Director Bong Joon-ho‘s thriller Mother, starring Kim Hye-ja as a mother determined to clear her son (Won Bin) of murder charges, picked up three awards at the recent Asian Film Awards, among them Best Picture and Best Actress. Director Bong also won the award for Best Screenplay with co-writer Park Eun-kyo. The other Korean film to pick up an award was Park Chan-wook’s vampire horror-thriller Thirst, which won for Best Visual Effects.

The ceremony was held on March 22 in Hong Kong and handed out a total of 14 trophies. Full list of winners below.

[Read more →]

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 16 Comments →

If you’re in Southern California and have some time this weekend, you may want to check out the “Everything is a Mystery: Four Films by Bong Joon-ho” series at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) this weekend. Director Bong will even been in attendance for the Mother screening on Saturday. Arg, if I were in town I’d totally be there!

As you probably know, Bong is one of Korea’s top directors, and one of a very few who enjoy international recognition. His 2006 film The Host is the #1 top-grossing film of all time in Korea, and his latest film, Mother (starring Kim Hye-ja and Won Bin), screened at Cannes and is the South Korean entry for the upcoming Academy Awards. In addition to those two, LACMA will screen the “crazed romantic comedy” Barking Dogs Never Bite and taut thriller Memories of Murder

The schedule:

Via Star News, LACMA.org

RELATED POSTS

• Mother screens at AFI Fest in Los Angeles
• Mother will get a U.S. theatrical release
• Mother opens big with a box-office record
• Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals
• Mother’s mother-son pair at film press conference

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 18 Comments →

Good news for Los Angeles fans of Won Bin (Taegukgi), Kim Hye-ja (Mom’s Dead Upset), and/or director Bong Joon-ho (The Host): Their latest film, the thriller Mother, is getting a screening at this year’s AFI FEST 2009 in Hollywood.

The film has already been licensed for North American theater release, but that will not occur until early next year. AFI FEST runs from October 30 through November 7, and has just announced its first twelve official titles to screen at this year’s event, of which Mother is one. (Others include Lee Daniels’ Precious — which looks heartbreaking and awesome — and Warner Herzog’s The Bad Lieutenant.)

Mother also screens this week at Toronto International Film Festival and at New York Film Festival on October 9.

Usually, I write about these film festival screenings without firsthand experience, but I’ve been to AFI FEST many times when I lived in LA and it’s a really great film festival, with a broad, eclectic range of films selected from all around the world. If you’re in the area, I’d highly encourage you check it out. (Not sure if the cast will be there for the Q&A session afterward, but you never know.)

Via Sports Chosun

RELATED POSTS

• Mother will get a U.S. theatrical release
• Mother opens big with a box-office record
• Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals
• Won Bin in Bazaar, and at Cannes
• Mother’s mother-son pair at film press conference

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 11 Comments →

Looks like director Bong Joon-ho‘s most recent film, Cannes entry Mother (starring Won Bin and Kim Hye-ja), will be getting a theatrical release in the U.S.

American film distributor Magnolia Pictures has bought the rights for a North American run, and announced on August 31 that the release will happen sometime in early 2010. Magnolia is the distributor that also imported director Bong’s previous film, The Host, for a U.S. run in 2007. Along with Mother, they have also licensed Bong’s debut feature film, 2000′s A Higher Animal (starring Lee Sung-jae, Bae Doo-na). A representative from Magnolia said, “In the future, we would like to continue to distribute the movies directed by Bong Joon-ho.”

Mother screens this month at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival. Mother is also South Korea’s entry for the upcoming Academy Awards in the foreign film category.

Via Sports Chosun

RELATED POSTS

• Mother opens big with a box-office record
• Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals
• Won Bin in Bazaar, and at Cannes
• Mother’s mother-son pair at film press conference
• Won Bin makes his comeback next month

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 14 Comments →

Thriller film Mother has claimed the top spot for Korean movie openings this year, drawing in more than 220,000 attendees in its first day (May 28).

This breaks the April 30 opening of Park Chan-wook’s vampire-horror film Thirst, which recently won a jury prize at Cannes, which drew in 178,000 people on opening day. It also beat out Hollywood blockbuster Terminator 4, which came in second in its second week.

Mother has generally received praise from audiences, particularly for director Bong Joon-ho, who’s made a name for himself with films like The Host and Memories of Murder. Kim Hye-ja plays the determined mother out to rescue Won Bin, the mentally slow son accused of murder.

Via IS Plus

RELATED POSTS

• Won Bin interviews about Mother, acting, and future goals
• Won Bin in Bazaar, and at Cannes
• Mother’s mother-son pair at film press conference
• Won Bin makes his comeback next month

Filed under: Chungmuro/Film by javabeans - 14 Comments →