Rolf Potts writes about the Pusan International Film Festival in Slate, giving particular attention to Korean-born director Wonsuk Chin’s screenplay “Expats” (in pre-production), which deals oddly enough with expat life in Korea.
Anyway, the piece is a good read, especially for those of us living in Korea. Among other things, Chin pointed out that Korea hasn’t gotten quite the American cinematic attention that two of its other East Asian neighbors have:
“Most Americans have strong cinematic impressions of Japan or China,” [Chin] tells me. “It’s easy to imagine samurai, or the Forbidden City. It’s not that way with Korea: People think of North Korean military parades—or maybe old M*A*S*H episodes—but nothing that truly represents the culture. Korean Wave films are doing well in Asia, but there hasn’t been a substantial American movie filmed here in decades. I want to change that. My movie might be an action comedy, but I want American audiences to absorb a real piece of Korea for two hours.”
And you certainly don’t get much more real that Busan. I wish Chin luck with his goal of introducing Korea to American audiences—the country has a wealth of stories and images filmmakers can build on, and given the shared history between Korea and the United States, it’s a shame Korea has been practically ignored so far by U.S. filmmakers.
Oh, and for you English teachers out there, some much-needed feel-good material:
“I want to show Korea through an outsider’s point of view, because I realize how strange this country must seem to visitors. The teacher expats who come here see Korea in a unique way. They aren’t isolated like soldiers or businessmen; they’re working right in the middle of the culture. They’re young, and they’re going through a transitional time of life. They’re more likely to throw themselves into new experiences.”
See, not everyone thinks you’re drunken, womanizing, drug-dealing scum!
And here’s something to ponder:
Chin is still curious about what it’s like for an outsider to live in Korea, and he asks me about my own experiences in Busan eight years ago. I tell him I have mixed feelings about my time here, but that I look back on Busan like Ernest Hemingway looked back on Paris—as a “necessary part of a man’s education,” an essential rite of passage in my own life. Since tens of thousands of Americans have made a similar Korean sojourn in the past decade—and since more than 6 million Americans live as expats—I like the notion that indie filmmakers are trying to capture the American expatriate experience on the big screen.
Hmmm… Korea as the Paris of the 21st century.
Anyway, I was trying to think of films I’ve enjoyed that capture what it’s like to live as an expatriate. “Lost in Translation,” some of the, ahem, less-flattering imagery of the Japanese aside, did a pretty good job of showing how the world looks from the perspective of clueless Western noobies in East Asia (that’s not a slam on noobies—we’ve all been there). I loved “Chinese Box,” too, as a more sensitive look at interaction between East and West at the individual level. And besides, it had Gong Li. “Sheltering Sky” is one of my favorites, both because of Bertolucci’s imagery and because it’s a perfect depiction of American expats wondering around aimlessly without the faintest clue what’s going on around them. If you’ve been to Africa, the French film “Chocolat” is perhaps the best screen depiction of life on the continent as seen through the eyes of a melanin-deficient individual ever produced (much of the film’s charm lies in the sound work—no other film comes even close to capturing the African “silence”).
Anyway, if you have “expat film” recommendations, I’d love to hear them.
(HT to readers)
31 Comments
Not an expat film, but there’s a movie on No Gun Ri coming out that sounds like the usual “innocent Koreans minding their own business when evil Americans swooped down and killed them” (without any context whatsoever of course).
Actually I’d like to see some movies about the Korean War done by Hollywood for a change.
Ah, the link: http://english.yna.co.kr/Engne.....354E4.html
so its Korea from an outsiders point of view, done by an insider…?
I expect this movie to be filled with all sort os “Oh this Kimchi is soooo hot. hey lets wear a hanbok, YAY. Oh my goodness I did not know America was so evil!”.
OK, fair enough, most soldiers are isolated. And I’m not saying he’s blaming them, but it should be pointed out its not entirely their fault. It’s the environment that encourages them to hang out in in the slums outside their Camps. If you put a TGIF or VIPS or some batting cages outside the bases, I gaurantee these will be hits. But no, the business owners just put up shady jucy barrs with ridiculous names and shops that sell fake clothes, because it plays into stereo types of both Koreans and Americans.
As for the business men…. well, they sometimes find themselves in the middle of of room clubs and singing rooms drinking quite extensively with thier Korean co-workers. Which I would argue, is quite a real part of Korea.
From personal experience I’ve done a rotation as all three, Soldier, Teacher, Business man (well, 회사원) and I was never more so tightly integrated into this society than right now, being the latter.
sorry Chin, but even when people watched MASH they were thinking Vietnam.
First one that comes to mind is “My Beautiful Laundrette”. Pakistanis in early 80’s London.
