(Yonhap Interview) Film critic says Korean, French movies akin

(ATTN: photos available)
By Shin Hae-in
JEONJU, South Korea, May 1 (Yonhap) -- From the creations of Park Chan-wook to
Kim Ki-deok, something about Korean films keeps attracting the French.

Kim's works have drawn millions to the theaters in the European country, and
Park's newest release, "Thirst," has been selected to compete for the top honor
at the upcoming Cannes International Film Festival.
The reason, according to respected French critic Roger Gonin, may be the
unexpected similarities between films made on opposite sides of the world.
"Korean films are very close to French films, I think, in terms of dealing with
relationships," Gonin, a jury member of the Korean shorts section of the Jeonju
International Film Festival, said in an interview with Yonhap News Agency. "And
both also tend to be a bit long."
The French love the "strangeness" of Korean films, he added, and crave "something
that blows you totally out of your mind."
Gonin, who also participated as a jury member of Korea's Pusan International Film
Festival last year, said there are "just too many" South Korean directors to
choose a favorite.
"I personally like a bit of craziness in movies," he said. "Director Park's works
are violent and audiences don't know what to expect exactly. We also love Kim
Ki-deok. There are just too many of them that we like."
A creator of two short films and currently a festival director and jury member
for international competition of the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film festival, Gonin
also praised Korean film institutions.
"I think Korean films are very unique and high-quality largely due to their
schools and universities. You can't find such strong (academic) structure
anywhere else," he said. "This is the right way to learn. Directors need to find
their identity through exercise."
The 57-year-old critic also said he had supported South Korea's screen quota
system for domestic films, which some have criticized as a restrictive tool to
prevent foreign movies from making inroads into the local market.
"You might not need it anymore with so many fans of local movies, but at the
beginning I think it was very important to have this," he said. "Many people
don't like their own cinema, even the French. But it's so important to be proud
of their own films. Korean people did that and I admire that."
Gonin emphasized the importance of short films and advised their makers to keep
them as "short as possible."
"The best way to get into the (film) industry is to start off by making short
films, but some people are so impatient," he said.
hayney@yna.co.kr
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