Remembering Park Chan Wook's JSA on the 60th Anniversary of the Korean War

Park Chan Wook's 2000 movie, Joint Security Area, was the first film I saw,  that drove home the tragedy of a divided country. The video clip here features the last scene of the movie and its significance will be lost on those who haven't seen the film. But the combination of the camera work, and the director's great choice of music for the soundtrack ( a Russian folk melody, named "The Rush Light" or "Those Who Are Forgotten" was used for this scene) create a memorable movie moment.

A few years later,  I was able to visit one of the spots near the DMZ on a group tour. The image of  a barbed wire fence with hand-written messages tied to it remains a poignant memory.  I'm assuming the messages expressed wishes to meet long-parted relatives or the desire for reunification. The possibility of a united Korea seems even more remote these days and I'm indulging in a little despondency and wistfulness by replaying my favourite moments from Park's film.

sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korean_War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joint_Security_Area_(film)
http://www.koreanfilm.org/kfilm00.html#jsa

Two Great Voices

Here's something for a friend of mine who rather belatedly has discovered the charms of Lee Byeong-hyeon ( of present Iris and G.I. Joe fame).



She's fallen for his deep voice but I'm hoping she'll also fall in love with the soulful voice of Kim Kwang-seok, the folk rock singer whose "Letter To A Private"  ( 이등병의 편지) was featured in JSA: Joint Security Area  - a compelling film by Park Chan-wook. Still relevant movie today, given the most recent tensions between the North and South. Let's hope and pray good sense prevails.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Kwang_Suk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4-heEUdUl8&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N6q9O7QVILo&feature=related

Watching Sympathy for Lady Vengeance Again

Three cheers for Park Chan-wook who was recently voted Best Director of the year by his fellow film directors. Though the thumbs-up was primarily for his latest film, Thirst ( which I've yet to see), I'd like to think his body of work has something to do with the accolade as well.

Anyway, watched again his Sympathy for Lady Vengeance recently as I was in a nasty mood. But I think Park's handling of music in this movie and the wintry scenes are partly reason for my revisiting this compelling work.