Year after year, the Cannes Film Festival offers a growing place for Korean cinema. As Park Chan-Wook presents Decision To Leave at the 75th edition, a look back at 5 outstanding Korean films, all available on Prime Video.
Miss
Park Chan-Wook, whose long-awaited Decision To Leave hits theaters on June 29, is no longer at his first attempt at a thrilling thriller. Revealed to the general public by the success of Old Boy, he offered in 2016 an intense and icy psychological drama: Mademoiselle. The film is a popular and critical success, presented in official competition at the Cannes Film Festival and awarded the BAFTA prize for Best Foreign Language Film.
Under the Japanese occupation of the 1930s, the crook Fujiwara wants to get his hands on the wealth of the wealthy Hideko. He hires Sookee, a thief who must pose as a maid and convince Hideko to marry Fujiwara. Linking twists and turns brilliantly, Mademoiselle is splendid, disturbing and captivating.
Find Mademoiselle on Prime Video.
Last train to Busan
After two animated feature films, The King of Pigs and The Fake, Yeon Sang-Ho directed Last Train to Busan in 2016, his first live action film. The success of this one is resounding, and the film ranks among the best of a very particular genre: the zombie film.
We follow Seok-woo and his daughter, as well as a bunch of travelers, boarding a train that crosses South Korea. A passenger infected with a virus turns into a zombie, and soon there is an eruption of bloodthirsty undead rushing through the cars, while the infection also spreads to every city in the country. Dynamic and supercharged, Last Train to Busan throws us at full speed into a thrilling and breathless chaos.
Watch Last Train to Busan on Prime Video.
Memories of Murder
Before Snowpiercer, Transperceneige, Okja or Parasite, Bong Joon-Ho achieved his first international success in 2003: Memories of Murder. Inspired by sadly real facts, the film retraces the hunt for the serial killer of Hwaseong. This case, one of the biggest legal enigmas in the country, has made a considerable impression.
Against the fascinating backdrop of 1980s South Korea, we follow the opposition between two investigators with diametrically opposed methods, embodied by Song Kang-Ho and Kim Sang-Kyeong. A chilling and masterful thriller, to be placed alongside the best of the genre, and to be seen without hesitation.
Find Memories of Murder on Prime Video.
Snowpiercer, the Transperceneige
Bong Joon-Ho realizes a colossal project with Snowpiercer, the Transperceneige, adaptation of the eponymous comic strip. The director’s first feature film in English, he is reuniting with actor Song Kang-Ho for their third collaboration. Chris Evans, Tilda Swinton and Ed Harris complete the cast of one of the biggest box office hits of 2013.
Humanity, in an effort to counter the effects of global warming, has caused a glacial catastrophe on Earth. The few survivors are crammed into the Transperceneige, a train launched in perpetual motion through the frozen landscapes, and compartmentalized into social classes. Curtis, an exploited worker, will become the leader of the revolution, progressing from wagon to wagon in an escalation of violence. Powerful social metaphor, the film offers thrilling action scenes, and offers a staging with unlimited creativity.
Find Snowpiercer, the Transperceneige on Prime Video.
Thirst, this is my blood
As a mysterious virus ravages Africa, Sang-Hyun, a young priest encamped by Song Kang-Ho, volunteers to experiment with a new vaccine. Declared dead, a blood transfusion attempted as a last resort brings him back to life. But his miraculous recovery has a price: he has become a vampire.
In order to write Thirst, This Is My Blood, Park Chan-Wook draws inspiration from reading the novel Therese Raquin by Emile Zola. As in the original work, he tackles gripping themes such as guilt and spirituality. With astonishing twists, a brutality coupled with a certain melancholy, it successfully dusts off the genre of vampire films.
Find Thirst, This is My Blood on Prime Video.