Near the end of the Chosun Dynasty, a vagabond named Eok-swoi wandered over all of Korea. In the end, Eok-swoi settles in a remote village where he becomes the servant of Magistrate Ahn, a man of influence. Eok-swoi engages in an innocent love with Keum-sun, a maiden servant of Ahn. Though he is over the age of 50, Ahn is still childless. He treats his young second wife badly and finally, he turns his eye to Keum-sun. After being alone night after night, the young wife unintentionally starts an affair with Eok-swoi which Ahn discovers. Out of guilt, Keum-sun had rejected all of Ahn's advances to the end. She runs away with Eok-swoi. Afterwards, Ahn becomes disabled and deeply repents his wrongdoings.
We, the Jane Austen aficionados, are suckers for everything and anything under the sun that’s remotely related to her and her world. That’s because we are so drawn to her unique style of fiction, romance, and social commentary, we take any allusion to her influence as a hint to what to expect when we start watching a movie or reading a book.
What are we willing to walk through to see our dreams come to pass? Our minds might be so wholly alive with the passions we carry and the plans we make to see these things become all we wish them to be, yet life doesn’t always want to come alongside. Instead, obstacles arise, both physical and mental, which attempt to dissuade us or even prevent us from moving forward, stalling or stagnating the momentum to achieve what we desire. The age-old question remains….can we overcome? Or will we BE overcome?
The Lighthouse is patient and hypnotic, pulling us in with its mysterious atmosphere and characters. The film’s slow pace proves to be monumentally effective, showcasing the tedious nature that comes with isolation and poor two-way communication.
Cartoon Saloon is an animation studio that should be appreciated more. They tell unique stories with unique animation, proving that 2D animation is still alive and well.
In 1977, Star Wars changed the world. It took the universe by storm, completely redefining everything everyone knew about movies. But then, in 1980, The Empire Strikes Back changed Star Wars. Sequels were not as well regarded back then as they are today.
Strangers in a crowd, exchanging glances, looking away, continually managing to run into each other then part ways, end up at the same diner, find they've rented the exact same vehicles, and are then made to travel together to learn once more whether they can both find genuine adoration and companionship again. This really does, in so many words, sum up the foundational gist of of this new feature film from writer Seth Reiss ("The Menu") and director Kogonada ("The Acolyte", "After Yang"). Yet, it's all only the set-up for the REAL wonder of everything that happens before, during, and in the aftermath of a magical, meaningful journey.
