Brad Nelson
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עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 26, 2020 7:51:09 GMT -8
 The Criterion Channel has a set of movies gathered under the title “New Korean Cinema.” The Quiet Family is from 1998, so their definition of new is flexible. This is a quirky dark comedy and makes no apologies about that. The plot is rather mundane and not much to shout out: A family opens a mountain inn where their guests find various ways to die, accidentally or otherwise. It’s not more complicated than that.  Little is done to try to tie this all together although there is some background talk about some escaped North Korean spies on the loose. I would have thought that the movie would have had some kind of a dark “happy ending” whereby all the people who died just happened to be these spies. But the spy reference was a red herring…or something. What makes this movie work as a dark comedy are the actors and their characters. There is nothing particularly quirky or unusual about the father, mother, son, daughters, and uncle who live at and run the inn. The genius of good comedy is often the reaction of everyday people to unusual events. And this is what makes the movie work.  |
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Post by artraveler on Oct 26, 2020 8:30:22 GMT -8
Quirt Family
I have seen several S. Korean movies in the last 5 years or so. While they are not the best the production values and acting are fundamental very good often much better than the crap coming out of Hollywood. Searching around on Net flicks can yield some real foreign gems. The Russian and Spanish are particularly good. Even some of the Indian films are very good, although often laden with stereotypes.
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
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Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 26, 2020 8:40:34 GMT -8
Yeah, I agree. That’s one reason I subscribe to The Criterion Channel. You can get outside the Hollywood crapfield. And the Russkies have indeed been producing some interesting stuff as late. I haven’t seen much Spanish stuff though. Do you have any Netflix recommendation for Spanish stuff?
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Brad Nelson
Administrator
עַבְדְּךָ֔ אֶת־ הַתְּשׁוּעָ֥ה הַגְּדֹלָ֖ה הַזֹּ֑את
Posts: 12,271
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Post by Brad Nelson on Oct 26, 2020 9:55:13 GMT -8
One interesting thing about this film (assuming they are Korean) is how much many of these actors are a spittin’ image for a so-called Native American. And, of course, there is a shared lineage there. But it was very strong in this cast and some of the supporting characters.
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