The Outspoken Kim Ki-duk

Art-house powerhouse Kim Ki-duk is known for his thought provoking, oddly plotted films. Dialogue is sparsely used, especially by the protagonists. This creates Kim’s trademark, atmospheric, sometime slow-paced stories.Kim’s most well known film is probably Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring… a tale which follows the life of a young apprentice monk as he learns life’s lessons the hard way. This film is typical, with actions used in lieu of dialogue. The entire film takes palce in and around a small floating monastery.Kim is much more successful abroad than in his home of South Korea. In fact, recent comments he made during an interview more or less criticized Korean film audiences for their lack of, well, brains. Perhaps he said the statements out of bitterness stemming from his lack fame in his native land. Perhaps he is partially right. South Korea is the land of candy-pop, soap operas, and bland flicks aimed more at box office success than anything else. Kim apologized, kind of, in an email to several media outlets.Kim will continue to make films. His latest, Time, will be opening soon in France, a country where he has enjoyed success. He has a dozen films already released on DVD in the US and Europe.

Shyamalan’s Last Stand

M. Night Shyamalan came on to the silver screen scene at the top. The Sixth Sense, only his second feature film, was a success at the box office and praised by critics. Unbreakable and Signs, Shyamalan’s two subsequent projects, were also widely praised by critics, including the god-critic Rodger Ebert.M. Night Shyamalan’s fairy tales ends there. The Village had his trademark surprise ending, but this time, the surprise was how badly Shyamalan whiffed. Lady in the Water continued the losing streak with the New York Post cleverly criticizing it as “dead in the water.” The intelligent thrills of Sixth Sense now seem relegated to the dusty VHS section of your local video store.So Shyamalan did what any self-respecting director would: He went for the sure thing. He signed on to direct a live action film version of the popular Avatar series. A martial arts fantasy set in a fictional world and aimed at children will be a big departure for Shyamalan. But a sure thing?The TV show has a pretty big following, so the box office numbers are almost built into the film already.What if he screws it up, though? Shyamalan, even in his less successful movies, has always fallen back on his cleverness and on psychological thrills. That won’t work with Avatar; its fans will be looking to see how true he is to the spirit of the TV series. Critics will be looking to see if he can bring anything fresh to it. The rest of us will just get to see what kind of director Shyamalan really is. (Twenty years hence, will he be known simply as a film director or will he still be the guy whose best movie was The Sixth Sense?)