The Yellow Sea

Starring and directed by the same two behind the success of The Chaser, Kim Yun-seok is reunited with Na Hong-jin for The Yellow Sea, a film that featured as part of the Un Certain Regard in Cannes this year.

The film follows the story of Gu-nam (Ha Jung-woo), a Korean living in Yaniban, China who loses his job after being crushed by gambling debts.  We first meet him losing another game of mah-jong, but he ends up sleeping odd hours and being threatened by debt collectors.  We see him working hard as a cabbie, earning money but he cannot resist the urge of immediate cash of mah-jong.  He loses more money and ends up being beaten up also.

One day he meets a hitman Myun-ga (Yun-seok) and Gu-nam agrees to cross the Yellow sea (by train - allowing for some beautiful landscape photography) to kill a businessman in Seoul, in turn the hitman will help pay off his debt.  Gu-nam also hopes to be reunited with his estranged wife, who left for Seoul in search of work six monts ago and has not contacted him.

Gu-nam tracks down the target and just as he is about to make his move, his target is murdered in front of him and he gets framed for the murder.  Soon the police are on his tail and the man who did the crime is hoping to eliminate both Gu-nam and Myun-ga.

The film is moodily shot and darkly photographed, you get a real sense of the nocturnal air of Seoul - the dinginess, the squalor of the city as Gu-nam attempts to clear his name.  A stranger in his own homeland almost, Gu-nam plays the immigrant rather well, giving him an animalistic quality the role deserves.

Shot enthusiastically and acted impeccably the film fails in its execution only by giving us too much of a good thing; the film has a very simple noir storyline but unfortunately it goes on for nearly 30-40 minutes too long.  It should have a punchy feel, and yet you feel you are being punched too much and if not punched then stabbed.  A lot of the violence takes place clearly for the sake of violence and also because this is a crime movie.

Yet for that fault, the film remains a roller coaster ride with enough action to maintain interest and a chase sequence to rival anything that comes out of Hollywood.

The Yellow Sea is a Bounty Films release in association with Eureka Entertainment Ltd. and will be released in the UK on Friday 21st October.

Human Centipede 2 - Appeal press release

This is the full press release from the UK distributors Bounty Films/Eureka! Entertainment concerning the classification uproar regarding the BBFC and The Human Centipede 2 last week:
Within the last week, the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification) announced that it had rejected and was unable to classify for release on DVD, The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence). 

Bounty Films, and its UK distribution partner Eureka Entertainment Ltd., are disappointed by the decision of the BBFC to deny the film a classification certificate.  While both companies respect the authority of the board, we strongly disagree with their decision. 

In support of their decision, the BBFC issued a press release that gave an unprecedented level of detail regarding certain scenes contained within the film.  Whilst it appears customary for the BBFC to issue press releases in support of its decision making, the level of detail provided therein does seem inconsistent with previous releases where the statements have been more concise.  We are concerned this may be prejudicial to our forthcoming appeal.

The Human Centipede II (Full Sequence) is adult entertainment for fans of horror films.  If a film of this nature does not seek to push boundaries, to challenge people and their value systems or to shock, then it is not horror.  The subject matter of this film is in line with not only the genre, but other challenging entertainment choices for adult consumers.

 

We respect those who have different opinions about both the film and the genre, and whose opinions may differ to our own, but we hope that the opinions of the adults for whom this product is intended will also be considered.  The adult consumers who would watch this film fully understand that it is fictional entertainment and nothing more.

Classifying and rating product allows the public to make an informed choice about the art and media they wish to consume.   Censoring or preventing the public from obtaining material that has not been proven to be harmful or obscene, is indefensible in principle and is often counterproductive in practice.  Through their chosen course of action, the BBFC have ensured that the awareness of this film is now greater than it would otherwise have been. 

Having taken advice on these matters, and in accordance with BBFC guidelines, we will be submitting our appeal to the Video Appeals Committee in due course.