Since I’m behind the curve on most items in this Konsum roundup, the soundtrack for today’s post is provided by Talking Heads, performing “The Great Curve” in Rome in 1980. You can download a DVD of the entire show from Dimeadozen. 4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days As apparently the last critic in New [...]
I’m a Cyborg But That’s OK
“Amélie in a mental institution,” Marcy quipped as we walked out of the Kulturbrauerei in Berlin, where Park Chan-Wooks latest played as part of the Fantasy Filmfest. As usual, she had a point: at the center of I’m a Cyborg is an adorable waif (Lim Su-jeong) who insists on seeing the world in her own [...]
http://jurgenfauth.com/2007/08/29/im-a-cyborg-but-thats-ok/
Memories of Murder
I’m having a hard time putting my finger on exactly what Bong Joon-ho is doing with genre, but that’s the thrill of it: in The Host, he’s transcending the monster horror formula, and this previous movie is a police procedural that’s equally infused with dark humor, outbursts of violence, and human moments that are all [...]
http://jurgenfauth.com/2007/03/11/memories-of-murder/
The Host
On second viewing, Bong Joon-ho’s upcoming monster smash hit is still a thrill, and it also reveals just how exquisitely crafted it is. The cinematography is outstanding, and the film is stuffed with oddball humor and details that resonate and multiply, giving the characters real life above and beyond the necessities of mutant fodder. There’s [...]
http://jurgenfauth.com/2007/02/14/the-host-2/
The Host
Yes, yes, yes! Bong Joon-ho’s record-breaking monster movie strikes a perfect balance between broad social satire, oddball comedy, and honest-to-god horror thrills. Thanks to Americans who blithely pollute the Han river, an amphibious mutant creature with fearsome mandibles and a prehensile tail haunts the sewers of Seoul. The creature is designed by Weta, but the [...]
http://jurgenfauth.com/2006/10/05/the-host/
Woman on the Beach
I wasn’t too enamored with Hong Sang-soo’s A Tale of Cinema (NYFF 2005), but this new film is marvelous. Set in an off-season seaside resort, it concerns a movie director and his girlfriends (both sober and drunk on sake), an abandoned dog, vindictive sushi chefs, and swollen muscles. A delicious surprise. At the press conference, [...]
http://jurgenfauth.com/2006/09/27/woman-on-the-beach/







