I'd noticed Through Korean Cinema in the lineup of Kanopy, the streaming service of the public libraries both in Connecticut and New Jersey. I wasn't enticed. I figured this documentary would simply present information I already knew. Boy was I wrong. Not only did this hour-long film — produced, directed, edited, and scored by Italians (!) — skip over any movies made during the Japanese occupation because, as one critic put it, they weren't truly representative of Korean culture given the oppression, but many of the directors I'd expected to see featured in this movie were not: no Kim Ki-duk, no Bong Joon-ho, no Shin Sang-ok, Im Sang-soo. As for Hong Sang-soo, he gets a passing reference but nothing more. What's going on here!? Well, clearly, I'm about to get educated.
For Through Korean Cinema does showcase five homegrown auteurs of import. Two I confess I did not recognize by name: Park Kwang-su and Lee Myung-se. Checking out my own archives here at Korean Grindhouse, I see I've actually watched one film by the first Park (Meet Mr. Daddy which made me cry buckets). I've also seen a few by Lee, although none I particularly liked. Through Korean Cinema makes me want to give him another shot! As for the directors I did know immediately, Leonardo Cinieri Lombroso's interviews had me seeing these men anew. I had no idea of Im Kwon-taek's prodigious output with well over 100 movies to his credit; or of Lee Chang-dong's self-punishing apprenticeship as an A.D.; or of Park Chan-wook's very first film which was a box office dud. In a little over an hour, my list of "films to watch" has grown quite a bit. Now how do I track down Chilsu and Mansu?
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