I found it. In a dark and evil place.
Robley, you found Turning Gate? WHERE!?!? TELL ME, DAMMIT! :D
Savvy
In the deepest, darkest confines of hell, where you must commit the unspeakable, immoral act that all film goers fear.
Robley, well, “damn” is all I can say. I guess I’m not a good enough film-goer, because I’d rather not go THAT far. ;)
Savvy
No, you are a good film goer. Don’t follow my wretched path. I have sold my soul to the devil, and there is no return.
Robley, oh thank God. I feel much better now. Thanks.
Savvy
I would go there as well if it means that I can find “Night and Day”.
Apursansar, cannot believe that a movie of his has no DVD release. That’s pretty heinous. :( Night and Day was actually the first film of his I put on my Watch list. Hopefully it gets some kind of release soon.
Savvy
great intro, I’ve only seem ’Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelours" and it was great. Hope to see some more from him :)
Zachary: Despite being showcased at the New York Film Festival, Tale of Cinema wasn’t able to secure a distribution deal in the U.S.. And, you’re right, it remains unavailable on home video. But there is a Korean (Region-3) DVD if you have the means of playing them.
Arsaib, I wish… If that was the case, I’d probably own Celine and Julie on DD, too. :( But thanks anyway! :D I’m sure I’ll see it… somehow.
Sadly, I also wish that we had a better DVD of Virgin, because the picture quality is less-than thrilling, but I guess at least we HAVE a DVD…
Savvy
http://hellonfriscobay.blogspot.com/2007/03/hong-sang-soo-at-sfiaaff.html
Q:On the topic of style, you used to not use any kind of zoom but you did in Tale of Cinema. I believe and you use it in Woman on the Beach too. Talk about your use of the zoom and what it means to you.
Director Hong: It doesn’t really mean anything. [Audience laughs] Like many elements in my movies they change, as I grow older. In Woman is the Future of Man when I was shooting I wanted to use the zoom but time was not enough so I had to postpone to when I was shooting Tale of Cinema. The first day of shooting I could use the zoom, I used it. It technically shows the actor’s face closely without cutting in. If you cut in you have to stop and re-shoot with a long take and you have to ask the actor to do the same thing, which I really don’t want to do. That’s one reason for not shooting it. And the other is a little bit of an alienation thing. When it’s too emotional I like to feel detached a little – not too much. In Tale of Cinema I used it more. Here it was more a technical reason. I used it to show the face more closely without asking the actor to do the same thing.
Great quote LAW. I saw the same thing in Rohmer’s My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend recently, yet another Hong-Rohmer connection!
Thanks for the recommendation Zachary. I’ll ask Lav about Hong when I see him since they did the Jeonju omnibus film although I don’t know if he’s seen his work or they both ever got to meet.
That would indeed be interesting. I saw the two shorts back to back without the Kawase and I must say they do bear stylistic similarities such as long takes (the obvious), naturalistic dialogue and wry, bittersweet humour.
Really enjoyed Woman is the Future of Man. Just felt like a nice, slowly unraveling account of three troubled individuals . I was surprised at the frankness of the sexual content mixed along with what I’m beginning to think is trademark dark Korean humor. Where would you recommend I go next with him?
User, I have only seen four of his films: Woman is the Future of Man, Woman on the Beach, The Power of Kangwon Province, and Virgin Stripped Bare by her Bachelors. I think you could really go wherever you want. they’re all phenomenal (that I’ve seen). Personally, I’d recommend Woman on the Beach or Kangwon Province, although Virgin might be his absolute best.
Savvy
@ User, going in a chronological order isn’t a bad idea, and I have good news for you. Woman Is the Future is a pretty compelling work, but I personally consider it to be one of his weaker films. Turning Gate, Tale of Cinema, and Woman on the Beach are my personal favorites, with Pig occupying a unique place of its own because it is such a unique debut from an East Asian filmmaker.
Thanks Blue (and Zach) that’s good to know. Netflix only carries two of his films besides Woman. What a jip.
…
Zachary Phillip Brailsford
Arsaib, thanks for the info. I’ll need to watch Tale of Cinema, although I don’t think there’s a DVD of it here in American (and I don’t download…). Still, though, it is considered to be a great work. Hong hasn’t let me down yet.
And by the way, to everyone out there, has ANYONE found On the Occasion of Remembering the Turning Gate at ANY video store ever, not only on Amazon? They don’t even have it on Netflix, which pisses me off, because, CLEARLY, it’s supposed to be very good. If I get some money, I guess I’ll just go ahead and buy it anyway. :P
Savvy