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Family Ties Responses

Please post your responses to Family Ties here. I suggest that you also read the article by Jeeyoung Shin, "Globalization and Korean Cinema". It might help to guide your thoughts.

Week 5 Reading Responses

Please post your reading responses here. It can address one, two or all three of the following of this week's readings: 1. Moon Jae-chol, "Meaning of Newness" 2. Arjun Appadurai, "Disjuncture and Difference" 3. Mitsuhiro Yoshimoto, "Concept of Asian Horror"

Epitaph Responses

Please post your responses to Epitaph here.

Oldboy Responses

Please post your responses to Oldboy here. Director's name: Park Chan-wook. Year: 2003.

Christmas in August Responses

Please post your responses to Christmas in August here.

Sopyonje Responses

Please post your comments to Sopyonje here.

If You Were Me Responses

Please post your responses to the film here. Your response may engage 1, 2 or all 3 of the films.

A Single Spark Responses

Please post your responses to A Single Spark here.

stray bullet

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Week 2 Reading Responses

Please post your 4-6 sentence response to either one or both of this week's readings as comments here.

Stray Bullet Responses

Please post your responses here as comments by 9am Thursday.

Housemaid

Although the film seems to be a melodramatic movie in the beginning, it turns out to be a thriller at the end. The weakness of the father and the family's desire for wealth lead to a dramatic change in the role of the housemaid, allowing her to take a dominant role in the house. Such a change in the housemaid causes the awkward change in the entire atmosphere of the movie and so the movie seems just funny and ludicrous to the audience even when the scene itself is supposed to be scary.

The housemaid

This movie shows how one mistake can cause a big problem called "butterfly effect". After the husband sleeps with the housemaid, family itself is destroyed. The son died and in the end both the husband and the housemaid commited suicide. Rat poison in the movie is not used to kill rat but to kill people. Rat poison symbolizes not only the beginning of the tragedy but also the end of the tragedy.

The Housemaid

I got the impression of the black comedy elements of this film. This film deals with serious matters which are immorality and murder. But as including black comedy elements in this film, it can relieve extreme tension. For example two kids are elements of black comedy who does help audiece not to feel uncomfortable while they are watching this tragic film.

The Housemaid

The movie was a very unexpected surprise because it turned out to be so violent, suspenseful and chilling. The were a lot of very cool shots. The one where the director shot the stairs through the glass of water was really interesting. The music also blended very well with the movie, although at some times it was too dramatic, it somehow worked out. What got me very confused was the drastic change in personalities of the characters, especially the husband, switching from begging for his wife's forgiveness to reprimanding her for trying to poison the housemaid.

The Housemaid

This movie gave me the chills from the beginning. An obvious difference from the Homeless Angels,was that this movie had a lot of disturbing music and acting. It seems as though the genera should be horror/thrilling. There were many close ups of the faces which made me feel very nervous to look at. I can not forget the crazy lady's face. Also, many of the focus were never on the center and the shots seemed a bit tilted. The producer did quite a nice job expressing an eerie feeling to the audience.

The Housemaid

First off, WOW what an insane movie with an even more insane ending! The movie had alo of interesting points, but one of the things I saw reoccur many times was the way the writer/director showed things in nature to explain or foreshadow things that were happening in the lives of the characters. The rat being killed by poison by the housemaid on arrival was the most important one. The first thing I saw that wasn't actually involved with nature but seemed important, was the kids playing cats cradle at the start of the film which symbolized the tangled web of lies that would be weaved.

The Housemaid

The movie had great camera angles and techniques to make the audience jump and give them chills down their spines. The movie was very violent and sexual for a film produced in the 60's. The producer did a nice job of making the ending unpredictable and suspenseful.

The Housemaid

This film uses very active camera techniques including tracking and zooming in on the characters. The use of fill lighting is also appropriate for emphasizing the relations in the film. the recursive item of the poison in the film is symbolic of the flaws of quick solutions to try and solve longer lasting problems (the rats and the housemaid). it was interesting that the non-diegetic sound was only used in extremely dramatic sequences and that most of the film relied directly on diegetic sound. the actress who played the housemaid did a wonderful job at coaxing screams/ reactions from the audience (even in our modern audience) showing her mastery of her character. - James Seiling

the housemaid

The Housemaid

Please post your responses to The Housemaid here as comments only.

