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KOREA JOONGANG DAILY

FRIDAY, MAY 30, 2014

CULTURE

MOVIE

Disney revamped
in Maleficent
BY CARLA SUNWOO

Last year, Disney redefined true

love, and although what it taught us
was an obvious lesson, it signaled a
shift in the way the movie maker tells
its stories.
Just a few months
REVIEW after the Frozen craze,
Disney is about to teach
us a few more lessons
with its newest dark tale Maleficent.
By putting the focus on the evil
fairy behind Sleeping Beautys enchantment, the obvious overarching
lesson is that everyone has a story to
tell.
Or, to be more precise, every evil
being has reasons behind their actions.
The second lesson, in tandem with
the first, is that even supposedly good
people can have a skeleton or two in
their closets.
And thirdly possibly ironically
undoing the first two lessons is that
typecasting can work wonders.
Disney first brought the 600-yearold fairy tale of Maleficent to the big
screen in 1959 through the animation
Sleeping Beauty, and not all that
much was known about the mistress
of all evil.
It turns out, though, that she has
legitimacy behind her anger. To cut a
long story short, Maleficent is a wom-

an scorned.
With a somewhat justified vendetta against Auroras parents, Maleficent
(Angelina Jolie) puts their child
(played by Elle Fanning) under a spell
that will see her die from the needle of
a spinning wheel before she turns sixteen.
And in the 21st-century revision,
Maleficent throws in the antidote,
unless she gets her true loves kiss.
When an optimistic individual
points out that a young smitten prince
may be the answer to Auroras predicament, Maleficent is quick to retort
that theres no such thing and that
she added in the remedy because this
does not exist.
Romance takes a back seat in this
hybrid animation film while nature,
fairies and the juxtaposition of good
and evil take center stage.
For the most part, crucial moments
from Sleeping Beauty are left intact,
but the bizarre relationships shown in
the film will leave you wondering
whether or not its worth revisiting the
cartoon to see what innuendos you
might have missed as a child.
Of these relationships, the most interesting is the one between good and
evil: ditzy, nave Aurora and Maleficent.
The latters strong distaste for man,
which grows over time, is on par with
her maternal instincts toward the victim of her spell, whom she watches

Angelina Jolie smolders and captivates in Maleficent, playing an evil fairy who put Sleeping Beauty under her famous spell.

closely.
When the three fairies entrusted
with the task of raising Aurora mess
up time and time again, it is Maleficent
who keeps more than an eye out for the
princess she has cursed.
Theres a fine line between love
and hatred, and its quite a spectacle
watching Jolie walk that line.
In part, the film works because of
the off-screen rumors about Jolie that

add a sense of realism to her turn in the

titular role.
Long known for her love of children, its not exactly a stretch for viewers to imagine Jolie choosing to spend
time with a child rather than attend a
star-studded party accompanied by
some important man.
Jolies take on this enigmatic character who has a soft spot for kids is a
narrative that many people have

The Divine
Move an
action twist
on baduk

details. The actress has professed her

fondness for her character, saying that
she was won over by Maleficent from
a young age.
And its not hard to see why. Sassy,
cool, clad in black, on the warpath
with men, sometimes tender, consistently smoldering and captivating,
Maleficent is Jolie, and Jolie is magnificent.
carlasunwoo@joongang.co.kr

Film-making academy
to hold movie festival
BY JIN EUN-SOO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

BY JIN EUN-SOO CONTRIBUTING WRITER

In director Jo Bum-gus latest action

flick The Divine Move, the filmmaker presents an unconventional
combination of fierce action versus the
serenity of baduk.
Baduk is a game that requires prudent moves and much meditation time.
In the two-player pastime, each person
takes turns to move white or black
stones to a different point on the grid
with the aim of taking over a larger
portion of the board.
I was searching for one great action film that involved mens sweat
and the collision of bodies, said the
movies lead, Jung Woo-sung, at a
press conference held Wednesday at
Megabox in Jung District, central
Seoul.
When I came across the scenario

bought into before. The film may even

be the best piece of PR that Jolie has
had of late.
At times, the ineptness of the babysitting fairies, the Kings lack of rationale and the preachy aspects of the film
yield a mish-mash where too much is
going on with not enough explanation.
But with Jolie appearing in the
majority of the frames, these are minor

Provided by Walt Disney Studios Korea

From left to right: Ahn Gil-gang, Kim In-kwon, Ahn Sung-ki, Jung Woo-sung, Lee Bum-soo and Lee Si-young at the press
Provided by Show Box
junket for the upcoming The Divine Move.

of The Divine Move, even though I

didnt have any understanding about
baduk, I was immersed in it, Jung
said.
Unlike baduks predominant image as a game of courtesy, when it is
played for money in the film it can become a deadly match involving physical altercations.
Actor Choi Jin-hyuk said he was
stressed about having to fight with

Jung, whom he has long respected.

