Decision to Leave (Korea) Opened June 29 Romance Directed by Park Chan-wook Hae-jun (Park Hae-il) is a hardworking detective who carries everything he needs in a specially tailored suit with extra pockets. One day, he looks into a suspicious death that occurred on a mountain. Hae-jun comes to suspect the dead man’s wife, the mysterious Seo-rae (Tang Wei), is involved in the crime. As he investigates Seo-rae, the detective becomes drawn to her. Top Gun: Maverick (US) Opened June 22

Cannes-winner Park Chan-wook’s movie “Decision to Leave” is a romance film. However, the protagonists never utter those three little words: I love you. “I wanted to create a quiet movie. I don’t mean that there are few lines. In fact, the lines are quite long. They just don’t directly say ‘I love you’ and express their feelings,” Park said during an interview with a group of reporters via Zoom on Monday. Although we live in an era where pe

Kim Han-min, who directed the 2014 box office megahit about Adm. Yi Sun-sin “Roaring Currents,” is returning with another movie about the historic figure titled “Hansan.” The new film is the second in the Adm. Yi trilogy that the director aims to complete. The plan is to present three different battles led by Yi during the Japanese invasions of Korea in the late 16th century. “Roaring Currents,” the first in the planned trilogy, holds the record for the mos

When Korean actor Park Hye-il, 45, entered the cafe in Samcheong-dong, central Seoul, where an interview with a group of reporters was to take place Thursday, he immediately started wiping the table with a tissue, although it was perfectly clean. When reporters pointed out that it seems like something that his detective character, Hye-jun, in Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” would do, the actor smiled shyly and agreed. “It seems like some of the character remains (

Director Choi Dong-hoon, known for “The Thieves” (2012) and “Assassination” (2015), which attracted over 10 million viewers, is returning this summer after a seven-year break from the industry with “Alienoid,” an extraordinary film that combines science fiction with Korean folklore. “When I was a kid, I used to wonder about the existence of aliens. It made me excited and, at times, also frightened. Imagining aliens made my childhood more entertaining. I

Korean War and postwar situation have spawned films across genres but critics question whether this is sustainable long term

Lightyear (US) Opened June 15 Drama Directed by Angus MacLane While spending years attempting to return home, legendary Space Ranger Buzz Lightyear encounters an army of ruthless robots commanded by Zurg, who aims to steal his fuel source. To fight against Zurg, Buzz Lightyear embarks on an adventure alongside ambitious recruits Izzy, Mo, Darby and his robot companion Sox.  The Witch: Part 2. The Other One (Korea) Opened June 15 Action Directed by Park Hoon-jung So-nyeo (Shin Shi

The PyeongChang International Peace Film Festival is to begin its six-day run on Thursday in PyeongChang, Gangwon Province. It is the fourth iteration of the annual film festival since being founded in 2019, based on the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics’ primary aim of building world peace. “Olga,” by French director Elie Grappe, will open the film festival. The story revolves around a Ukrainian gymnast after the 2014 Maidan Uprising, a series of protests in Ukraine that e

Cannes-winning director Park Chan-wook said his new film “Decision to Love” shows what he considers to be mature love between two adults. “I started the movie thinking I would like to tell a story that only experienced people will understand,” the director said during a press conference at Yongsan CGV on Tuesday. “When we are young, we show all our emotions and express them, but as we get older, due to different situations and circumstances, it is difficult to b

Kim Dong-ho, the chairperson of the Gangneung International Film Festival, is to receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Malaysia International Film Festival. Kim and co-recipient Hou Hsiao-hsien, a China-born director, will receive the award at the Malaysia Golden Global Awards 2022 ceremony to be held July 16. The award is given to members of the international film community with significant contributions to film festivals and the film industry. Kim has been the honorary president

Hollywood star Tom Cruise on Monday said he hopes long-waiting Korean fans of “Top Gun” who watched the action film as kids back in 1986 will fully enjoy the new sequel, “Top Gun: Maverick.” “Grown-up man, you can enjoy that film, and you can cry  in that movie, and that‘s OK. It’s for you and it’s for everybody, so enjoy,” Cruise said during a press conference held at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Monday. Along with Cruise, four of the sta

Two Cannes-winning movie stars -- Song Kang-ho and Jeon Do-yeon -- are returning to the big screen in the highly anticipated aviation disaster flick “Emergency Declaration,” directed by Han Jae-rim. Song became the first Korean male actor to win an acting prize at the 75th Cannes Film Festival this year for his role in “Broker,” directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda. In 2007, Jeon won the award for best actress at Cannes for her performance in “Secret Sunshine,” d

Two South Korean animated films, "Chun Tae-il: A Flame That Lives On" and "Persona," have been awarded at this year's Annecy International Animation Film Festival. According to the winner's list Monday (Korean time), "Chun Tae-il," a biopic on the Korean workers' rights activist directed by Hong Jun-pyo, received the Contrechamp Jury Distinction prize at the 46th edition of the festival that kicked off June 13 and ran through Saturday. The 109-minute

An idea of two total strangers -- a grandmother with a spare room and a college student -- becoming a “family” might be as novel as it sounds, but it is an actual experimental room-sharing program that inspired director Lee Soon-sung for his upcoming film “My Perfect Roommate.” The room-sharing project has been running since 2013 in the northwest district of Nowon in Seoul and connects university students that are looking for a place to stay with elderly people who li

"Broker," the first Korean-language film project by Japanese auteur Hirokazu Kore-eda, surpassed 1 million admissions Saturday, the movie's local distributor said. The film hit the milestone at 8:30 a.m., becoming Kore-eda's first film to reach 1 million in South Korea, CJ ENM said. Released June 8, the flick was at No. 3 after "The Witch: Part 2. The Other One" and "The Roundup" at the daily box office in the country Friday. Starring Song Kang-ho, Gang Dong-won