Homeless Angels

The movie, made in 1941, was very impressive movie when we consider it as a 1940s Korean movie. The movie has a very moving story. A great teacher raises many homeless children by spending his own money. He changes their lives by teaching them how to earn money in legal ways and how to corporate each other. Not only that, he shows his great love to children forgiving those who try to run away and gone. A doctor, a friend of the teacher, also fights for the weak, and his behavior enables viewers to learn what is the right behavior in some kinds of situation. However, one thing that is somewhat unsatisfying is the last scene when all characters bow to the Japanese flag because all characters in the movie are Koreans. This shows how deeply Japanese government and military is infiltrated to the Korean society. The movie probably would not have been shown in the movie theatre in that time if there were no such scene. by Joon Hyung, Jo

The opening scene to the movie made me feel like this was a very extravagant and well off era. The scenes started off with japanese credits and banners, which I was not surprise to see since professor had given us the introductions before the movie started. At first it started off with some drama, then became a slice of life sort of movie with some added comic relief so the movie would not be so dull. I thought this was a very interesting thing they did, the comic relief kept the movie from being dull or seem like a propaganda. But towards the end of the movie I was very surprised in how the movie abruptly turned into a propoaganda. With the raising of the japanese flag, children standing in military like formation, "honesty, courage and love" pledging, and a Japanese citizens pledge. There was no doubt about it being a propaganda right when all those things occurred. With that turn towards propaganda it kind of ruined the movie for me.

Homeless Angels

First of all, I would like to apologize for not posting this as a comment, but I have a feeling this will be a long and somewhat tedious review (sorry Steven, I know myself too well), and I'm afraid of character limits. I was thoroughly impressed with the quality of the film. As Steven himself commented afterwards, there were specific camera shots, for example, that I thought were quite sophisticated. The only one that comes to my mind immediately is the first shot (or one of the earlier shots) of the restaurant, as the camera slowly and smoothy swept across the room from a relatively high point. The shot effectively showed the atmosphere of the restaurant at a glance, although admittedly there was some..bartender(?) whose hand motions were a little too distracting. I thoroughly enjoyed how well the story plots and the characters wove together, with no particular loose ends. Except, of course, for the character of the wife of the good man (I forget his name). At first, she was clearly presented as someone who resented her husband's efforts to help the homeless boys. As her own brother admitted, she had a limited compassion. However, after that interesting character development(?), she faded from view and stuck to a passive role as a caring mother to all the boys. There was no transition from the disgruntled, unwilling woman to the strangely passive and compassionate mother to the "boys." I did not like that. If you create a mother who defies the traditional image of a caring mother and a passive wife, then there must be a reason. Or, at least, you must keep her true to that character in order to make her memorable. Perhaps this is the result of poor or necessary editing, but that doesn't excuse this relatively small but significant oversight for me. Another character I took some interest in was Myung-ja, the sister of Yong-gil. She did not seem particularly interesting to me at all until the point when she revealed to her brother that she wanted to train to be a doctor. Although this career path was probably suggested and set by the doctor himself, I found it interesting that the girl was breaking traditional boundaries by working towards a relatively ambitious career, rather than staying as a nurse. It showed a kind of independence and feminism that I found surprising and rather pleasing. (Also, it made me wonder if it was typical of Korean culture at the time -- I think Steven mentioned that it was typical in the movies, but not in the actual world.) This is another reason why I was disappointed in the lack of development -- or, at least, continuity -- in the mother's character; the film's slightly unorthodox female characters interested me. I also enjoyed the individual personalities that were gven to the doctor, Yong-pal, Yong-gil, and Il-nam. (I personally think Il-nam is adorable for doing what he did.) However, I found the good man's character to be a little flat and too one-dimensional. He was simply a man with pity for the homeless boys, nothing more. I thought a little explanation of why he was so particularly fixated on helping the boys -- and why just boys? -- would have been nice, though perhaps not necessary. The film had awkward transitions of the background music, but I assume this was due to technological limitations, not the director's poor taste. Finally, though I have more to say, I will wrap up with one more point. I thought the pledging-to-the-Japanese-flag scene was a little too random in the movie. When Steven asked the class what genre of film this was, I was tempted to answer, "a family film." Because as far as I can tell, this movie was all about, as either the doctor or the good man said himself (again, I don't remember), "honesty, courage, and love." It was a feel-good film, with just enough comedy, drama, and familial love to make a great family entertainment. Also, I thought the film could also be interpreted as a satire (but then again anything can be interpreted as a satire), by showing how so much of the society was decadent, and how so many kids were out in the streets without aid. In either case, the pledging-of-loyalty-to-the-Japanese-empire scene does not fit with the theme of the movie. If anyone made it through my entire post alive, I offer you my congratulations. And pity.