I think it’s Chin that’s out of touch with what’s been going on in America these days. He needs to get with the times and surf the internet a bit more.
There are probably more Korean Movie festivals going on in major American cities, and Korean Melodramas pump into American cities/cable stations every night.
All you have to do is some Google search to understand just how many English websites are dedicated to Korean Movies and melodramas these days.
Wonsuk Chin has actually been living in the U.S. for the last 17 years, so he’s probably in a good position to sympathize with the expat perspective being a long time expat in the U.S. himself.
The two films that he’s done (one an indy feature, the other a documentary) were both in English and set in New York.
And a little trivia. His first feature “Too Tired to Die” starred Mira Sorvino.
Michael: “…Actually I’d like to see some movies about the Korean War done by Hollywood for a change…”.
I’m pretty certain you’re looking for new Hollywood attempts at this subject; still, my interest in old war movies that I’ve seen for the first time in the last few years caused me to do a search.
I “googled” with search phrases “Korean War movies”, using the “I’m feeling lucky” search mode, found the below 2001 direct anwer to your question.
As I expected, many of them are forgettable 1950’s movies (the 1986 version of Heartbreak Ridge, named for a Korean War battle, is one of Clint Eastwood’s worst IMO, not the least reason being it basically doesn’t have anything to do with the Korean War at all).
Google quote follows:
Expert: Fred Topel
Date: 5/29/2001
Subject: war movies- korean war
Question
Is there not one serious movie made about soldiers in the korean war conflict?
Other than M.A.S.H. are there any movies that have a korean war backdrop?
Get the answer below
Answer
The IMDB lists 28 movies with the keyword “korean-war.” They are:
“Korean War: Fire and Ice, The” (1999) (mini) TV Series
“M*A*S*H” (1972) TV Series
All the Young Men (1960) 6.0/10 (36 votes)
Bamboo Prison, The (1954) 6.6/10 (5 votes)
Battle Circus (1953) 5.2/10 (60 votes)
Battle Hymn (1957) 6.1/10 (60 votes)
Bridges at Toko-Ri, The (1954) 6.8/10 (237 votes)
Cease Fire (1953) 7.4/10 (7 votes)
Collision Course (1975) (TV)
Crèvecoeur (1956)
…aka Heartbreak Ridge (1956)
Fixed Bayonets (1951) 7.5/10 (34 votes)
Glory Brigade, The (1953) 6.5/10 (19 votes)
Heartbreak Ridge (1986) 6.0/10 (1171 votes)
Inchon (1982) 2.6/10 (32 votes)
M*A*S*H: Goodbye, Farewell and Amen (1983) (TV) 7.9/10 (220 votes)
Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) 8.4/10 (4961 votes)
MASH (1970) 7.8/10 (6253 votes)
…aka M*A*S*H (1970)
McConnell Story, The (1955) 6.1/10 (44 votes)
…aka Tiger in the Sky (1955) (UK)
Men in War (1957) 6.7/10 (73 votes)
Men of the Fighting Lady (1954) 6.7/10 (26 votes)
…aka Panther Squadron (1954)
Nun and the Sergeant, The (1962)
Pork Chop Hill (1959) 7.1/10 (139 votes)
Rack, The (1956) 6.3/10 (48 votes)
Retreat, Hell! (1952) 6.6/10 (16 votes)
…aka We Came Out Fighting (1952) (USA)
…aka You Can’t Stop the Marines (1952) (USA)
Steel Helmet, The (1951) 7.7/10 (102 votes)
Time Limit (1957) 7.7/10 (17 votes)
War Hunt (1962) 8.3/10 (25 votes)
War Is Hell (1963)
Manchurian Candidate certainly qualifies as a serious quality movie.
Hope this helps,
Fred Topel
actionadventure.about.com
In pre-production? Still? I thought all the scenes had been already shot and that it was in post-production.
I first heard of this movie at least 5 years ago. First, it was reported that Ryan Phillipe was about to sign on to play the leading role, but chose not to do so because of scheduling problems. Then it was reported that Chris Klein had in fact signed to play the role. But, now the director says they are still shopping around for an actor.
In 4 years I’ve gone from teacher to grad student to businessman. The thing about Korea is it’s personality and your constantly changing perceptions of it, the fact that no matter how long you’ve been here you always seem to learn something new. Maybe it’s becasue of the develop of my 한국어 , but now I feel like I’m really living in Korea.
I recommend ‘Coming to America’ as it depicts how it must be for African royality when they move to America, pretend not to be regal and work in a fast food outlet.
Yeolchae, I salute you.
I recommend ‘Coming to America’ as it depicts how it must be for African royality when they move to America, pretend not to be regal and work in a fast food outlet.
