Unagi in South Korea

[Bill Thompson]

Hi, Stephen and all interested in Japanese film in Korea ---

Unagi did well in South Korea, much better than either
Hanabi or Kagemusha, and is still playing at some of the smaller
theaters around Seoul.  The bad news is that Imamura's Ballad of
Narayama was released there last weekend, with not very good
initial results.  I don't have any box office figures.

The following is not relevant to Japanese cinema, but I'll
pass it along to those who might be interested.  First, last year
46 films were made in South Korea.  The trend this year is much
bigger and much fewer.  The commercial spy film Swiri, with a
sizeable budget by South Korean standards, broke all domestic
box office figures (held by Titanic) a month or two ago.
This year there will be several other big budget films.  However,
the total number of films to be made is estimated at around 20
due to chaebol mergers and cutbacks.  Star Wars has not done
particularly well there in the past.  It opens there on June 25th,
and will be going head-to-head against another big budget feature.
I assume that this will not be the case in Japan... am I correct?

Bill Thompson



Stephen Cremin <asianfilmlibrary at hotmail.com> wrote:
Subject: Unagi in South Korea

>Last month, Imamura's "The Eel" (Unagi) became the third Japanese film o
>get a commercial release in South Korea following the partial lifting o
>restrictions on Japanese cultural products.  Following the failures of
>"HANA-BI" and "Kagemusha" last December, can I assume "The Eel" also din't
>set the box office alight?  Any news on its critical and commercial
>reception would be appreciated.
>
>Best regards,
>
>Stephen Cremin
>Asian Film Library & LPAFF
>