Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong 

'초록 물고기', '박하사탕', '오아시스', '밀양', '시', '버닝'

'여행자'(우니 르콩트 감독), '도희야'(줄리 정 감독)

4월 5일-4월 27일

메트로그래프 시어터, NYC 

맨해튼 로어이스트사이드의 메트로그래프 시어터(Metrograph Theatre, No.7 Ludlow St. New York City)가 4월 5일부터 4월 27일까지 이창동 감독 회고전 'Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong'을 연다.

이번 회고전에선 이창동 감독의 '초록 물고기'(Green Fish, 1997) '박하사탕'(Peppermint Candy, 1999), '오아시스'(Oasis, 2002), '밀양'(Secret Sunshine, 2007), '시'(Poetry, 2010), '버닝'(Burning, 2018)과 그가 제작한 입양한인 우니 르콩트(Ouni Lecomte) 감독의 '여행자(A Brand New Life, 2009)'와 줄리 정의(July Jung)의 '도희야 (A Girl at My Door, 2014)'가 상영된다.

1954년 대구에서 태어난 이창동 감독은 경북대 사대 국어교육과 졸업 후 신일고교 교사로 재직했다. 1983년 동아일보 신춘문예에 소설 '전리'가 당선되며 등단했으며, 1992년 '녹천에는 똥이 많다'로 한국일보 창작문학상을 수상했다. 1993년 박광수 감독의 '그섬에 가고 싶다'의 시나리오 작가 겸 조연출을 맡으며 영화계에 입문했다. 1995년 박광수 감독의 '아름다운 청년 전태일'로 백상예술대상 각본상을 받았다. 

1997년 자작 시나리오 '초록 물고기'로 감독 데뷔한 후 '박하사탕'(1999), '오아시스'(2002), '밀양'(2007), '시'(2010), '버닝'(2018)을 연출하면서 제작자로도 일해왔다. '박하사탕'은 대종상 작품, 감독, 각본상, '오아시스'는 베니스영화제 감독상, '밀양'으로 칸영화제 각본상을 수상했다. 제 40대 문화관광부 장관(2003-2004)을 지내기도 했다. 

https://metrograph.com

*하루키 원작, 이창동 걸작 '버닝(Burning)' ★★★★☆

https://www.nyculturebeat.com/index.php?mid=Film2&document_srl=3743565

NOVEL ENCOUNTERS: THE FILMS OF LEE CHANG-DONG

April 5th until April 27th

Metrograph Theater, NYC (No.7 Ludlow St.)

New York’s Metrograph Theater is proud to announce the details of Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong, their upcoming retrospective headlined by the New York Premieres of four new 4K restorations of Lee Chang-dong's directorial works; Green Fish (1997), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002), and Poetry (2010). The series begins April 5th and also includes Lee’s critically acclaimed Burning, South Korea’s entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, and his 2007 Cannes Award-Winning Secret Sunshine, alongside a filmmaker-curated duo of his most celebrated and valued writing and producing efforts: Ouni Lecomte’s A Brand New Life and July Jung’s A Girl at My Door. Each restoration title, which are being released by Film Movement Classics in North America, will have a week-long run at the esteemed Lower East Side repertory and first-run cinema, marking their US Theatrical Premieres.

Filmmaker, playwright, and novelist, Lee Chang-dong has been a vital force in South Korean culture since the publication of his first novel, Chonri, in 1983. After breaking into the film industry as the screenwriter and assistant director of Park Kwang-su’s 1993 To the Starry Island, Lee matriculated to the post of director with Green Fish, and with that film and his five subsequent features, established himself as both a brilliantly understated delineator of character and a quietly outraged chronicler of the afflictions of South Korean society. Metrograph looks forward to surveying the brilliant career of one of South Korea’s supreme artists with these brilliant new 4K restorations. 

“We are thrilled to present a retrospective of Lee Chang-dong's outstanding body of work, celebrating him as one of the most esteemed auteurs in contemporary cinema,” said Metrograph’s Director of Programming Inge de Leeuw. “Each film in this retrospective delves into the profound complexities of the human condition. As big admirers of his filmmaking, we are delighted to bring his compassionate films to the big screen and we are proud to work with the North American distributor Film Movement to present the restored versions of his early films to our audiences, offering a unique opportunity to experience the depth of his storytelling in the cinematic realm.”

“It brings me great delight and thrill to hold my retrospective at the esteemed Metrograph, renowned as a cherished haven for cinephiles in New York,” said Lee Chang-dong. “The six films curated for this retrospective each serve as vessels for my earnest contemplations on life, society, and humanity, each in their own way. I hope that as you, the audience, engage with these films, you may ponder these questions and find your own answers.”

Already established as a novelist and playwright, Lee’s spectacularly assured first feature Green Fish, a scourging commentary on South Korean society dressed up in film noir trappings, cemented itself as one of the more auspicious debuts in the history of South Korean cinema. In his sophomore follow-up, Peppermint Candy, which premiered as the opening night film at the Busan International Film Festival and took numerous awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Lee masterfully explored a character study that doubled as an allegorical history delivered in form-challenging reverse-chronology, spanning from the ’70s to the close of the ’90s—years of enormous transformation in South Korea. Oasis, his third feature, a psychological drama romance starring Sul Kyung-gu (Memoir of a Murderer, Peppermint Candy) and Moon So-ri (The Handmaiden) was a breakout hit upon premiere, taking the Silver Lion for Best Direction, a Special Director's prize, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Emerging Actor or Actress for Moon So-ri, among other accolades, at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, and would go on to end its illustrious festival and release run with a Best International Film nomination at the 20th Independent Spirit Awards. The quartet of restorations of vital South Korean cinema to screen at the theater, which Lee wrote in addition to directing, is completed by the penetrating drama Poetry, which was awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2010 and was conceived as a starring vehicle for Yun Jung-hee, a leading light of the ’60s and ’70s South Korean cinema, who went on to win Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for her performance.

“Film Movement is proud to present restorations of Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, and Poetry to North American audiences this spring,” says Film Movement Director of Exhibition Erin Farrell. “All four films explore themes of love, isolation, and tragedy with profound depth of feeling unique to director Lee, who represents a major voice in both South Korean and international cinema. We could not have asked for a better partner in bringing these restorations to NY audiences than Metrograph, and are incredibly excited to have them premiere as part of this retrospective on Lee’s career.”

In 2015, Film Movement launched Film Movement Classics, dedicated to seeking out distinctive films of the past from some of contemporary cinema’s most inimitable auteurs. The reissue label features new restorations released theatrically as well as on digital platforms, Blu-ray, and DVD, including films by such noted directors as Chen Kaige, Peter Greenaway, Bille August, Marleen Gorris, Takeshi Kitano, Arturo Ripstein, King Hu, Sergio Corbucci, Luchino Visconti, and many others. Recently, the label released the uncut 4K restoration of Farewell My Concubine for its 30th Anniversary. Other restored cinematic gems in the Film Movement Classic library include Stanley Kwan’s Hong Kong New Wave classic Center Stage, Bruno Baretto’s Dona Flor And Her Two Husbands, Takeshi Kitano’s classics Hana-Bi and Boiling Point, Fritz Lang’s Indian Epic, a two-part cliffhanger serial from 1959 including The Tiger Of Eschnapur and The Indian Tomb, Ang Lee’s debut feature Pushing Hands, and the newly-restored Sundance Award winner The Killing Floor, an essential piece of Black and cinema history directed by Bill Duke, and more.

Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong will run from April 5th until April 27th with select encore screenings to follow.