Top Ten Movies of 2021 (Sort of)

The best of the year list is built on the idea that the best is inherently memorable but is that the truth? Might some wonderful things prove completely ephemeral? What if certain types of enjoyment imprint less permanently in the mind? And while no one is saying that unforgettable equals great — the theme song of Pinkfong & Baby Shark's Space Adventure alone proves otherwise — these annual roundups are created from the films that stick. I may have seen better in 2021. I can't remember.

1. A Taxi Driver (2017): This Song Kang-ho vehicle speaks to the times by showing how hard it is to convince people of uncomfortable political realities, even when they're driving right through them.

2. The Fortress (2017): The self-absorbed ruling class has always been willing to shed the blood of the poor as witnessed by a diplomat (Lee Byung-hun) and a military advisor (Kim Yoon-seok) in this Qing Dynasty epic.

3. Minari (2020): Lee Isaac Chung's Oscar-winning immigrant story about farmers and bedwetting is grounded by exquisite performances from Youn Yuh-Jung as a cheeky granny and Alan S. Kim as her adorable grandson.

4. Sweet & Sour (2021): What starts off as a giddy rom-com about a chubby guy (Lee Woo-je) and an overworked nurse (Chae Soo-bin) turns into a harsh drama about a couple unable to find time for each other.

5. Little Forest (2018): In this late coming-of-age story, much is conveyed through drying persimmons and frying cabbage pancakes or hand-delivering some creme brulee to a friend.

6. School Excursion (1969): Sampling Yoo Hyun-mok's rich filmography, I was repeatedly enchanted, especially with this episodic movie about a teacher's journey into the big city with his small town charges.

7. Enter the Invincible (1977): I vaciliated between this one and action hero Dragon Lee's more fashionably attired Kung Fu Fever but this movie's evil triad is too irresistable not to pick.

8. My Bossy Girl (2019): No one's saying that life isn't hard but can't we have two frolicsome hours of rom-com that culminate in a win-win-win in an archery match conducted from a wheelchair?

9. Seashore Village (1965): This black-and-white classic is oncrete proof that Korea has been making world-class cinema for at least 50 years.

10. Coin Locker Girl (2015): While the life of crime that lies ahead for our dear "coin girl" is hardly unexpected, the hyperviolent stops along the way are repeatedly thrilling.

Just Missed the List: The Swindlers (2017), Moby Dick (2011), The Suspect (2013), and A Distant Place (2020).

Seashore Village: The Merry Widow

Shamefully uneducated in the Korean language, I'm fully aware that I repeatedly miss nuances in Korean films. In the award-winning Seashore Village, for instance, one English subtitle reads "It's a boy" but the actual dialogue is "It's got a penis" — something I'd have missed without my current Korean-American love interest. There's a big difference between those two statements extending way beyond mere Americanization. What other phrases got expurgated in the name of decency, I don't know. But translation gets complicated when what's acceptable becomes a shaping factor. Considering Seashore Village revolves around the sexual bond between a widow (Ko Eun-a) and her second husband (Shin Yeong-gyun), I'd hazard a guess that other frank statements have been "cleaned up" in the name of propriety. What can't be hidden, however, is the couple's explicit physical connection, something which guides much of the action — sometimes delightfully, sometimes disturbingly. (Also, inescapable is a lighthearted lesbian tryst between two minor characters who, far from reviled, are viewed as a subject of merriment by the local women.)

Shot in a fable-making black and white yet feeling incredibly contemporary, from its haircuts to its moral relativism, Kim Soo-young's 1965 classic Seashore Village feels equally archival and anticipatory, like an unintentionally modern artwork that nods to rape culture, Stockholm syndrome, gynocentric communities, shamanism, gender norms, and a back-to-nature movement as if such components were always an unavoidable part of life. And they were. And they are. With exceptional performances from its two leads, Seashore Village is concrete proof that Korea has been making world-class cinema for at least 50 years; what an invaluable service the Korean Film Archive provide us by showing us as much on YouTube!

The Divine Fury: Shadowman, Mixed Martial Artist

The ostensible leading man for fright flick The Divine Fury is Park Seo Jun who plays Yong Hoo, a traumatized mixed martial artist who discovers mid-career, he's got a gift at fighting demons. Yong Hoo has a troubled past, however. After he loses his father (Lee Seung-joon) in a car accident caused by a Satanic serpent sectarian, he becomes a metaphorical killing machine in the MMA cages where his rage against the world — and the church — has earned him world champion status. Life's not all big gold belts and sponsorship money for our hero, though. He's an empty shell of a man plagued by mysterious stigmata that often erupt while he sleeps ruining countless top sheets and pillows at the finest hotels.

This malady drives him to seek help first from the medical establishment where doctors acknowledge he has a skin wound but can't fathom its underlying cause. Their stupefication leads him to consult a friend's psychic sister (Jo Eun-hyung) who directs him to follow a cross (quite literally) which leads him to his salvation in the shape of Father Ahn (Ahn Sung-ki). Ahn is a middle-aged exorciser who appears in better shape than his soon-to-be disciple. He's world-weary, tireless, and speaks Italian and Latin as well as Korean. In short, he's cooler than his charge and should've been the lead. Perhaps guided by the wisdom of age, he accepts second billing and celebrates his mentee's preternatural abilities at casting out evil spirits. Will the two be able to defeat the cult leader and disco entrepreneur (Woo Do-hwan) with his self-inflicted wounds, voodoo dolls, and Aquaman jumpsuit? Well, the thing about the Devil is you know he's always capable of making an encore.