New York's Metrograph Theater is proud to announce the details of Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong, their upcoming retrospective headlined by the New York Premieres of four new 4K restorations of Lee Chang-dong's directorial works; Green Fish (1997), Peppermint Candy (1999), Oasis (2002), and Poetry (2010). The series begins April 5th and also includes Lee's critically acclaimed Burning, South Korea's entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the 91st Academy Awards, and his 2007 Cannes Award-Winning Secret Sunshine, alongside a filmmaker-curated duo of his most celebrated and valued writing and producing efforts: Ouni Lecomte's A Brand New Life and July Jung's A Girl at My Door. Each restoration title, which are being released by Film Movement Classics in North America, will have a week-long run at the esteemed Lower East Side repertory and first-run cinema, marking their US Theatrical Premieres.
Filmmaker, playwright, and novelist, Lee Chang-dong has been a vital force in South Korean culture since the publication of his first novel, Chonri, in 1983. After breaking into the film industry as the screenwriter and assistant director of Park Kwang-su's 1993 To the Starry Island, Lee matriculated to the post of director with Green Fish, and with that film and his five subsequent features, established himself as both a brilliantly understated delineator of character and a quietly outraged chronicler of the afflictions of South Korean society. Metrograph looks forward to surveying the brilliant career of one of South Korea's supreme artists with these brilliant new 4K restorations.
“We are thrilled to present a retrospective of Lee Chang-dong's outstanding body of work, celebrating him as one of the most esteemed auteurs in contemporary cinema,” said Metrograph's Director of Programming Inge de Leeuw. “Each film in this retrospective delves into the profound complexities of the human condition. As big admirers of his filmmaking, we are delighted to bring his compassionate films to the big screen and we are proud to work with the North American distributor Film Movement to present the restored versions of his early films to our audiences, offering a unique opportunity to experience the depth of his storytelling in the cinematic realm.”
“It brings me great delight and thrill to hold my retrospective at the esteemed Metrograph, renowned as a cherished haven for cinephiles in New York,” said Lee Chang-dong. “The six films curated for this retrospective each serve as vessels for my earnest contemplations on life, society, and humanity, each in their own way. I hope that as you, the audience, engage with these films, you may ponder these questions and find your own answers.”
Already established as a novelist and playwright, Lee's spectacularly assured first feature Green Fish, a scourging commentary on South Korean society dressed up in film noir trappings, cemented itself as one of the more auspicious debuts in the history of South Korean cinema. In his sophomore follow-up, Peppermint Candy, which premiered as the opening night film at the Busan International Film Festival and took numerous awards at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Lee masterfully explored a character study that doubled as an allegorical history delivered in form-challenging reverse-chronology, spanning from the '70s to the close of the '90s—years of enormous transformation in South Korea. Oasis, his third feature, a psychological drama romance starring Sul Kyung-gu (Memoir of a Murderer, Peppermint Candy) and Moon So-ri (The Handmaiden) was a breakout hit upon premiere, taking the Silver Lion for Best Direction, a Special Director's prize, and the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Emerging Actor or Actress for Moon So-ri, among other accolades, at the 2002 Venice Film Festival, and would go on to end its illustrious festival and release run with a Best International Film nomination at the 20th Independent Spirit Awards. The quartet of restorations of vital South Korean cinema to screen at the theater, which Lee wrote in addition to directing, is completed by the penetrating drama Poetry, which was awarded Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2010 and was conceived as a starring vehicle for Yun Jung-hee, a leading light of the '60s and '70s South Korean cinema, who went on to win Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress for her performance.
“Film Movement is proud to present restorations of Green Fish, Peppermint Candy, Oasis, and Poetry to North American audiences this spring,” says Film Movement Director of Exhibition Erin Farrell. “All four films explore themes of love, isolation, and tragedy with profound depth of feeling unique to director Lee, who represents a major voice in both South Korean and international cinema. We could not have asked for a better partner in bringing these restorations to NY audiences than Metrograph, and are incredibly excited to have them premiere as part of this retrospective on Lee's career.”
Novel Encounters: the Films of Lee Chang-dong will run from April 5th until April 27th with select encore screenings to follow. Stay tuned and check the Metrograph Official Website HERE
