(by Alex John)
It was my naive day dream that Indian cinema will set the globe on fire, and my close-to-reality expectation that Japanese cinema would, particularly after the global hits like ‘Your name’. But now, as we all know, it is Korean* cinema that is all set to do this. The surge in popularity of Korean films over the last decade was so amazing that it toppled an almost a century old tradition of not giving the best picture Oscar to a non-English language movie. The fame of Korean cinema has traveled to such an extent that it has become quite a big thing even in the small towns of India. Now,what I am going to write about is this. Korean cinema reminds me how gratifying the 20th century American films was to me as it was to any average youngster of that time. About how passionate and heartfelt those films were. How does it do that?Let me do a bullet point analysis on why I think present-day Korean cinema is in vicinity to the 20th century Hollywood,both artistically and aesthetically.
● Korean cinema, so far, has refrained from the CGI overkill.
Yes, CGI still rules the roost when it comes to box office returns, but a lot of us are still interested in the ‘human’ element in movies;about what people do and what is done to them. And such audience members in the west are apparently taking themselves more into movies than they did in the recent past. This is evident in the rise of live action movies in the last year and in the way those films made us feel their presence despite locking horns with CGI biggies like Avengers:End game. Korean Cinema, by choice or not, churn out a large number of live action dramas/thrillers those remind us of the 80s’ and 90s’ Hollywood action flicks that had humans as leading characters, not fillers between action scenes. Film-goers who are exhausted by the technological bombardment seemingly have found solace in these Korean films along with the mild but hopeful resurgence of live-action cinema in the west. Movie lovers from around the world who have considered American cinema as an indispensable source of entertainment might find an easy substitute in Korean/Asian films,in fact a growing trend already.
● Korean films can be hearty and grisly at the same time.
This is something Hollywood struggles to achieve these days. The line between the comfy family friendly region and the offbeat grittiness grows thicker over the course of time. In fact, Hollywood has lost the guts and glory of it’s counterculture days. Could any of its mainstream films nowadays match the terrifying realism of Bonnie and Clyde?Could any of those films now afford the emotional ambiguity of the rape scene in Straw dogs?Agreed, pleasing mass market sensibilities is vital to any film industry, but American cinema has gone so far with this that its films hardly cater to adults anymore. Here’s when Korean films come into picture. Of course, they have their own brand of pulp(see films like The great battle,7 days etc.), but most Korean films have a clad of steel around their mushy core that excites anybody who takes the art of cinema seriously. Films like I saw the devil,Memories of murder, The wailing,No mercy etc.(and a lot more) are in fact emotional marshlands, and wading through them could be tough as hell. In this sense Korean cinema reminds me of the 1970s’ Hollywood-the one that some of us miss nowadays
● Korean cinema is the new home to film-noir.
Lavishly celebrated in the 1940s and 50s and rigorously revolutionized in the 1970s, film-noir has been fading away ever since and is more or less forgotten in the blockbuster era of Hollywood. But Koreans found it and groomed it into being a most integral part of their mainstream cinema. Films like The chaser, I saw the devil, Old boy and Memories of murder(and umpteen other films) are the prime examples of modern film-noir, whose characters efficiently sidestep the tedious stereotypes. I would say Korean noir is closer to those black and white sizzlers of Hollywood in making good use of popular actors and great directors, and closer to the reformist thrillers of the 70s in exploiting the liberal aspects of the times they are made in. Most of the Korean films are dark, gritty, uncompromising and unflinching, and anybody who is in love with movies should find them uplifting from an artistic standpoint. I mean, that’s what film-noir is supposed to do isn’t it? It is meant to remind us that cinema is not all about one-dimensional entertainment, and Koreans undoubtedly are bearing the torch of gutsy,realistic cinema these days.
● Korean cinema hasn’t forsaken romance like Hollywood has now.
Try and see how many memorable romantic flicks you can think off the top of your head from the last decade alone, and you’ll realize what a barren wasteland American cinema has become of romantic cinema. Of course, the Titanic days are long behind, but poignant love stories are so few are far between even in these days that you’ll wonder if the filmmakers of Hollywood has forgotten that such a genre exists. And whatever happened to the money-minting, fizzier version of romance, the beloved rom-com? See, I am not particularly inclined towards romantic films, but aren’t they one of the cutest reasons why we keep coming back to movies?Well, like film-noir, the romantic genre too has been seemingly picked up by Korean cinema from where it was left off by Hollywood. K-romance started getting my attention from the chirpy My sassy girl, and there started a terrific journey through its various sub-genres only to find me amazed at the routes romantic films can be taken through(Koreans have a real knack of blending romance with horror and comedy). Films like My sassy girl, A moment to remember, Thirst and 3-Iron are some of the unmissable Korean romantic flicks of the 21st century. These films prove my point that Korean romantic films score where Hollywood scruples, at least for now.
