The cause of this list deserves a place high up on it. Still, the Oscar telecast in that country was punctuated by commentator Lee Dong-jin’s scream of disbelief over the Best Picture announcement, and South Korea’s political conservatives (longtime enemies of Bong) are now proposing to build a statue of him. In South Korea, Bong Joon-ho’s Oscar victories are being taken less as a national triumph and more as an “oh, you finally noticed us” moment.
Director Lee Chang-dong (formerly South Korea’s Minister of Culture) views her plight in an unsentimental fashion and lead actress Jeon Do-yeon (who won the best actress prize at Cannes) delivers a crushing performance. I’m ashamed to say I didn’t mention this in my Korean cinema article, but this drama about a widowed mother who’s put through an almighty wringer is a devastating experience like few others. That gives even more sharpness to this dangerous and oh so very sexy lesbian romance.
The resulting film improved on both the book and the TV serial by being set at a time when Koreans were second-class citizens in their own country. Park Chan-wook intended this film to be a straight-up adaptation of Sarah Waters’ Fingersmith set in Victorian England, but changed his mind when he found out the BBC had already done one. Even so, there is an embarrassment of riches here, especially if you like action thrillers, so kick back with a cold glass of soju and watch. Also, since Kim Sang-jin’s Attack the Gas Station! was never theatrically released in this country, I can’t consider it, either. I’m using the Academy’s rules that the film has to be at least half in the Korean language to count as a Korean film, which regrettably means that I have to axe Snowpiercer. I was wrong when I stated that I had never seen a Korean film directed by a woman Kim So-yong and Eom Yo-na are both women. Could Ishak be next on the list, or is he the man responsible? Tracking down his more ‘unsavoury’ allies, Serena is shocked to encounter a familiar face: that of her grieving ex-partner, former Malaysian ICD officer Megat Jamil (Bront Palarae).I promised myself that if Parasite won the Best Picture Oscar, I’d run this listicle of the best Korean films I’ve seen since the turn of the millennium, so here’s a supplement to my beginner’s guide to the movies of that country. As Serena and Heri work together to catch the killer, their inquiries lead them to industrialist/kingpin Datuk Ishak Hassan (Wan Hanafi Su), whose prominent family and known associates all have some connection to the victims. Seeking answers, Heri finds a way to insert himself into the Malaysian investigation. Meanwhile, in Jakarta, for ICD Lieutenant Heriyanto Salim (Ario Bayu), the case turns personal when his brother is found murdered in similar circumstances. Called in to investigate, Singaporean International Crimes Division (ICD) officer Serena Teo (Rebecca Lim) takes charge of a case across the border where a family has been slaughtered aboard a luxury yacht in Johor.
A series of brutal murders, each sharing a signature MO, takes place across Malaysia and Indonesia.