Unagi in South Korea

[Mark Schilling]

Stephen Cremin wrote:

 Last month, Imamura's "The Eel" (Unagi) became the third Japanese film to 
> get a commercial release in South Korea following the partial lifting of 
> restrictions on Japanese cultural products.  Following the failures of 
> "HANA-BI" and "Kagemusha" last December, can I assume "The Eel" also
didn't 
> set the box office alight?  Any news on its critical and commercial 
> reception would be appreciated.
>
Masaki Koga of Shochiku told me at Cannes that "The Eel" has actually been
doing quite well in Korea since its May 1 opening. According to Koga,
Distributor JN Entertainment expanded the film from 15 to 30 screens
nationwide and estimated that "The Eel" would finish its run with 150,000
admissions, compared with 70,000 for "Hana-Bi" and 90,000 for "Kagemusha."
"This is great news for us and for the entire Japanese film industry," Koga
told me. "Before we had this success we were afraid that Korean
distributors might not want to buy Japanese films anymore." A bit of
hyperbole, perhaps? Shochiku produced and distributed the film in Japan.

Mark Schilling