This is the fourth edition of a programme devoted to Korean cinema, which brings together a heterogenous selection of 4 films, among which we can find alternative productions such as Midnight in Seoul or A Quiet Dream, as well as the Korean candidacy to the Oscars in 2016, The Age of Shadows (El Imperio de las Sombras), and one of commercial successes of last year with The Wailing (El Extraño). A great opportunity to enjoy current Korean cinema and to approach a fascinating culture, where what’s traditional and contemporary coexist in their daily lives.

Programme

Saturday, 9th of September 2017, at 8.00pm

Presentation of the series and dicussion given by: Menene Gras Balaguer, Culture and Exhibition Director of Casa Asia.

MIDNIGHT IN SEOUL, Dir. Kweon Jung-mok | Corea | 2015 | 116’ | VOSE

Midnight in Seoul is a mixture of comedy, melodrama and fantasy, about the 10 hours a couple spend together when they meet for the first time for one night in Seoul. Seo-hui is a thirty year old woman who is planning on saying bye to the world and Ho-sun, a young man who is also in his thirties who will leave foreve. Their lives will stay united for that night after having met by coincidence on the bridge of river Han. They slowly starting liking each other while they wander around streets in freezing Seoul. Two young people who had decided to committ suicide begin a night tour – curious, scary, sexy and beautiful – in Seoul.

Saturday, 16th of September 2017, at 8.00pm

A QUIET DREAM, Dir. Zhang Lu | Corea | 2016 | 101’ | VOSE

In the centre of Seoul, in front of luxury buildings, there is a humble village called Su-saek. Three particular losers live there; Ik-june, who belongs to a gang expelled for laughing at the leader’s funeral, Jung-bum, a North Korean deserter with deppression and Jong-bin, an epyleptic man who only drinks milk. They all go to a small bar trying to make a beautiful woman fall in love with them, Ye-ri. She also has her own problems, but she never blames anyone; the three of them manage to forget and laugh together at the bar. One day, Ye-ri asks them about what they dreamed the night before. Every one of them talks about their nightmares and Ye-ri tells them about her dream where she made love to each one of them.

Saturday, 23rd of September 2017, at 8.00pm

THE AGE OF SHADOWS, Dir. Kim Jee-woon | Korea | 2016 | 140’ | VOSE

At the end of the 20’s in Korean during the Japanese occupation. A spygame between a group of the resistance that was trying to bring explosives from Shanghai to destroy the base in Seoul and the Japanese that try to stop them. A Korean policeman under Japanese orders has the dilemma between choosing his durty and the support to a greater cause. Spy Thriller directed by Kim Jee-woon (A bittersweet life and I Saw the Devil), full of amazing action sequences and of extreme tension. The film was presented at the Festival of Venice and has been chosen by Korea to represent the country at the Oscars of 2016.

Saturday, 30th of September 2017, at 8.00pm

THE WAILING, Dir. Na Hong-jin | Korea | 2016 | 156’ | VOSE

The life of a Korean town is disrupted by a series of wild and mysterious killings that beats the small rural community. Rumours and superstitions are spread given the presence, for not long, of a foreign old man who lives as a hermit. Before the incompetence of the police to find the killer and without a rational explanation, some inhabitants of the village try to find a shaman. Jong-gu, a policeman whose family is directly threatened, also feels that they are supernatural crimes. By the acclaimed director Na Hong-jin (The Chaser, The Yellow Sea), The Wailing (El Extraño) were present at the Cannes Festival, out of contest, with excellent opinions. The film mixes an unexpected plot with overwhelming images, creating a lot of tension for the spectator, being one of the most seen films in 2016 in South Kore.