Homeless Angels

The film was very interesting in the way it tries to get the veiwer to accept the idea of Koreans being assimilated into Japanese culture and rule. There were a few ways it did this. The most blatant, although not the first way, was at the end of the movie when the Japanese flag is raised and everyone pledges their loyalty to the country. This is blatant, but the entire movie uses character relationships to slowly lead you up to this point. The Doctor and his brother inlaw seemed to me to represent the Japanese as these civilized caring saviors and the little Korean boys were the representation of the Korean people lost and in need of help. At least that is what the movie wants you to think. The film plays mostly on emotion rather than logic or its own credibility in order to get across its message of propaganda.

homeless angels response

Throughout the film, viewers are able to perceive the influence of foreign countries. For example, characters use English names such as Anna, Mary, and John. At the last scene, the story changes abruptly and the characters assemble to vow to the Japanese flag, and pledge allegiance to the emperor as citizens of Japan. Although this can be seen as propaganda, I feel that the last scene was added only to please the eyes of Japanese authorities and to avoid censorship. Homeless Angel was produced in 1941 and it could not be completely “Korean” as every Korean film during this period was deeply censored. I feel that this kind of ending was necessary for it to be presented on screen. This may be the reason why the ending changes so unexpectedly. Overall, the film is nationalistic, portraying the daily life of Koreans enduring and overcoming the strains of life with hope and love. Koreans living in this period of time are the “Homeless Angels” searching for their independence and safe haven.

Homeless Angels

I was surprised to find Homeless Angels a technically (and narratively to an extent) sophisticated for its time and place. Technically speaking, Inkyu's use of the camera was the most notable to me among the sophistication. Setting locations with different shots of scenery and sometimes a city sign was one way he used the camera. He also used the camera by providing various shots in one scene, switching angles on the involved characters that perhaps complimented the mood or emotions. Also, in terms of editing, I was surprised to find some stylized transitions involved (wipes, dissolves, etc.) in the film. Concerning the movie as a propagandic peice, I can definitely see it, but I can't say I completely agree to it. Although it was a blantant piece of propaganda at the end, it seemed distant to the actual plot of the film preceded that scene. I wouldn't consider it to be in the same category as, say, a movie like Triumph of the Will. Charles.

Homeless angels

Homeless Angels by In-gyu Ch'oe is not the type of movie that captures the audience's eyes from the beginning to the end. Abrupt transitions, clumsy camera techniques, and the actors' awkward voice distract the audience. However, the film has a simple but firm storyline which helps the audience to easily follow the story. Thus the audience can easily grasp the main themes of the movie: loyalty, community, enlightenment. In addition to highlighting its main themes, its story clearly carries out its message about Japanese Imperialism.

Homeless Angel

My reaction to watching this movie was inspiring and surprised. I thought the movie would be very corny because it was made in 1941, but the director did an amazing job with the story line and the camera angles. The story started out sad, but as the movie went on it got happier. It was really inspiring how one man was able to save the lives of many children and give them hope for a new life. This movie gave faith to the audience and sent a message to help the need and stick together even though Japan has control of Korea. Overall, the sound and and the editing had minor problems, but i thought the movie was very good!

Homeless Angels

I thought the movie was quite well-made and the storyline wasn't too bad, despite the fact that many scenes probably could not be restored and had to be cut off. However, the ending did strike me in that saluting the Japanese flag had nothing to do with the rest of the story. Anyway, it was interesting to see how the street children could be shaped into responsible kids through love, trust, and discipline. It showed how faith could really affect and change people's fate. Also, I was quite surprised by the setting of the movie, because I had expected the city to be less modernized and developed.

Homeless Angels

My first Impression of this film was that it was very well made compare to films that had effective editing. The quality of the film seemed horrible. However, I really liked it's static shots because it gave me a clear impression of the 1940's. This film was old and was in black and white. Therefore, I admired the importance of the high and low contrast of the lighting. The main focus was not difficult to catch. This is also so because of the constant change in zooming in and out, possibly the depth of field was important too. The constant change to the angle of the frames kept the film interesting. Overall, I liked the movie since the storyline was touching and the film was good compared to how old it was. I learned alot about how Korea was like during the 1940s. The fashion, the difference of the rich and poor, and etc. If I were to criticize, the acting wasn't very good.

Homeless Angels

The film by Ch'oe In-gyu is an interesting propaganda film of Japanese imperialism in Korea. the story follows a man who takes in orphaned boys and teaches them dignity, respect, loyalty and community. The interesting part is that the film encompasses ideas of nationalism by displaying that those who are tainted by the west lose all faith in Korea and only in the final portion of the film does the Japanese imperialist propagnda truly expose itself. The film uses multiple variations in camera shots and movements including long shots and tracking as well as zooms. My reaction to Homeless Angels was that the film was a to be a story about struggling to survive and only by trusting in educated adults (who represent the Japanese via the doctor and the teacher) can these misguided children (the Koreans) learn to survive. Another interesting point in the film is when one of the children went missing after fetching water only to later return with a new kettle because a man had tricked him into selling the old kettle, which, in turns represents this boy's assimiliation to the Japanese notions of community that are constructed in the boarding school. -James Seiling

Homeless Angels

Post your Film Responses here as comments by 9am Monday morning.