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South Korea’s film industry has never scored a Best Foreign Language Nomination at the Academy Awards. Out of the twenty-eight films submitted to the race by the Korean Film Council since 1962, each have missed the mark. This may come as a surprise to those who enjoy the industry’s widespread areas of success. Since 1996, a collective mix of arthouse auteurs and commercial visionaries have emerged with films that touch the outermost limits of repulsing, mind-bending and downright insane. For years the South Korean film industry was tainted by Japanese occupation and censorship from its own government which threatened the vibrancy of the industry, though as those restrictions lifted from the cinema of South Korea the brilliance of its directorial talent put more than just color back into the industry.
So again, why has the Academy never recognized South Korea in its best foreign language film category? Perhaps Hollywood can’t quite handle how South Korea’s most acclaimed films leave audiences with everlasting marks of how truly insane their narratives can be. This year the Korean Film Council chose to put up Age of Shadows, a Japanese occupation era action thriller. While the film centered around Korean resistance fighters looking to overthrow Japanese forces successfully plays out as a period piece — the stylization of the entire era from costumes to scenery hits the mark a million times over — the film is quite safe among the other releases of 2016. Its safety among American audiences is most likely what earned it the submission; The narrative is action packed and quite explosive, but doesn’t dig much deeper than its visual effects. South Korean auteurs play it anything but safe and 2016 was full of releases that may not have played it safe, but would have surely stood out in the Oscar race.
Age of Shadows is worth a watch, but here are the real stars of South Korea’s 2016 releases:
The Handmaiden
Oldboy director Park Chan-wook’s erotic psychological thriller has tantalized audiences all over the globe. Set in three parts, all jammed pack with erotica, deception, and breathtaking shots, it leaves you feeling like you were slapped in the face from each side as it glides through the trifecta. Being that this is Chan-wook’s first-period piece, he defies all conventions with his twisted yet brilliant style of storytelling. The chemistry between the film’s two leading ladies, Lady Hideko, an isolated Japanese heiress, played by Kim Min-hee, and Sook-hee, a pickpocket hired to con the heiress, played by Kim Tae-ri, is lustrous. Chan-wook loosely borrowed the narrative from Sarah Water’s victorian era novel, Fingersmith. He transported the piece into a time of Korea under Japanese colonial rule and let the adaptation become his own masterpiece.
The film holds strong undertones of feminism as it challenges the representation of women in Asian cultures, separating them from their role as sexual objects in their male counterparts’ fantasies. It highlights how women are treated with delicacy, but are at the will of being exposed to amuse men and how their defiance is seen as insanity. Even the most graphic sex scenes are treated with the fierce beauty of the women commanding the narrative.
Fans of Oldboy (which was also ROBBED of the nomination in 2003) will appreciate how Park Chan-wook held nothing back in his erotic thriller. There may even be an ode to the infamous squid eating scene, but you’ll have to watch to see where that one shows up. This film is simply a work of art, though it may be true that American audiences couldn’t handle the sheer brilliance. Without a doubt, it would have been the stand out nominee at this year’s Oscars.
The Wailing
Every so often someone really gets it right in the pursuit of terror and this one definitely did. Director Na Hong-jin’s tale of a ravenous outbreak following the arrival of a mysterious Japanese man in a small South Korean mountain village brings everything good about horror to the screen. The distinct blend of cynicism and humor juxtaposes the terrifying symptoms of this “disease,” causing villages to have violent murderous outbreaks. Drawing on possession, religion, and the question of morality, The Wailing is a shockingly beautiful, suspenseful, and nightmare invoking film.
The film’s protagonist, Officer Jong-goo, navigates his duties and home life with a certain clumsiness that is bound to piss off some evil spirits. His duties as an officer and father are soon challenged in the wake of the murderous outbreaks. Rumors spread about the village’s new resident and his involvement in the recent events plaguing the village. Met with initial passiveness on the correlation, Officer Jong-goo loses all his inhibitions after his daughter starts to exhibit symptoms following an interaction with the mysterious man. Then comes a Shaman, a Japanese priest, and the climax of terror that makes The Wailing so damn good.
Be forewarned: There is no happy ending here, which honestly makes it that much better. It’s a hard film to take in and for American audiences it might be too much compared to our usual preferences in horror. It replaces the usual cheap thrills with a suspense-filled score and natural shots to provide a sense of realism to the scape of horror. This may have cost it the submission on the behalf of South Korea but The Wailing is a treasure that should not be missed.
Train to Busan
Alright, this one may not have even been considered for the nomination, but it deserves an honorable mention at the very least. With the last decade being jammed packed with overdone, blood-soaked zombie flicks Train to Busan is a thrilling breath of fresh air in the realm of the undead. The film stars Gong Yoo, whose face is so dreamy it’s hard not to be distracted the entire film. Luckily, his badass role as a single father fighting off a zombie outbreak to take his daughter from Seoul to Busan in order to be with her mother for her birthday snaps you back to reality. The adorable Soo-an Kim balances out her onscreen father’s good looks as she becomes a heroine all on her own.
Directed by Sang-ho Yeon, his first live action film outside his animation success, the film not only keeps you at the edge of your seat the entire time, but also breaks your heart over and over again. It definitely has its fair share of gore, but Yeon juxtaposes beautiful and articulate shots to counterbalance violence and the human condition. Don’t be fooled, these zombies will show up in your nightmares for weeks. They have a sort of exorcist quality to them, complete with head spins and back bends, also they are FAST. Did we mention, if you didn’t gather from the title, that they’re stuck on a train with them?!?
If you’re prone to crying, bring your tissues for this one and if you’re a hardcore zombie buff who didn’t even blink an eye at The Walking Dead season 7 premiere, we bet you might let a few cries of woe out as well. To be honest, Train to Busan would have made an interesting Academy selection but this piece of South Korean cinema is definitely worth a watch otherwise.
Hopefully South Korean cinema gets the love it deserves in 2017. The prospects are hopeful with an impressive string of releases already gaining buzz, including a Netflix backed South Korean/American collaboration from Snowpiercer director Bong Joon-ho titled Okja.