● Korean cinema still has stars around.
Again something that Hollywood has gotten rid of, like the old school romance. This is something I miss the most in today’s American movies (you could argue Hollywood still has stars,but does somebody actually care about them?) I know that the supremacy of film stars is as incapacitating to any film industry as the domineering studios that rule Hollywood now, but movie stars lend a human touch to the extravaganzas they act in. They are often a comforting presence that we…okay, I’ll stop waffling about. I am just that old fashioned guy you know who love movie stars more than studio flicks and computer effects, and Korean cinema have plenty of those stars. Of course,the Indian style deification of stars or Hollywood’s fame and reach are somethings they are miles away from, but Korean movie stars can pack a solid punch in the leading roles they are cast in. Here, Korean cinema faces an enviable challenge;the stardom of its stars is often overshadowed by the quality of its films, at least from an international viewpoint. Yet, the stars like Ma Dong-seok(whom I am a big fan of),Kim Yoon-seok, Lee Jong-suk and Gong-Yoo enjoy popularity in Korea as any star did in the old,starlit Hollywood.
Let me wrap this up by saying this;Hollywood is still entertaining us, and will keep doing so, but I feel that the effortless passion that kept me hooked on to its films once is gradually withering away. I can’t really say Korean movies are filling in for it, but are definitely supplementing the lack of, I would say, the piquancy that Hollywood or any other international cinema suffers from lately. With all its grit and zeal,yes, Korean cinema makes me miss the vintage Hollywood, sometimes badly. And I believe it could be the new haven for the lovers of profound and realistic movies. Like I wrote before, something that the old-fashioned Hollywood would be proud of.
*Most obvious, but ‘Korean’ is used as the mononym for South Korean.
Baradwaj Rangan 
Ashwin Kumar
April 5, 2020
Couldn’t agree more! Nicely written.
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Madan
April 5, 2020
Nice write up. You have got me interested in Korean cinema. Regarding the death of rom com, I think the same thing in essence has happened in both Hollywood and Bollywood. That is, the formula-isation and assembly line production of rom coms to the point of saturation. For romance to work, it is necessary that the storytelling has to retain a measure of honesty, which goes out of the window once their production starts happening by-the-numbers. In Bollywood, it’s still possible to package rom com with ‘social issues’ and sell it (the Ayushmann Khurana formula) but it’s too late in the day in Hollywood to talk about sperm donors or accepting premature balding; their society has already evolved beyond the point where you could make that a talking point.
There is another factor in Hollywood – that is of actors taking themselves very seriously. You mentioned Korean STARS driving such movies (which is what used to happen in Bolly and which still happens in Tamil cinema). Today’s Hollywood stars want critical recognition. The revenue maximisation they will get out of Marvel & Co. They don’t need rom coms for that and they seem to find rom coms beneath them. You CAN make compelling non-rom com films that would also get critical acclaim but, again, their revenue potential is either limited or fraught. A Star Is Born did really well and still only grossed around $400 mn. Just can’t compete with MCU, DC or Disney remakes.
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Alex John
April 5, 2020
@Madan,
Yes, you’re right. The western nations have rendered discourses about such social issues irrelevant. What makes me sad though, is that American cinema has become so consumer-oriented off late that it churns out more labeled products than works of art. While most of them are ingenuous fun, the feeling of monotony and vapidness those films give off after a while can’t be shrugged off easily.Of course, the box office is crucial, but I wish Hollywood tones down a little on productizing its films.
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N Madhusudhan
April 6, 2020
@Madan – I don’t think the local audience for hollywood films have much regard for rom-coms anymore. They’ll lap up something like a Silver Linings Playbook (which offers much more than pure rom-com pleasures) but they don’t prefer the Nancy Meyers brand of rom coms – which are formulaic, rely on stars but also well written and extremely well executed. They’re usually dismissed as “chick flicks”. These films also made a hell lot of money. But they don’t get made anymore (Any fans of Nancy Meyers here?). Haven’t watched any Korean romance yet.
