Cultural exports
Film: Big in Asia
AtAt festivals and the box office, movies from South Korea are getting some notice
By REBECCA ASCHER-WALSH and LINA YOON
January 7, 2006; Page P2
At this year's Cannes Film Festival, for the first time the jury president will be a Chinese filmmaker: Hong Kong director Wong Kar Wai. Last year was rough for the Hong Kong film industry, however. Ticket revenue fell by a third in 2005 compared with the previous year, partly due to high levels of piracy. Meanwhile, a new force in the Asian film industry is on the rise: South Korea saw its film exports jump 28.6% to nearly $42 million in the first half of 2005 compared with the first half of 2004. Korean films began gaining international attention in 2004 when the Korean film "Oldboy" won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes. In Japan, animated films dominated at the box office, from the Japanese "Howl's Moving Castle" to the 2004 U.S. hit "The Incredibles." Members of the Japanese film community were upset this year, however, by the American film, "Memoirs of a Geisha," which starred Chinese actors. Below, 2005's top-selling films in Hong Kong, Japan and South Korea... |
