Special K-drama

Those lining up like starving cinephiles for Shangri-La Plaza’s “Cine Europa Film Festival” last week now have another event to flock to: the Korean Film Festival runs from Sept. 24 to 29 at Shang Cineplex Cinema 3, bringing a wide array of contempo Korean filmmaking. Not just weepy, sappy K-drama, but edgy fare like the festival opener, Old Boy, will highlight six decades of cultural relations between South Korea and the Philippines.

Adapted from a Japanese graphic novel series, Old Boy (showing at festival opening, Wednesday, Sept. 24, 6 p.m.) concerns a man kidnapped and imprisoned for 15 years without explanation. Upon release, he is given clothes, money and a cell phone, but soon learns that his kidnapper is not done with him yet. This Cannes winner surely will add meat to the festival opening.

Shangri-La Plaza is once again doing film lovers a service by staging (with the help of the Korean Embassy here, of course) a free festival, open to all international film lovers. Does this help add to Shangri-La’s mall attendance? Of course it does. What better way to lure people to a mall than free movies? Naturally, patrons must line up for their free passes, but a savvy film viewer could catch three or more movies in a row at Cineplex — all for free.

Shangri-La Cineplex has become a beacon for international film fests, holding inspired runs of new and classic movies from France, Japan, silent film (with accompanying live musical performances — one of the only times the festival is not free) and an upcoming Italian film festival.

And for those who still see Korean film only as horror fare like The Host or Korean dramas loaded with sappy romances, it’s time to broaden your perspective. The festival features Driving with My Wife’s Lover which won triple awards in 2007 in the Sundance International Film Fest, International Film Festival Rotterdam and the Belgrade International Film Festival; Korean Film Award winner in 2006 Forbidden Quest is an historical comedy that follows the journey of writer Yun-Seo, a man born into a life of privilege. He decides to become the best erotic author of his time, creating palace intrigues as his work increases in popularity; The Show Must Go On is a dramatic film that revolves around the life of gangster In-gu, who dreams of nothing but moving his family out of their crowded apartment into a more spacious home; and Barking Dogs Never Bite is a satirical film about a lazy university lecturer who is driven around the bend by the constant yapping of a dog in their apartment block, as he sets out to restore his world to silence.

More typically romantic fare can be found in Beyond the Years in which Dong-ha and Song-hwa, siblings adopted separately by singer Yu-Bong, fall in love; and Sa-Kwa, a 2005 romantic drama that was shown to media last week.

A cut above the usual K-drama outing, Sa-Kwa tells the story of Hyun-jung, a young professional who is callously dumped by her boyfriend of seven years. She vows to find a new suitor quickly to replace him, and ends up falling in love with the most unlikely man in her office building; not surprisingly, her ex-boyfriend soon appears to try to win her back. What lifts Sa-Kwa (which translates in English to both “apple” and “apology”) slightly above the K-drama arena is the focus on characters’ real choices and consequences. There’s no fairy-tale ending here, though there are plenty of bad (and avoidable) choices. It takes its bittersweet time in establishing the relationship between Hyun-jung (Moon So-ri) and Sang-hoon (Kim Tae-Woo), though the details seem vaguely reminiscent of Filipino culture and tradition — the imploring mother character, up at all hours making maki rolls, urging her daughter to get a job and stop wasting her life; the packed baon for road trips; the misty mountain provinces not unlike Baguio. Behind it all is a clear picture of the dilemmas of Korean romance. Sa-Kwa runs a bit long, but after the vinegary taste of love washed down with regret and apology, you can follow it up by watching a ripping, gristly yarn like Old Boy. Meat and vinegar: sounds a lot like Korean cuisine.

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Admission to the Korean Film Fest at Shangri-La Plaza’s Cineplex is free. For film schedules and other inquiries, call 633-7851 loc.113 or log on to www.shangrila-plaza.com.