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| ▲ This photo, provided by Barunson Studio, shows the poster for 'Cobweb.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Lotte Entertainment, shows the poster for 'Concrete Utopia.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ This photo, provided by Megabox Plus M Studio, shows the poster for 'Escape.' (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap) |
SEOUL, Mar. 27 (Yonhap) -- With the 76th Cannes International Film Festival less than two months ahead, there is much attention on whether South Korean-made films, which have been put under a very welcoming spotlight at the Festival by winning two gold medals last year, will be able to take home a trophy.
A number of Korean films, including “Cobweb” directed by Kim Jee-woon, have thrown down the gauntlet. Kim’s film is reckoned as the most likely work to be invited to the festival’s main competition category. The overseas media outlets that publish annual newsletters during the festival, including Screen Daily, wrote that the film, which stars the “Parasite” star Song Kang-ho, is all set to receive the invitation.
Set in the 1970s, “Cobweb” tells the story of a film director, who is obsessed with perfecting one of his old movies – also titled “Cobweb” – deciding to re-film it to change the ending. The director is resolved to even in challenging situations amid the government’s censorship and the cast’s rather disobliging attitude. In addition to the mega-hit star Song Kang-ho, the film stars an array of veteran actors and budding actresses, including Im Soo-jung, Oh Jung-se, Jeon Yeo-bin, and Jung Soo-jung.
Director Kim already visited the festival twice with his “A Bittersweet Life,” starring Lee Byung-hun, and the action film “The Good, the Bad, the Weird” getting invited to the non-competitive category.
Meanwhile, Song, who received invitations from this international film festival seven times and took the Best Actor Award home last year, has been assessed to give a fillip to this long-awaited film.
In the meantime, the upcoming disaster-thriller “Concrete Utopia,” starring Lee Byung-hun, Park Seo-jun, and Park Bo-young, is also one of the highly anticipated films. The film adaptation of the second part of the webtoon “Pleasant Bullying” will tell the story of survivors gathered at the only surviving apartment in the earthquake-hit Seoul.
Director Um Tae-hwa, who is also known as the brother of actor Um Tae-gu, took the helm of this film. Um is one of the biggest South Korean filmmakers who won the grand prize at the Mejangxian Short Film Festival for “Forest” and the Best New Director at the Daejong Film Festival for “Vanishing Time: A Boy Who Returned.”
In addition, director Kim Seong-hoon has also submitted his upcoming film “Hostage” (literal translation), starring Ha Jung-woo and Joo Ji-hoon. Set in 1986, the film is loosely based on the appalling incident of a South Korean diplomat being held hostage for 21 months in Lebanon. Director Kim, who was invited to the festival’s Director’s Week for his “A Hard Day,” took the helm.
Moreover, “Escape,” which tells the story of a North Korean soldier with a dream of escaping from his homeland and a North Korean officer who tries to stop him from executing his escape plan, has also made a submission for the upcoming festival. Starring Lee Je-hoon and Koo Kyo-hwan, director Lee Jong-pil, who is best known for directing the comedy-drama film “Samjin Company English Class,” took the helm.
Despite such highly anticipated submissions, the South Korean film industry expected a rather dismal future for domestic films at this year’s festival: Although the festival has not yet announced its official selection list for this year, the industry has read the room and sensed a slightly different ambiance compared to that of last year.
“At this time last year, many expected that either director Park Chan-wook’s “Decision to Leave” or Koreeda Hirokazu’s “Broker” would receive an invitation. However, it seems like this year’s submissions are not as highly anticipated as those of last year,” an official from the film industry shared one’s thought. “Although we still have our fingers crossed, the industry is not as enthusiastic as before.”
This year’s Cannes Film Festival is scheduled to be held from May 16 to 27.
(This article is translated from Korean to English by Ha eun Lee)
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