I certainly wasn't able to see all that many, but from the films I saw with the exception of one, it was a stronger year for Korean films at the festival in terms of world premieres. In the 21st edition, while there were some films of the non-Korean variety I was keen on seeing such as the "Psycho" documentary "78/52" and the acclaimed horror film "Raw," for the first time I was adamant on catching Korean genre films at BIFAN.įor the most part, it paid off.
#COFFEE NOIR BLACK BROWN KOREAN MOVIE MOVIE#
Jason Bechervaise is a movie columnist for The Korea Times.A scene from "Coffee Noir: Black Brown" starring Cho Soo-hyun and directed by Chang Hyun-sang./ Courtesy of BIFANīUCHEON _ In recent years I have been inclined to pick non-Korean films at the Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) because the selection of foreign films tended to be stronger. It was a very welcome surprise and certainly worth checking out for those who want to watch something entertaining and unique. With its young cast, and young director this is a wonderful and creative example of a film that finds laughter, horror and thrills in the most unusual yet also eerily familiar of situations that documents their struggles. In February of this year, youth unemployment in Korea reached a staggering 12.3 percent according to Statistics Korea. But it is rather telling that the employees of this coffee shop are young and faced with a situation where the system appears to fail them. It is not difficult to see the parallels to current day issues where corruption remains a problem underscored by the presidential scandal that erupted last year. It quickly becomes apparent that as Ju-won, along with her endearing colleagues, fight against the system to ensure their survival, the new restrictions on coffee are being fully exploited to fuel rampant corruption. Seemingly influenced by the era of prohibition that was captured in Brian De Palma's "The Untouchables," the film follows Ju-won (Cho Soo-hyang) a cafe owner who is determined to keep her premises open refusing to allow gangs to control her business as they seek to take advantage of the decaffeinated coffee market. Yes, no coffee, which would be disastrous for the thousands of cafes that are located throughout the country and for those who can't live without it. More of a surprise was "Coffee Noir: Black Brown" which is not a hardcore genre film given the lack of gore, but is certainly bizarre, fascinating and often hilarious.ĭirected by Chang Hyun-sang ("Kissing Cousin"), the film is set in a time when coffee is banned.
It is not as polished as it could be, but it remains engaging throughout, while Shin Ha-kyun leads a solid cast. On the whole, it is competently staged, taking advantage of the confinements of space. Things start to liven up, but things take a turn for the worse when the unexpected happens leading to a struggle between the owner and Tae-jung. He hires a new part-timer to join his team that also consists of Tae-jung who is buried in student loan debt. In order to make a living, he works as a chauffeur, but is determined to sell the shop as soon as possible but ensuring he gets the highest amount for it. Shin Ha-kyun plays an entrepreneur who runs a DVD shop in a once-prospering but now somewhat dead shopping district. 7" works well combining elements of a comedic nature with more thrilling moments. Indeed, the concept of a film largely set in a DVD room sounded like an intriguing one.Īlthough it didn't quite deliver in the same way as a film called "Karaoke Crazies" that was released in June and predominately set in a Karaoke bar, tonally "Room No. Therefore, it seemed like there was enough strong pedigree involved to warrant attention.
Directed by Lee Yong-Seung who made the impressive "10 Minutes," it was produced by Myung Films headed by influential film producer Sim Jae-myung. The one I was most eager to see was "Room No. A scene from "Coffee Noir: Black Brown" starring Cho Soo-hyun and directed by Chang Hyun-sang./ Courtesy of BIFANīUCHEON _ In recent years I have been inclined to pick non-Korean films at the Bucheon International Film Festival (BIFAN) because the selection of foreign films tended to be stronger.
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