Hello!
This year, I am challenging myself to see a film from a different country each weekend. Not just that. The films must have an of 7.0 or higher and ideally in a language I don’t speak. Got some in mind? Let’s swap favourite titles and keep the research fatigue at bay.
Today, I’ll introduce two! I hope they will provide you with pleasant breaks from feeling snowed under! I am really swamped with research writing, teaching, job applications, marking … When I feel that I have bitten off more than I could chew, a movie helps.
Korean ‘Grip’ at Queen’s
Chan-wook Park’s (2016) is for you if you are interested in ‘bookish’ erotic thrillers. It is set in 1930s Korea, when the country was under Japanese occupation. A swindler (Ha Jung-woo) hires Sookee (Kim Tae-ri) as a handmaiden to Japanese heiress Lady Hideko (Kim Min-hee). The Lady lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her stern and domineering Uncle Kouzuki (Cho Jin-woong). The maid is a pickpocket, and the con man poses as a Japanese Count. He wants the maid to help him seduce Hideko to elope with him and rob the Lady of her fortune. Hideko must be locked up in a mental institution. The con artist’s plan works until ….
I appreciate artistic borrowings between people from different countries. I was also happy to see how Welsh writer Sarah Waters’s Victorian era Britain is beautifully adapted to Korea under Japanese colonial rule. Also, The Handmaiden was a contestant in the (Golden Palm) at and won at . Sadly, IMBd does not have a rating for this 2h 25min film—one for your Saturday night watch party and .
‘Queer’ Kingston
These days, the city is hosting , Kingstown’s queer film and video festival. The festival is showcasing over 90 films from 35 locales, or “countries/diasporas” as they advertise. You can find anything from Reel Peeps Doc Series to RealOut Doc Series and ReelOut in the Dark thrillers. Book your passes . You will learn a lot about issues and topics LGBTQ+ persons tackle. Where? At our favourite movie theatre: The Screening Room!
My personal pick is Richard Finn Gregory’s (2022). The documentary is about Muhsin Hendricks, a South African man presented as the world’s first openly gay Imam. Hendricks is ‘radical’ because he is the first gay Muslim religious leader.
Why did I choose The Radical? I wanted to see how queer Muslims navigate the tension between acceptance and exclusion and how the documentary chronicles the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights.
Stay well until our March encounter!