Ah yes, one of Eddie Murphy’s finer moments on the screen. I just love that scene where he’s taking a bath in a big pool and a beautiful slave girl emerges from underneath the water and says “the royal penis is now clean.” Ahhhhh.
but that I look back on Busan like Ernest Hemingway looked back on Paris—as a “necessary part of a man’s education
Oh shut the hell up already.Hemingway was much more into big game sport fishing, like catching marlins in the Pacific, than sitting around in French cafes, sipping absinthe (shit tastes like a Dracula’s version of Cool Mint Listerine), and generally acting like a pretentious, faux-boheme, aspring actor-wannabe fag. Maybe he should also blow his head off with a 22-gauge shotgun because that’s a necessary part of a writer’s posthumous glory.
I should love to have an opportunity to make a film about expats also. But instead of a movie, it may be more like a documentary filled with interviews…I think I might call it Fear and Loathing in Seoul: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the Washed-Up, Clueless Wanderer in Korea.
Interviewer: What’s your background?
Expat: Graduated from State U with a degree in history and a minor in sociology. I found myself living in Mom’s basement, paying off my student loans, and working at the local Pluckin Chickin at the mall. I felt restless. I was bored. I wanted to do something with my life. Then I found out about English teaching opportunities in Korea.
Interviewer: What’s it like teaching English in Korea?
Expat: Man, for the most part it’s great. I mean, where else can someone like me, with no ostensible real-world skills, get paid good coin to teach a language that…like…I’ve spoken for my entire life? I didnt need to go to college for that. Shit, if I’ve known earlier I would have gone straight into this instead. It’s like affirmative action for white people.
But it’s got it’s downs too. The kids that I teach are real spoiled brats and I think sometimes they make fun of me behind my back. I dont speak a word of Korean, ok maybe a little like “hajang-shil uh-dee?” or “ajumma, sarang hae yo.”, but sometimes I get a little paranoid about these little punks who jabber amongst themselves in Korean during classes. I think they’re saying some mean things about me being the gangly, big-nosed, pale, waeguk-nom that I am who must surely stick out like a damn eye-sore amongst all these Orientals.
Then there’s the hagwon ajussi. He’s a prick. He basically treats me like I’m his personal indentured servant or something. We argue about my contract, my vacation days, sick days and he pretends he doesnt know what the hell I’m saying. Man, those shifty, unscrupulous Orientals, cant fucking trust em. These heathens have no conception of our Western understanding of a binding, written contract. They just make up the rules on the fly as they see fit. They dont even follow their own laws and the Korean government is too inept to do anything about it either. It’s all bribes and corruption. These people have no sense of morality, right or wrong, or fairplay. Man, what a fucking joke this place is.
Interviewer: What’s it like living in Korea?
Expat: It’s good and bad. Sometimes it just feels bad. I’m here on an overextended travel visa…shhh, dont tell anyone, OK? I could get deported by immigration if they find out.
The best part of Korea are the women. Man, Korean women are sooo beautiful and gorgeous. They cant hold a candle to the fat, bitchy Western girls that we gotta put up with back in the States. There’s this secretary back at the hagwon who I think secretly likes me. I try to chat with her all the time. She doesnt speak English too well but I try to talk to her as much as possible anyway. She gets to practice her shitty, broken English with me and I get to practice my horrible, 5 year old sounding Korean with her. Mutually beneficial, no? Man, I wanna bone her so bad. I think she might be willing to dump her Korean boyfriend for me. He gets drunk a lot, yells at her, and generally treats her like shit. That’s the other thing too, man, most of these Korean guys are assholes who dont know how to treat a woman right, not like us chivalrous, well mannered Western guys. Man, you have no idea. In Korea, I think I got laid more times than my entire life back in the States. Here, if you’re a white guy, them chicks think you’re like Brad Pitt or something, even if you look like Fat Bastard from Austin Powers, lol! The first time I landed here, I got treated like I was some B-rated movie celebrity or something! Sometimes, I get really horny for some of the fresh young things who sit in my class. They kinda remind me of all the Japanese schoolgirl porn that I used to jack off to when I was living in my Mom’s basement back in the States. Damn, maybe I’ll get lucky someday. I’m thinking about starting a MySpace website with pics and stories of all the fine Korean chicks I’ve had while I was here. All my friends back home will turn positively green with envy when they see that! *giggle* Losers!
A little too much projection, I’d say, but not bad, Bluejives. The teachers I knew in Korea didn’t make great coin, but many had HEAPS of time off — like 3 months per year in the case of college lecturers.
Bluejives, you make that movie and in a year the number of Most Trashiest Expats™ will treble.