When I heard that Jung was cast
in the film, I just thought I had to accept the role. But once I got into shooting, I actually had to hit him and that
gave me a really hard time, said
Choi.
The only predominant female star
in the film is Lee Si-young who plays
a femme fatale forced to become a
baduk player to make ends meet for

her family.
When asked about the similarity
with Kim Hye-soos madame in the
2006 gambling movie Tazza: The
High Rollers, director Jo answered
that although the feel of the film is inevitably similar, the characters, in
terms of their will to escape gang life,
differ significantly.
The film opens in July.
estyle@joongang.co.kr

might suit your taste is Oculus, which

centers on a supernatural phenomenon
that is a horror-movie must: the mirror.
Ten years ago, Tim (Brenton Thwaites)
was convicted of the murder of his parents, and his sister Kaylie (Karen Gillan)
wants to get to the bottom of the brutal
case. Kaylie finds out that the owners of
Lasser Glass, an antique mirror installed
in their house, have all died due to
horrible accidents and she becomes
convinced that her parents death has
something to do with it.
The trend in horror movies these days
has shifted from the appearance of
grotesque ghosts or demons to realistic
supernatural phenomenons, as shown
in box office hits like the Paranormal
Activity series and The Conjuring.

front of Portuga and was scolded for trying to ride on his cars bumper.
After that, Zez plans revenge, and the
two get busy trying to outdo each other.
But when Zez hurts his feet the situation turns around Portuga holds out
his hand to Zez when he sees the boy
limping. From then they form a genuine
friendship, and Zez learns from Portuga how to open up his mind to other
people and also how to receive love.
But one day, Portuga is in an unexpected
car accident, leaving Zez all by himself
again.
This is the second adaptation of the
novel. It was invited to movie festivals
such as the Rome Film Festival and
the Puchon International Fantastic Film
Festival.

by her lady knight in shining armor

which annoys Do-hees stepfather even
more. Those grey areas often ignored by
Korean society are put in the spotlight
in this drama that Bae called full of
blanks.
The film made the official segment
of this years Cannes festival and is a
courageous attempt by first-time feature
director July Jung.

My Sweet Orange Tree (12)

A Girl at My Door (19)

Drama/ 97/ Portuguese

Drama / 120 / Korean

Starring Bae Doo-na and Kim Sae-ron,
A Girl at My Door is a poignant, subtle
human drama that conceals yet gives
away just enough and forever leaves the
viewer wondering.
Bae plays Young-nam, a police officer
who has been transferred to a quiet
seaside town where she has been told
to stay quiet.
And while she tries to obey orders for
the one year that shes stationed there
Young-nam starts rocking the boat when
she meets Do-hee (Kim Sae-ron) who is
the victim of abuse.
With her drunkard stepfatherplayed
by the talented Song Sae-byeok, grandmother and even peers out to bully her,
looking after Do-hee becomes a full-time
occupation.
Do-hee, for her part, becomes enamored

The Korean Academy of Film Arts will

hold the two-day screening event
Road Show in Busan from June 2 to
3, where 21 films created by the institution will be shown.
KAFA, which boasts names like
Bong Joon-ho, Im Sang-soo and Choi
Dong-hoon as members of its alumni,
is a film school that generates about 40
movies a year through its education
programs.
To welcome its 31st year, KAFA
has selected 12 shorts and five featurelength films that were put together
during the academys regular program.
In addition, four 3-D works that
were generated as part of KAFAs Next
D project curriculum will be
screened.
The feature film lineup includes
Yoon Sung-hyuns Bleak Night
which won the New Current award at
the Busan International Film Festival

in 2010 for its in-depth approach to

various issues going on in high schools.
Another film on the bill is Kim Junghoons Tinker Ticker, which depicts
the rage a youth expresses towards the
society that tells him how he should
act.
The 3-D film section will include
My Dream, Greco-Roman, which
traces the success of a man who attempts to become a member of a national wrestling team at a late age.
Director Han Ji-seungs I Saw
You part two of the 3-D omnibus
film Mad Sad Bad, which opened
the Jeonju International Film Festival
held earlier this month, will also feature at the event.
The festival will take place at a theater located inside the Busan Cinema
Center. The organizers are currently
receiving applications from people
who wish to attend the show.
For more information, see facebook.
com/kafa1984.
estyle@joongang.co.kr

