Top Ten Korean Movies of 2017 (Sort of)

Followers of my blog — and I know you're out there... somewhere — may have noticed this year that not only did I review more documentaries than usual but I also watched a goodly number of North Korean movies (thanks to the discovery of the DPRK Video Archive on YouTube). And while only one North Korean film made my final list, two missed it by a hairsbreadth: Wolmi Island and O Youth! . Who knows what next year has in store?!

1. The Drop Box: Although their existence is apparently nothing new, I was unfamiliar with drop boxes f.k.a. foundling wheels which allow mothers to anonymously give up unwanted babies without questioning or judgment. This documentary on one in South Korea kind of blew my mind.

2. A Good Rain Knows: Director Hur Jin-ho's wondrous little romance wastes no time in getting to the heart of the matter: Former lovers Dong-ha (Jung Woo-sung) and May (Gao Yuanyuan) are meant for each other.

3. The Lovers & the Despot: A world-class director (Shin Sang-ok) and his muse/ex-wife (Choi Eun-hee) are kidnapped by the North Korean government and forced to make movies. Sounds implausible. And yet it's reality. (This is a documentary, after all.)

4. Man on High Heels: Unable to imagine continuing a career in the police department post-op, the department's fiercest officer (who happens to be trans) has visions of escaping to a new life. Naturally, complications arise.

5. Nameless Gangster: You have to admire acting legend Choi Min-sik's willingness to not only play, but revel in playing, such a thoroughly unlikable, amoral, sleazy character this late in his career without even the hint of a wink to the audience.

6. Okja: The ever-dependable, oh-so-imaginative auteur Bong Joon-ho is back in fine form with this heart-pounding parable about the inhumanity of the meat industry that will turn anyone with a heart into a vegan... at least for a week.

7. Order No. 027: O Youth! was a zany sitcom; Centre Forward, a rousing sports flick; Wolmi Island, an unexpectedly feminist war pic. But the best of the North Korean movies this year was this espionage thriller which had good fight scenes and a strong female lead.

8. Red Carpet: This incredibly wise romantic comedy — set in the world of low-budget porn — knows how hard it is to shrug off imposed shame and stay true to your heart.

9. The Silenced: This movie about an all-girls school run by Japanese scientists with military backing has all the makings of a classic B-movie. And it delivers on that front and then some.

10. The Wailing: When it comes to horror movies, some like witches, some like devils, and some like zombies. For those who reply "all of the above" when asked to pick a preference, this movie is for you.

The Wailing: Taking Its Time to Meet the Devil

The Wailing is that type of horror movie that takes its own sweet time building its world and then doesn't back down from its supernatural elements by trying to write them off as psychological aberrations. No. Ghosts, shamans, satan, and zombies are all very much real in Na Hong-jin's small-town world. And what starts off as a series of disturbing deaths — are they murders, suicides, fatal-disease-caused-by-a-mushroom victims, who can say? — are soon revealed to be part of a larger battle between good and evil. Or, to be honest, us and evil, after acknowledging that we're actually not so good. When the teams are defined that way, evil feels like it has an unfair advantage. But isn't that what we've suspected all along? God help us indeed!

And poor, unlucky Jong-goo (an excellent Kwak Do-won) definitely needs some help! Because he's just a local cop, a cheating husband, a doting father, and a scaredy cat. He's not ready to take on the devil when the dark underlord decides to take possession of the body of his daughter (Kim Hwan-hee)? If that's even what's going on! Definitely, the Japanese guy (Jun Kunimura) is creepy. As is that young woman (Chun Woo-hee) in white who keeps showing up and acting all strange. Yet does it go to follow that they're actually agents of Hell? Should he go along with his mother-in-law (Her Jin) and have an exorcism performed? Even if it drives the little girl crazy? Why isn't that skinny priest who is the cousin (Kim Do-yoon-I) of his partner more help? Can the shaman (a superb Hwang Jung-min) be trusted? I completely understand why he'd round up his friends to attack the enemy but next time, bring something more lethal than gardening tools!

This is only the third feature film by the director Na but man, what a great track record he's got. The other two are The Chaser and The Yellow Sea, both of which made my best of lists at the end of the years I saw them. This one is definitely going to be a contender for 2017, even if we are only one week in.