Ashton Kuscher MUST play Shelton, and maybe Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the Marmot, in this flick.
Mine would be called, “Fear and Loathing in New York: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the Washed-Up, Clueless Corean”.
I have to say, that was about the most creative, non-plagiarized post of bluejives’s ever.
수거해씀네다, bluejives, 수거해씀네다.
I think it’s 수고 …..
It is. I was making fun of bluejives because that’s the way he spells it. I think it’s funny that bluejives makes fun of expats not knowing Korean when he doesn’t have a decent grasp of the language himself. It’s also funny in light of his extolling “the glorious Confucian nation of Korea” or whatever he goes off on from time to time.
Too much projection, yes, but I’d have to agree, that was one of Bluejives’ most creative posts.
bluejives, spot on.
I feel like I’ve heard various aspects of that conversation 10 times already. good summary
I think my movie ideas on this subject are pretty cool:
Now, having lived in Korea long enough — and given how I’m sure the low American dollar has caused more interested in teaching here — I feel there is a great opportunity for either a series of books or movies on the following subject. I think I’ve seen something kinda like this on Korean TV using kyopo (Dennis O, maybe?), but this would address the issue directly.
Saving Face This would open with a younger guy in the States or Canada. He’s in his mid 20s, a college graduate but his life seems to be going no where. He would be played by either Zach Braff or Topher Grace. Somehow, he ends up in Korea teaching English. Now, I think this movie needs to be co-produced by Koreans and an indy group somewhere in North America. The reason — this movie would be really popular in both Korea and the West if it were done right. The first act of this movie would be a lot — a lot — of gags about our protagonist having no clue what was going on around him. Everything would be in Korean except what he was saying, which would have subtitles. Korean audience would bust a gut laughing at the poor shlub walking around in confusion. At some point in the movie, he has his first Korean girlfriend and she’s very very traditional and sweet and drives our poor protagonist crazy because of all the cultural miscues and confusion. In fact her actual screen time may be only a few minutes. But whatever would happen would be really funny and memorable. On a par with Woody Allen sneezing into the cocaine in Annie Hall. Anyway, he finally has a stable relationship with a Korean girl. Very boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl kind of thing. Lots of running and professions of love. At the very end of the first movie (or book) they get married.
Saving Face II Face Value
The second movie would be about the actual marriage and having kids. It would still be light in tone and fun. It would be about our poor protagonist finding himself becoming more and more Korean. Eventually, however, he gets a divorce and finds himself wanting to return home.
Saving Face III About Face
In this last movie, our protagonist returns home. In this installment, our lead character has totally “gone native” — and this could be played up for comic effect. He wears a hanbuk all the time. Something happens, however, and he has to return home. So he heads back home and the first shot is of him in the middle of Times Square wearing a hanbuk. He is walking the streets of America in awe of the diversity and who sshould he stumble across but his sweet first Korean girlfriend — who looks totally nuts. She’s totally Americanized now and so he doesn’t know how to deal with her. Her English is flawless and she is wearing a short miniskirt. Her hair is a weird color. The movie’s plot would be about the reversed culture clash the two would have to encounter while falling in love. Awww, ain’t that sweet?
I would be lying if I didn’t admit that I think of ‘jives as “the thinking man’s nulji/pawi” (if you’ll pardon the oxymoron) when I think of him at all, but I maintain that “Canadians: The other white meat,” is one of the single best lines ever to appear on this blog — and this is after subtracting points for the racism I know lies behind it.
Ashton Kuscher MUST play Shelton
I heartily disagree.
I believe Shelton MUST be played by Jeremy Davies, the actor who plays the role of the desk corporal translator who wets his pants holding a shitload of ammo while his buddies are being murdered by Wehrmacht soldiers in Saving Private Ryan
maybe Phillip Seymour Hoffman, the Marmot, in this flick.
Well if the Marmot sounds anything like Truman Capote then that just totally fucks with my impression of the Marmot.
Come on, only Daniel Radcliffe or the muppet Elmo can play Mr. Bum. For Mr. Marmot, Ron Jeremy
(I keed, I keed!)
don’t quit your day job, shelton.
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[...] Robert Koehler at Marmot Hole introduces a film, “Expats”, in Pusan film festival. The director Wonsuk Chin’s goal is to introduce Korea to Amercian audience: Korean Wave films are doing well in Asia, but there hasn’t been a substantial American movie filmed here in decades. [...]
[...] other films of Korean expats, we’re still waiting to hear of the exact release date of ‘Expats’, an offbeat comedy about expats living in Busan, starring Chris Klein of ‘American Pie’ fame. The plot is said to be ‘A unique [...]