cinema has begun to develop into a prominent player on the global stage. The present output of its domestic titles is often referred to as the golden age for their cinema. Park Chan-Wook is a director who has succeeded both domestically and internationally, with many of his films going on to receive many international awards. Leading the way, directors such Park Chan-Wook and Joon-ho Bong, are helping to gradually build South Koreas cinematic identity, one film at a time. In a globalized world however, the paranoia of losing talent to one of the more dominant cinemas is a realistic fear. Bronze Joint Security Area (Park Chan-Wook, 2000)
Park Chan-Wooks first success story, JSA did, for a short while, become the highest grossing film in the country. Although its occupation at the top was short, the film still remains a popular and extremely important piece of work. Joint Security Area is a reference to the location in which all negotiations between the North and South take place. With that in mind, the film focuses on the deaths of two North Korean soldiers in the demilitarized zone separating the countries. When tensions rise, both sides exchange gunfire while a South Korean soldier, Sgt Lee Soo-Hyeok limps his way back from the North. Two neutral nations are brought in to help defuse the situation before it escalates, with Swiss Major Sophie E. Jang leading the investigation. All eyes rest on Soo-Hyeok and his participation in the incident, but all is not as it seems on either side of Korea. What follows is a superbly tense thriller as Sophie tries to make sense of the conflicting stories from both sides. What JSA does so accomplishedly is to create an even ground on which either side of Korea stand. Both sides are controlled by their politics yet both are linked by their humanity. Park Chan-Wook makes this abundantly clear, with the majority of its audience expecting the North Koreans to be the guilty party, Chan-Wook undercuts any perceptions the audience may have of the divided nations, toying with these expectations to brilliant effect. It is clear from this film that Park Chan-Wook is a talent to behold, telling his story in incremental stages, until it bursts at the seams for the narrative reward. Silver Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring (Ki-Duk Kim, 2003)
Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, is an extremely fitting title for a film, which focuses on the life of a Buddhist monk as he makes the natural transition from young to old. Divided into 5 different chapters, each season represents another stage of his life. Beginning at a young age, the monk is an apprentice to his master. Living on a small floating monastery, his master pays close attention to his development, challenging him to improve his morals and view of life for all creatures. Throughout the other chapters the apprentice makes many mistakes in his development but the master remains strong in his faith, leading the apprentice, after much hardship and mistakes, to eventually become a master himself. The film is stunning, set primarily on the small floating monastery with nature all around; Kim knows that although his location may be visually restrictive, the comment made from his narrative is anything but. The lessons that the young apprentice learns through his development are steeped in Buddhism for sure, but there remains a universality in its narrative and characters. Tackling the issues of life, love, cruelty and lust, all with an air of mysticism; Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter and Spring, is a charmingly simple film on the surface, but underneath, its ideology radiates long after the credits have rolled. Gold Oldboy (Park Chan-Wook, 2003)
There could only ever be one film for the gold medal and that honour goes to the saviour of South Korean cinema, Park Chan-Wooks, Oldboy. A film which is both technically gifted and extremely infused with South Korean culture, Oldboy is a tour de force in filmmaking, was THE film that made the world stand up and notice South Korean cinema. The middle entry in Chan-Wook's trilogy examining vengeance, it begins with Oh Dae-su stumbling home drunk one evening on his daughters birthday. After being arrested for being drunk and disorderly, he is bailed out by his friend. Entering a phone box to make a call to his daughter, he is unexpectedly kidnapped. Kept in confinement in a hotel-esque room, he is fed and watered for 15 years years, his only company a television which helps to inform him that his wife has been murdered and that he is the main suspect. Adjusting to his prison he vows revenge upon his captors and shadowboxes daily to maintain his fitness. That is until one day he is released without reason. As he searches out who imprisoned him, we follow him in discovering more and more pieces of a disturbing jigsaw puzzle, forming the narrative through his eyes and actions. Park Chan-Wooks Oldboy, is consummately professional and exudes a confidence from a relatively new director. With a brilliantly painful lead performance from the now star Korean actor Choi Min-sik, Oldboy burns itself into your cinematic memory and with an ending of immense brilliance it refuses to ever leave.