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Madan
April 6, 2020
“The western nations have rendered discourses about such social issues irrelevant.” – I cannot comment on European cinema but the US has its own set of issues that the Hollywood PC brigade won’t touch with a bargepole. And no, I am not even talking about loss of manufacturing jobs to China or campus culture wars and such other issues that conservatives concern themselves with. I am talking about sundown towns, about the war against abortion, the plight of the homeless (touched upon very briefly and lightly in Pursuit of Happyness), gentrification, the opioid menace, etc. These are actually issues that affect minorities and the poor, the groups that Hollywood liberals claim their hearts beat for. But you never hear about them in the movies. In the movies, America is always going alone fine. Yes, with occasional problems like the meltdown (which spurred a bunch of really good movies about it) but by and large they plaster a comfortable, feel good image over the issues affecting millions of Americans. We see documentaries about half of America living paycheck to paycheck and not having the money to handle say a $400 emergency. But this America is invisible in the movies. Maybe that will change with the adaptation of Hillbilly Elegy but with coronavirus and with Ron Howard helming the movie, I am not exactly waiting with bated breath.
It’s not that different in Bollywood, by the way. There is an insidious self censorship that ensures many real, pressing issues that COULD be the subject of worthwhile movies are ignored. South cinema, relatively speaking, has more capacity to tackle such issues. Funny how that works. Does lead me to wonder just how much democracy we really have if the movie industry only functions as an unofficial propaganda arm of the state.
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Alex John
April 6, 2020
@Madan,
Exactly what I am talking about. Like you said, the moral issues that the Indian society/ies face is more or less impertinent in the U.S, but they have their own problems like always.Hollywood used to be successful in sensationalizing films about the issues like racism and gender inequality once,but nowadays it more or less tries to pretend the world is one big Disneyland. Of course, there are exceptions like Joker and Three billboards outside Ebbing,Missouri, but the Golden age of ‘social films’ in Hollywood in which films like In the heat of the night, Guess who is coming for dinner and The accused(and a lot more) where celebrated(and for the right reasons) is long behind it. I think Indian films are doing better than Hollywood in this aspect.
“if the movie industry only functions as an unofficial propaganda arm of the state” – Yes, there are propaganda films, and there will be, but I disagree with this statement for the most parts.
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Madan
April 6, 2020
N Madhusudhan:
“I don’t think the local audience for hollywood films have much regard for rom-coms anymore. They’ll lap up something like a Silver Linings Playbook (which offers much more than pure rom-com pleasures)” – I agree and would also add the example of Shape of Water which is actually a very twisted romantic drama. It’s a serious tone, and I don’t mind that at all. The problem is not many movies of that sort get made at all. It’s pretty low as far as priorities go, coming after MCU, Disney remake, DC, other franchises like MI/Star Wars, biopics, general weighty past issue movie (Hidden Figures, The Post, Vice). See, too many categories that assure a reasonable shot at success before they can get to something like a serious romantic drama which is a risky bet with a lower ceiling to boot.
“(Any fans of Nancy Meyers here)” – Not as much a fan of her older movies though Steve Martin helps the first Father of the Bride movie along (even the second, come to think of, though it’s pretty contrived). I thought Intern was pretty good, if a little too talky/explaining as is the style of movie making these days. I think that is half the problem these days, too much logic, they are afraid to trust the audience with metaphors. A good romance is supposed to tell the tale with fewer dialogues and lots of looking at each other and lots more background music to fill the gaps. Hollywood, perhaps rightly, seems to fear it’s been so long since they made movies like that the audience won’t take to it. But again, this is exactly what Wes Anderson achieved on Shape of Water by pairing a speech devoid person to a beast. They necessarily have to communicate through gestures, so there is already much more scope for silence and music.
I am going to say something more damning – it may or may not be the case that the audience thinks like that but Hollywood also seems to fear that without such obvious quirks like a monster on the one side and a mute on the other, people won’t be able to empathise with the characters they see on the screen. The old rom com formula was premised on the pair magnetising you into following their story. Whether it’s because the audience rejected it or because the studios have designed it so in order to develop a risk free success formula, that doesn’t happen very much at the movies anymore and maybe that’s why they don’t feel so sumptuous anymore. I got that feeling after a long time on A Star Is Born because it was just a pure romance, no contrivances to manipulate you into caring for them. You care just because. That is when it is most beautiful because that’s what makes art powerful – to seduce you into caring for persons who seem to be pretty regular and even deeply flawed (as Bradley Cooper’s character is in the movie).
