My current obsession with korean movies started with some very different films: The actionthrillers SHIRI,NOWHERE TO HIDE and the romantic comedy MY SASSY GIRL.
Here is a list with them and my other korean favorites (in no particular order).
Thriller
SHIRI - The first korean thriller I saw, and it showed me that Hollywood and Hong Kong had no monopoly on exciting action
NOWHERE TO HIDE - A very exciting and fast cops-and-robbers flick, that left me on the edge of my seat for most of the running time. Very stylish filmed.
JSA / OLD BOY / SYMPATHY FOR MRS. VENGEANCE - Everything by Park Chan-wook is fine with me, but I loved JSA the most. Song Kang-Ho (star of THE HOST) is very strong here - but so are all the actors.
Comedies/Romances
MY SASSY GIRL - This one started a whole genre in Korea - and my love for romantic comedies (romcoms for short). This sort of amour fou is in turns sweet, funny, melodramatic, bizarre und completely enjoyable.
THE HARMONIUM IN MY MEMORY - A 10 year old film with Jeon Do-Yeon, who just won "Best Actress" in Cannes. After seeing this film and MY MOTHER THE MERMAID I became a fan of Jeon.
MY WIFE IS A GANGSTER - Funny with great action scenes and a clever script. There is a plot twist near the end that I don't care for much, but altoghether one of the best korean gangster-comedies. (The two sequels are quite a bit weaker)
IL MARE - Was remade as THE LAKE HOUSE with Sandra Bullock and master-thespian Keanu Reeves, but the original is so much better. Very romantic and well written, and the fantastic element is well integrated.
ALL FOR LOVE - I'm sucker for LOVE ACTUALLY, and this is a similar but, in my mind, superior film.
ATTACK THE GAS STATION - If Tarantino were korean and in a very playful mood...
TWO COPS 1 + 2 - Not your typical buddy-movies. The first is with Ahn Sung-Kee and Park Joong-hoon (two of my favorite actors) and has some biting humor. The second still has Park and more humor than satire.
Horror
MEMENTO MORI - Best of the "Whispering Corridors" movies
A TALE OF TWO SISTERS - Great, disturbing horrorthriller
R-POINT - Cool mix of war movie and horror
SAVE THE GREEN PLANET - Bizarre and often spine-tingling
That's it - my favorite korean movies. I'm sure i mist some important ones, but what the heck. And then there are some, that probably would be in the list, if had seen them yet. I have, for instance, high hopes for KING AND THE CLOWN, I'M A CYBORG, BUT THAT'S OK and THIS CHARMING GIRL.
I'll let you know how I liked them, as soon as I had time to see them.
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