FAVORITE KOREAN GHOST FILMS

RECENTLY CELINEJULIE HAS COMMENTED IN

–FILMSICK’S BLOG
http://filmsick.exteen.com/20070509/deadly-weapons-doris-wishman?page=1#

–OLIVER’S BLOG
http://riverdale-dreams.blogspot.com/2007/05/force-is-still-with-them.html

MY MOST REPEATED VIEWING MOVIES IN THEATRES

1.INDIA SONG (1975, MARGUERITE DURAS) (7 TIMES)

2.BEAU TRAVAIL (1999, CLAIRE DENIS) (5 TIMES)

3.EDEN AND AFTER (1970, ALAIN ROBBE-GRILLET) (3 TIMES)

4.UP DOWN FRAGILE (1995, JACQUES RIVETTE) (3 TIMES)

5.FALLEN ANGELS (1995, WONG KAR-WAI) (3 TIMES)

These are the titles that just pop up in my mind right now. I think there must be some other films that I have watched 3-4 times.

–PETER NELLHAUS’ BLOG ABOUT ”THE RED SHOES” (2005, KIM YONG-GYUN)
http://www.coffeecoffeeandmorecoffee.com/archives/2007/05/the_red_shoes_2.html#more

I’m very glad to read your comment about this film, because I like this film very much. What I like the most about this film is the art direction. I think the film’s visual is very beautiful. I was stunned while watching it. And I think to make a horror film looks very gorgeous like this is not an easy task. To make a period costume drama looks very beautiful is much easier. I think that in this kind of horror film, the director must be very talented or else he would not be able to blend the darkness, the horror, the tense atmosphere, and stupendous colors all together as successfully as this.

I also think that Kim Hye-su’s performance is very satisfying, and THE RED SHOES is certainly much better than most Asian horror films. I even like THE RED SHOES more than WANEE AND JUNAH (2001), which is also directed by Kim Yong-gyun. WANEE AND JUNAH is a romantic film which some of my friends regard as their most favorite romantic Korean film ever. I think that most people wouldn’t be able to tell by themselves that these two films were directed by the same director. These two films are very different, but they just have one characteristic in common—each of them is one of the best films in their own genres.

I would have forgotten about the painting in the film if you didn’t mention it. As for Magritte, I just watched LA BELLE CAPTIVE (1983, Alain Robbe-Grillet) and found that this film also uses paintings by Magritte.

THE RED SHOES might be my most favorite Korean ghost horror film right now. I like it as much as A TALE OF TWO SISTERS (2003, Kim Ji-woon). I think A TALE OF TWO SISTERS is more perfect than THE RED SHOES, especially in the plot. But there’s something about THE RED SHOES which is more seductive to me. However, there is actually another Korean ghost film which I much prefer than these two films. It is UNINVITED (2003, Lee Su-yeon), but I don’t want to regard UNINVITED as a horror film. I think it might be called a very serious drama, because what I like the most about this film is how it portrays the modern urban life as very alienated. In this film, people are repulsed by each other, and there’s nothing better than committing suicide.

I haven’t seen THE RED SHOES (1948), but I have seen THE LINE, THE CROSS & THE CURVE (1994, Kate Bush), which is also about a pair of cursed red shoes. This film is like a well-done long-form music video.

As for confusing movie titles, the titles which cause problem for me the most are the variations of “(THE, A) PROMISE(S)” and “GHOST(S)”. Sometimes I wish there were more creative and memorable film titles such as IN DANGER AND DIRE DISTRESS THE MIDDLE OF THE ROAD LEADS TO DEATH (1974, Alexander Kluge). Hahaha.

This is a photo of Kim Seong-su, the leading actor of THE RED SHOES.