5. Time to Hunt (Yoon Sung-hyun, S. Korea)
In his scenario for “Time to Hunt”, Yoon Sung-hyun has created the character of a psychopathic corrupted cop Han (Park Hae-soo), a true impersonification of evil whose love for chase surpasses even his love of killing. As the bodies pile up, we are given a fraction of moment to discover his creepy collection at home, before we continue following his passionate hunt for the thieves. Park Hae-soo is dominating the film in his role of an ice-cold, stubbornly persistent head-hunter, and the cinematographer Lim Won-geun uses strong light contrasting to make his presence even more threatening. (Marina Richter)
4. Days (Tsai Ming-liang, Taiwan)
All in all, “Days” is a gripping film that poses questions about relationships, sexuality and health, but most of all about solitude and loneliness. On top of that its slow but stunning shots are a feast for the eye, leaving the viewer with the desire to revisit. (Nancy Fornoville)
3. The Woman Who Ran (Hong Sang-soo, S. Korea)
Gam-hee's journey to the three different hilly landscapes and encounters with three friends very different in character has only one thing in common – the alleged motive as to why she suddenly decided to come and visit. She repeats the same thing, every time in a different manner, and there is a robotic feeling developing to it along the film. It's allegedly the first time in the past five years that she's spent time apart from her husband, who decided to depart on a business trip without her. Whatever the reason for her excursion to the past might be, there is a doubt rising as to if she really is married, and if so, if she cultivates real emotions for the man who is telling her that truly happy people should never part. (Marina Richter)
“The Woman Who Ran” will stream on MUBI UK
2. The Man Standing Next (Woo Min-ho, S. Korea)
“The Man Standing Next” is a terrific film, a fine return to form for director Woo Min-ho after the stink-bomb that was “The Drug King”. It features two superstar actors bringing their A-game to a production that has a very engrossing script accompanied by strong technical merits. The film is a triumph both as an entertaining political thriller and a history lesson and is an early entry into my personal year-end “Best of” lists. Be sure to check this out. (Rhythm Zaveri)
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1. Beasts Clawing at Straws (Kim Yong-hoon, S. Korea)
To call the movie a rollercoaster would be too extreme, it's more like a theme park ride, fun, enjoyable, the odd highs, the odd lows. It keeps you invested throughout, and as a film fan it gives you an extra little push with small details that the regular audience might miss, but are subconsciously quite important. One such detail is the color schemes and the fact that these are different and returning for every single character. Every color symbolizes something for that character, often motivation, and when you catch on to it, it's enjoyable to figure it out. (Reinier Brands)
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