If you are not familiar with Korean film director Park Chan-wook, then it is time you start. He will be releasing his first American film "Stoker" on March 1, 2013 and to celebrate, I decided to post as much of his obscure short films as I could find. His films currently available in the U.S. are:
"J.S.A.: Joint Security Area" (2000)
"Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" (2002)
"Three...Extremes" segment "Cut" (2004)
"I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK" (2006)
You can pretty much pick any of these films and after one view you will be dying to see the next one, though "Oldboy" seems to be the standard when it comes to Korean cinema in general so I would start with that. Spike Lee will actually be releasing an American remake of "Oldboy" on October 11, 2013, though it is completely unnecessary.
So if you are a fan of his work and want to see the films that are not available, then you are in luck. Park's first two films "Moon Is the Sun's Dream" (1992) and "Saminjo" (1997) are near impossible to find and if anyone out there knows where to see them, please comment! As for the rest, Here is the best quality I could find of his short films.
First up is "Judgment" (1990). This film is also credited on IMDB as a short film in 2008 that is part of a set from Cinema 16 which you can purchase at Amazon.com.
Just a few thoughts about this short. Clearly Park has maintained a level of consistency with his musical selections and the way he uses it to navigate through a scene. Also you see an early attempt to explore the theme that people get what is coming to them. Though it is more of a karma based death that these characters face, it clearly relates with his vengeance trilogy in the same fashion and is a precursor for what is to come.
The next collection of videos is from a short film set titled "If You Were Me" (2003) in which Park contributed the short "NEPAL: Never Ending Peace and Love". This video is broken into three parts and there is roughly a minute missing from the second video, but it is all I could find.
Some quick thoughts. This is an interesting short from Park that is unlike anything else he has done. I do believe this film is an obvious influence for "I'm a Cyborg, But That's OK", with the concentration on a woman's mental health.
The next short from Park is "Night Fishing" (2011). Park used an iPhone 4 and a few tricks to make this short film for an iPhone film contest. Considering the limitations, this is still an impressive film and what I liked most about it is that Park explores a different aspect of Korean culture from his previous films.
The final short is actually a 60 second clip from his short film "Cut". The clip was involved in an avant garde project in which 60 directors submitted a 60 second clip on behalf of the death of 35mm film. The hour long film was only shown once and was then destroyed in front of the audience in a ball of fire. "60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero" (2011) was filmed by an audience member on his smartphone and the quality is actually quit impressive. The entire film and explosion are shown and though it may seem a bit tedious after a while, you should appreciate the ability to view such a unique event. This is the only video of this event I could find so you should watch it before the user takes it down if he ever decides to. If you care only about Park's contribution, then I will save you an hour and tell you it is at (39:38). There are a number of directors that contributed to this film and many of the segments were filmed just for the event. I must say that some of them really stand out despite the short length. After the clip, I will list each director in order of appearance in the film. I hope you all enjoy this collection..
Ken Jacobs, Shinji Aoyama, Woo Ming Jin, Jussi Reittu, Phie Ambo, Norbert Shieh, Mark Cousins, Marina Manushenko, Jee Woon Kim, Mart Taniel, Tom Tykwer, Mika Taanila, Simon Rumley, Ari Alexander Ergis Magnússon, Ronni Shendar, Edmund Yeo, Brian Yuzna, Pen-ek Ratanaruang, Mark Boswell, Bruce McClure, Gustav Deutsch, Kyu-hwan Jeon, Michael Glawogger, Dalpalan, Brian Yuzna, Jes Benstock, Gereon Wetzel, Albert Serra, Tolga Karacelik, Ville Kerimaa, Jan Ijas, Hafsteinn Gunnar Sigurdsson, Vimukthi Jayasundara, Adam Wingard, Viktor Kaganovich, Chan-wook Park, Eric Khoo, Maximilien Dejoie, Andres Tenusaar, Aureaus Solito, Rafi Pitts, Malcolm Le Grice, Veiko Õunpuu, Brillante Mendoza, Moon Kyungwon, Feyyaz, Aku Louhimies, Gakuryu Ishii, Naomi Kawase, Amir Naderi, Jussi Jaakola
