2012.12.21 NOW Playing
Drama, Romance / 120 / Korean
Director Jeong Ki-hun’s “Love 911” tells the story of a firefighter named Kang-il (Go Soo) who lost his wife while saving others in a fire. He runs into Mi-soo (Han Hyo-joo), who faces trouble in her life because of a medical malpractice lawsuit. Mi-soo works as a medical first responder who accompanies the firefighters and runs into Kang-il at the scene of an accident. Mi-soo follows Kang-il everywhere he goes and expresses an interest in him. But Kang-il is still struggling to overcome the loss of his wife. He treats Mi-soo’s son poorly at first but slowly opens his mind to the idea of a relationship. The melodrama explores how the two - who have mental wounds of their own - work through their troubles, healing each others’ painful memories.
Drama, Romance / 127 / French
The harmonious marriage of Anne (Emmanuelle Riva) and Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is suddenly altered by a life-changing event. The elderly couple had enjoyed life in their 80s by sharing their love of art as retired music teachers. But one day, Anne becomes suddenly silent after she suffers a series of strokes. When the subsequent surgery goes wrong, Anne is left partially paralyzed and confined to a wheelchair. Her physical condition requires her husband’s assistance. Their daughter Eva (Isabelle Huppert) lives abroad and is unable to make frequent visits, but wishes her mother would enter a hospice. Despite Eva’s requests, Georges is determined not to break his promise to take care of Anne himself, regardless of the strain it puts on him to do so. Love is put to the test as a man is forced to witness his love weaken before his eyes, and she is powerless to stop it, wanting nothing more than to unburden the love who has been faithful to her over the years.
French drama “Amour” won four out of six nominated categories at the 25th European Film Awards, including best film and best director for Michael Haneke.
Remembrance (15)
Drama, Romance / 105 / German
Inspired by true events, “Remembrance” captures the bravely forged bond of two lovers in the dark shadow of the Holocaust.
The story takes place in a German concentration camp in 1944 Poland. German Jew Hannah Silberstein (Alice Dwyer) tries to stay invisible to get through the war. Polish partisan Tomasz (Mateusz Damiecki) falls deeply in love with Hannah and attempts to rescue her from the camp. They survive a treacherous journey to freedom and struggle to start a new life, but are forcibly separated in the chaos of the war. Each assumes the other is dead. Three decades pass and Hannah (Dagmar Manzel) is living a normal life with a happy family. One day by chance, she sees someone who resembles her former Polish lover on television. Baffled and conflicted, Hannah must now face up to her memories. She embarks on a search for her lost love.
Drama, Musical / 158 / English
Brace yourself for a cinematic musical experience of a lifetime. Victor Hugo’s epic tale and beloved global stage sensation “Les Miserables” is now adapted into a motion picture. In 19th-century France, stealing a loaf of bread places Jean Valjean (Hugh Jackman) in prison for 19 years. Valjean is on the run from a ruthless police inspector, Javert (Russell Crowe), for breaking parole. As an ex-convict, he is refused shelter until a kind Bishop Myriel saves him in exchange for his promise to be an honest man. Valjean masks his identity to live a completely changed life under a pseudonym. His life is reformed forever when he agrees to care for a factory worker, Fantine’s (Anne Hathaway) daughter Cosette. He learns to love as the bitterness of years of injustice melt away.
Now his sole reason for hiding and evading Javert is to protect Cosette.
China Blue (19)
Drama, Romance / 102 / Korean
Eun-hyeok (Baek Seong-hyeon) and his gang often bully and take money from others. They are also frequently involved in fights with another gang of ethnic Koreans who moved from China for territorial control. A thorn in the side of Eun-hyeok is Gil-nam (Kim Joo-young), the boss of the opposite gang.
Meanwhile, Eun-hyeok meets and falls in love with Ching Ching (Jung Joo-yeon), an ethnic Korean woman who aspires to be a singer in Korea. The pure and innocent personality of Ching Ching leads Eun-hyeok to look back on his past filled with fistfights and verbal abuse, among other transgressions. The protagonist tries to reconcile with the ethnic Koreans, but a case involving Yoon-sik (Park Jae-hoon), a wicked loan shark, strains relationships with the ethnic community in China. The debut feature film by Kim Geon portrays tumultuous teen years and explores how teens deal with such periods.
Animation, Comedy / 108 / English, Korean
Wreck-It Ralph (Jung Joon-ha) is a “bad boy gone right.” He is a video game villain who longs to be as beloved as his game’s perfect good guy, Fix-It Felix.
He goes on a quest - a game-hopping journey - to prove he’s got what it takes to be a hero. During his travels, he crash-lands in Sugar Rush, a kart-racing game set in a confectionery paradise. There he meets a young racer outcast, Vanellope von Schweetz, and is forced to help her in exchange for the precious medal of heroism. But when they stumble upon a mysterious plot, they wreak havoc that could ultimately affect the entire arcade.
Will Ralph fulfill his dream and save the day before it’s “Game Over” for the entire arcade?
Disney’s latest family friendly animation is in theaters now, but make sure to check whether the showing has Korean subtitles or has the dialogue dubbed over.
One Day (15)
Drama, Romance / 107 / English
Adapted from David Nicholl’s 2009 novel of the same name, “One Day” depicts two people whose lives intersect for 20 years. On July 15, 1988, two happily drunk college graduates, Emma (Anne Hathaway) and Dexter (Jim Sturgess), encounter each other. After their one night love affair, they decide to remain friends. Their lives cannot be any more different. Ambitious Emma strives to fulfill her dream of making the world a better place and ultimately become a writer. On the other hand, affluent and popular Dexter basks in the presence of women, working as a television presenter on a raucous late-night television show.
For the next two decades, the snapshots of their lives on July 15 are revealed. Sometimes, they share the moments together and sometimes apart. Their friendship suffers, but they are brought together through various circumstances. What is bound to happen for the both may be a surprise, if you have yet to read the No. 1 international best seller.
The film has furthered Danish director Lone Scherfig’s career after moderate success in the North American box office last year.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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