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Ash
April 7, 2020
It honestly seems like Hollywood isn’t taking as many risks as other international industries. South Korea and many other film industries (including those in India) have created some really interesting, unique, and unexpected stories that provoke audiences to see a situation from a different point of view or ponder serious issues in our world that are often brushed to the side. A lot of the recent movies from Hollywood that have been critically-acclaimed don’t often have a fascinating story and rely too much on technical finesse to gain praise IMO. Of course, technical finesse is what makes a movie effective in delivering its point to the audience, but what’s the point in putting so much effort into technique when there really isn’t a point to deliver at the end of the day? And no, I’m not saying that everyone should make social-message movies– it would be nice to see more cinema that successfully expands the audience’s world-view.
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Alex John
April 7, 2020
@Ash
Absolutely. I think provocativeness is a valid point that I missed. That Hollywood doesn’t want to be provocative is evident from the fact that it doesn’t make boil-your-blood films like In the heat of the night & Mississippi burning anymore, when the issue of racism is more or less relevant today also. And films like Get out & Green book handle these issues, I would say, rather passively.Frontal assault seems to be scary and repulsive to Hollywood filmmakers of today. I think 12 years a slave was the last in-your-face film Hollywood made on this issue. Koreans on the other hand, are the most fearless filmmakers of today, thanks to the less marketized industry they work in.
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Yash J.
April 8, 2020
@Ash & @Alex John
I fully agree with both of you. International film industries seem to have a greater drive to defy expectations and create justified “shock-value” in their art. Perhaps this is because people in India, South Korea, and many other countries have faced some form of oppression and have a stronger desire to voice their opinions. Industries in Asia and Europe are smaller, more tight-knit communities, and it seems that it automatically makes films more personal. In the case of India, there’s a strong divide between art and commercial films in each language, and the tight-knit art communities seem quite passionate.
If you take Parasite, I think an Indian film could pull off the story, but without the technical finesse that made the movie iconic (although I think Parasite was the opposite of subtle with it’s messaging), while Hollywood could not inject that much nuance into that story but fill it to the brim with technical finesse. This brings up a question that I feel like not enough people actively discuss: what’s more important in a film, the story or technical finesse? The ideal movie brings you both, and often the story loses its value if it’s not executed properly. But still, for me, the story always trumps technical finesse because that’s the base of a film. The goal of film-making is to tell a story, and technique was added later to make that delivery more effective. But these days, I see a lot of American critics heaping praises for pointless movies just because they look pretty, sound nice, and have good pacing.
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brangan
April 8, 2020
Yash J.: what’s more important in a film, the story or technical finesse?
As I have repeatedly stated in this space, these two things are not mutually exclusive. “technical finesse” is not just about films that “look pretty, sound nice, and have good pacing”. It starts from the screenplay, which includes the story. It’s starts with the fact that a story on screen cannot be told the same way you’d tell a story in a novel or on stage.
The “technical finesse” starts right from the writing stage — when you start deciding what needs to be conveyed through words (dialogue) and what can be conveyed through just a look (acting) and what can be conveyed through a shot (cinematography) and what can be conveyed through a cut (editing).
Of course, I am generalising a lot — but I just wanted to say a “story” can be told in many ways, and in cinema, the way you choose to tell it becomes part of the “technical finesse”.
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Madan
April 8, 2020
BR: I guess a lot of people simply mean production values when they talk about technical finesse. Even a mediocre Michael Bay caper comes across as slick and smooth compared to its Bollywood equivalent. But is a typical Michael Bay movie a work of technical finesse? No. Would Whiplash be a good example of it? Yes, notwithstanding a few minor inaccuracies in how they depict the New York jazz scene. We could say likewise about Borg McEnroe. It’s a well made film and the question of whether the story is relatable to a given person depends very much on their own worldview, interests and preferences. Movies that go into a lot of detail about a specific domain as these two do (or Margin Call) may not connect with a large audience.
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Yash J.
April 10, 2020
BR: I sincerely appreciate your response. I should have been more specific with how I defined technical finesse in that specific context, and I know how many elements are needed to make a movie. My statement about praising films solely because “they look nice, sound pretty, and have good pacing” is a huge generalization and a sarcastic statement. I want to see more stories that are thought-provoking, bold, and brave, as others have mentioned, and for me, editing, cinematography, sound design, costume & hair, and the other non-writing/directing elements are not enough all by themselves to make a story that widens the viewer’s perspective and mentally-stimulating. I watch too movies with great acting, cinematography, sound design, editing, etc etc, that lack interesting and uninhibited writing to lift the movie and make it linger for a few days after watching it.
At the end of your comment, you also highlight that there are so many ways to tell a story, but I believe there also needs to be more importance placed on determining what is actually being told and why it needs to be told. There just aren’t enough filmmakers pushing to take big storytelling risks in today’s Hollywood, IMHO.
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