Mar 3—6
With a style that mixes the visual precision of Hitchcock, the violence of Hong Kong, and the postmodern wit of Tarantino, Park Chan-Wook is the new master of action film. Having recently won major acclaim for his film Oldboy, Park is one of the most innovative directors working today. Co-presented with Media Bank and the Korean Film Forum. All films directed by Park Chan-Wook unless otherwise noted, and in Korean with English subtitles.

Oldboy (2003) 120min Special Sneak Preview!
Thu, Mar 3 at 7:30pm only!
“Park keeps the twists coming and handles the kick-ass set pieces with droll flair, steadily building to a denouement whose perversity is worthy of Jacobean tragedy.” —Film Comment
Winner of the Grand Prix at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival, Oldboy is a true original. A man is kidnapped and thrown in a cell with only a television for fifteen years, where he learns that his wife has been killed and he’s to blame. Upon his “release,” he must try to find the killer, who taunts him mercilessly. Extremely bizarre, darkly funny, and very violent, the film is grounded in an emotional performance from star Choi Min-Shik, and held together by Park’s fluid visual style and rapid-fire editing. Courtesy of Tartan Films.

If You Were Me (Yeoseot Gae ui Siseon) Shorts program (2003) 110min
Fri, Mar 4 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
Directed by Soon-Rye Im, Jeong Jae-Eun, Park Chan-Wook, Park Jin-Pyo, Park Kwang-Su, Yeo Gyun-Dong
If You Were Me is an omnibus of six short films directed by six top directors of Korea’s new wave which looks at issues of prejudice and discrimination in Korea. Park’s documentary segment, “Never Ending Peace and Love” tells the harrowing tale of Chandra Gurung, a Nepalese national who is mistakenly forced to spend six and a half years in a Korean mental hospital. The final scenes of the film, showing Gurung back on her native soil, are as moving and as memorable as anything seen in film in recent memory.

Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Boksuneun Naeui Geos) (2002) 129min Special Advance Screenings!
Sat, Mar 5 at 5, 9pm
“Park puts everything together with unquestionable visual style, and the movie jangles in the mind long after the final credits.” —The Guardian
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is arguably Park’s finest film. It’s told in three distinct segments: the opening, where a deaf-mute man and his girlfriend decide to kidnap a child to make money, the reflective middle where the father anguishes over his daughter and the kidnapping goes awry, and the final act of bloodshed and revenge. Park’s direction sets the entire film on edge, and helps balance the violence and mayhem with surprising bits of dark humor. Courtesy of Tartan Films.

Joint Security Area (Gongdong Gyeongbi Guyeok Jsa) (2000) 110min
Sun, Mar 6 at 2, 4:30, 6:50, 9:15pm
A huge box-office hit in Korea, this film explores the political tensions along the DMZ between North and South Korea, when a shooting between two officers threatens to become an international incident. Park wisely doesn’t take sides in the politics, but humanizes all of his characters, especially the two soldiers caught in the middle of it all. Balancing action scenes with human drama, this is the film that established Park Chan-Wook as a major international talent.