Beautiful Korean movies
A taxi driver
택시운전사, Jang Hoon (2017)
Set in South Korea in 1980, the film stars taxi driver Kim who one day decides to take a German photojournalist to Gwangju to film the military repression of a group of rioting students.
It is taken from a fact that really happened.
Ferro 3 - La casa vuota
빈 집, Kim Ki-duk (2004)
The protagonist (whose name is not indicated during the movie) enters the house of a couple where he establishes a romantic relationship with the girl who lives there. The two decide to flee together but their adventure gets interrupted by the police.
A visionary film, about love and loneliness.
Il prigioniero coreano
그물, Kim Ki-duk (2016)
Nam Chul-woo is a North Korean fisherman who accidentally ends up in South Korea with his boat. Interviews and various vicissitudes follow, aimed at showing the differences (or similarities) of the two countries divided at the 38th parallel.
Lady Vendetta
친절한 금자씨, Park Chan-wook (2005)
The final film of the "revenge trilogy" (along with Mr. Vendetta and Old Boy), sees Lee Geum-ja as the protagonist, a girl accused of having kidnapped and killed a six-year-old boy. After thirteen years in prison she is ready to take revenge.
La Samaritana
사마리아, Kim Ki-duk (2004)
The film tells the story of two friends and business associates Jae-Young and Yeo-Jin who, in order to earn money to go to Europe, engage in prostitution. During a police raid, one of the two girls is injured in the head, dying shortly thereafter. The second girl's father, a policeman, discovers her daughter's "turnover".
Mademoiselle
아가씨, Park Chan-wook (2016)
Inspired by Sarah Waters' novel Thief (1862) set in London, the film is instead set in 1930s South Korea in full Japanese occupation.
Sook-hee is a pickpocket who manages to get hired at rich Hideko's home.
An artistic film, full of twists and technically incredible.
Moebius
뫼비우스, Kim Ki-duk (2013)
Deeply violent, controversial film with incest scenes, so much so that it was censored in Korea.
Mr. Vendetta
복수는 나의 것, Park Chan-wook (2002)
Ryu is a deaf and dumb young man willing to do anything to help his sick sister get a kidney transplant. However, he is duped by a group of organ traffickers. He therefore decides to take revenge.
This film is part of the "revenge trilogy" (along with Old boy and Lady Vendetta).
Old boy
올드보이, Park Chan-wook (2003)
In 1988 Dae-su is kidnapped and locked in a room for ten years, after which he is mysteriously released. During the rediscovery of the outside world he meets Mi-do: the two fall in love and decide to be together. Dae-su will soon discover that he is the victim of a subtle and well-conceived plan of revenge.
This film is part of the "revenge trilogy" (along with Lady Vendetta and Mr. Vendetta).
Parasite
기생충 , Bong Joon-ho (2019)
Kim family lives in a dingy, dingy basement. They manage to get hired by the wealthy Park family, who are unaware of the humble origins of the new employees. The situation falls vertically when the Kims discover a mysterious inhabitant of the foundations of the Park mansion.
In my opinion, it is one of the best movies that South Korea has produced in recent years, a concentration of class struggle, social immobility, contemporary history, suspense and satire. Simply a masterpiece that, not surprisingly, has won four Oscars.
Pietà
피에타, Kim Ki-duk (2012)
Set in South Korea in 2012, the film tells the story of Kang-do, a young orphan who works for a loan shark. One day he meets a woman who claims to be his mother: from this background his life changes.
Primavera, estate, autunno, inverno... e ancora primavera
봄 여름 가을 겨울 그리고 봄, Kim Ki-duk (2003)
Film divided into five segments that match the seasons of the title and deals with the last phase of the life of a Buddhist monk who lives in a hermitage, in an uncontaminated forest.
The housemaid
하녀, Im Sang-soo (2010)
Remake of the 1960 South Korean film Hanyeo.
It tells the story of Eun-yi, a young girl who manages to be taken as a housekeeper at the home of a wealthy family. Popular with everyone, the girl enters into a sexual relationship with her landlord. When she becomes pregnant, her mistress discovers her husband's betrayal and goes to great lengths to make Eun-yi lose the baby.