NOW PLAYING
A Hard Day (15)
Crime, action/ 111/ Korean

It has been a while since a Korean crime

thriller encompassing a quality storyline,
great cast members and a good laugh
came along, but in Kim Seong-huns latest film, A Hard Day, you can expect all
of this and more.
Detective Geon-soo (Lee Sun-gyun) is
not in a good mood. Hes heading to
his mothers funeral and is also on the
verge of divorce.
To make matters worse, he commits a
hit-and-run and is left with a dead body.
To evade the situation, he decides to
hide the corpse in his mothers coffin.
Thinking he has committed the perfect
crime he aims to get back to his normal
life. But not long after, his peace of
mind is shattered when an unidentified
witness (Jo Jin-woong) appears and
threatens to reveal all.
In recognition of the director spending five years working on the plot, the
movie was recently invited to the 67th
Cannes International Film Festival,
which was held earlier this month.

Oculus (15)
Mystery, horror/ 105/ English
Summer is near and its time for some
spine-chilling horror movies. One that

Based on a Brazilian novel of the same

title, written by Jos Mauro de Vasconcelos, the coming-of-age movie My
Sweet Orange Tree shows an unlikely
yet heartwarming friendship between
an offbeat 8-year-old boy, Zez (Joo
Guilherme vila), and a grumpy grandfather, Portuga (Jos de Abreu).
The two werent so friendly towards
each other when Zez fooled around in

X-Men: Days of Future Past (15)

Action, Adventure / 134 / English
After Captain America and his colleagues swept Mapo District, western
Seoul in April, Spider-Man came shortly
after to continue the craze. However,
as their name might hint, the X-men
are not as patriotic as Captain America,
nor are they as cute as Peter Parker.
But these mutant superheroes, led by
Professor X (James McAvoy), have been
Koreas most beloved movie characters
for a long time.
In this new sequel, the ultimate X-men
are assembled in order to fight a war for
the survival of the species. Bryan Singer,
who also directed X-Men: First Class
in 2011, continues the work but puts
the heroes back to the past, to fight in a
battle that will save the future.

village.
One day, Woo-jin (On Joo-wan), one of
Jin-pyungs subordinates, moves into
the village with his wife, Ga-heun (Lim
Ji-yeon), and Jin-pyung falls in love with
her at once.
The spark between them is ignited
instantly, and a scandal that can never
be forgotten begins.
The movie has garnered attention for its
provocative and sensual teaser photos
and trailer, with the curiosity of audiences and critics piqued by the fact that
this will be Songs first try at acting in a
sex scene.

Her (19)
Drama/ 126/ English

Obsessed (19)
Drama/ 132/ Korean
Obsessed is set in 1969 near the end
of the Vietnam War. Colonel Jin-pyung
(Song Seung-heon), who fought with
valor during the war, is looking forward
to being promoted to general. His beautiful wife, Sook-jin (Jo Yeo-jung), is an
aspirational woman who cares deeply
about her familys reputation around the

Spike Jonzes latest feature, Her, explores a new form of romantic relationship: falling in love with a computer.
Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) is a ghost-

writer who pens personal letters most

of them based around love for other
people. The mail he writes may be full
of fluttery and delicate sentiments, but
for Theodore, who is separated from his
wife Catherine (Rooney Mara), reality
cannot be lonelier.
One day he buys an operating system
who calls itself Samantha (Scarlett
Johansson). The computer is not just
an automatic talking device but has a
personality and is a conscious being. As
Theodore becomes more engaged in an
intimate relationship with Samantha,
he finds himself falling in love with
her. But, of course, no further intimacy
can be pursued for she has no physical
existence.
The movie has had positive reviews
from the international press for its
intriguing theme and visually stunning
portrait of a future Los Angeles, in which
the movie is set. Scarlett Johanssons
sultry voice is also not to be missed.

More information is available on the

websites listed below
Arthouse Momo
Cinecode seonje
CJ CGV
Daehan Cinema
Hypertheque Nada
Land Cinema
Lotte Cinema
Megabox
MMC
Primus Cinema
Sangsang Madang
Seoul Cinema
Sponge House

www.cineart.co.kr
www.cinecode.co.kr
www.cgv.co.kr
www.daehancinema.co.kr
www.dsartcenter.co.kr
www.landcinema.co.kr
www.lottecinema.co.kr
www.megabox.co.kr
www.mmc24.co.kr
www.primuscinema.com
www.sangsangmadang.
com/cinema
www.seoulcinema.com
cafe.naver.com/
spongehouse.cafe

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