KOREAN CINEMA SPLASH

Sinema Korea kontemporer tak pernah kehilangan kemampuannya merebut perhatian penontonnya, baik domestik maupun global. Lewat cerita yang memikat, pameran teknologi sinematik yang memukau, dan deretan pemain dengan seni peran yang mengagumkan, agaknya tak sulit bagi sinema Korea mengulik rasa penasaran siapapun untuk terus menguntit perkembangannya.

Ada sembilan film yang mengisi program ini: empat fiksi panjang, satu dokumenter panjang, tiga fiksi pendek dan satu dokumenter pendek. Mengambil latar tahun 1933, Assassination karya Choi Dong-hoon mengisahkan perlawanan rakyat Korea terhadap pendudukan Jepang yang berbasis di Manchuria. Diwarnai intrik, kasak-kusuk dan aksi, film ini tak hanya membetot ketegangan syaraf penonton tapi juga memberi gambaran sekilas sejarah Korea yang sarat dengan kisah perlawanan dan penindasan. Ketegangan penonton belum usai karena film Perfect Proposal besutan Yoon Jae-gu menyuguhkan kisah berliku yang dibalut oleh perebutan kekuasaan, asmara dan kasus pembunuhan. Film ini boleh jadi alegori bagi perusahaan Korea yang senantiasa penuh dengan persaingan yang kadangkala mematikan.

Sebagaimana film Assassination, karya Kim Gwang-tae The Piper mengambil latar yang jauh, yakni pasca perang saudara di Korea pada 1950. Meskipun mengambil tempat fiktif di wilayah pedalaman, film ini mampu menunjukkan kecemasan yang bersumber dari bahaya yang tak gampang dikenali. Sementara itu, film Veteran karya Ryoo Seung-wan melukiskan perjuangan seorang detektif kawakan dalam menyingkap kasus yang melibatkan seseorang dengan koneksi pada kekuasaan ekonomi.

Sejumlah film fiksi pendek dalam program ini tak kalah memikatnya dalam menyuguhkan kisah yang memiliki kejutan tak terduga. Film The Urban Suite karya Sebastien Simon, The Pig karya Jero Yun dan One-Minded karya Forest Ian Etsler & Sébastien Simon menyajikan tema yang beragam, namun memiliki kesamaan dalam menuturkan dengan lancar dan terampil dalam durasi waktu yang singkat. Patut dicatat, dokumenter pendek bertajuk The Emotional Society on Stage karya Kim Sook-hyun dan Cho Hje-jong menunjukkan bahwa film dokumenter bisa digarap secara kreatif tanpa kehilangan kemampuan dalam mengangkat problem masyarakat kontemporer Korea. Sementara itu, dokumenter My Love, Don’t Crosss That River karya Jin Mo-young mengisahkan pasangan usia lanjut yang mampu merawat kebersamaan di tengah pergulatannya dengan usia dan waktu.

Kendati pun program ini barangkali hanya sekelumit perkenalan atas keragaman sinema Korea, kami berharap semua film yang Anda saksikan meninggalkan kenangan yang membekas lama sebagaimana hentakan yang kuat di atas permukaan air. Inilah mengapa kami menamai progam ini Korean Cinema Splash.

Budi Irawanto

KOREAN CINEMA SPLASH

Contemporary Korean cinema has never lost its ability to arrest both local and global audience’s attention. With fascinating story, riveting cinematic technology display, casts with stellar acting, it seems to be an easy feat for Korean cinema to arouse interest of anyone to follow its progress.

There are nine films in this program: four fictional feature films, one documentary feature film, three fictional short films and one documentary short film. Set in 1933, Choi Dong-hoon’s Assassination recounts the resistance of Koreans against the Japanese occupation that was based in Manchuria. Filled with intrigue, rumors and actions, this film not only evokes the audience’s suspense but also provide a glimpse into Korean history characterized by resistance and oppression. Tension within the audience will not end with this film; however, Yoon Jae-gu’s Perfect Proposal chronicles a twisted tale filled with competition for power, romance and a murder case. Perhaps this film can be interpreted as an allegory for Korean corporations which are constantly full of competition that can sometimes be deadly.

Like Assassination, Kim Gwang-tae’s The Piper took place in the past. However, the time period fell under post-Korean war in the 1950s. Even though the setting is a rural fictional region, this film is still able to depict a fear originating from an unknown danger. Meanwhile, Ryoo Seung-wan’s Veteran depicts the struggle of a veteran detective in solving a case that involves a person, who has a connection with the high-profile person in a big company.

The fictional shorts in this program are no less enthralling in narrating a story with full of surprises. Sebastien Simon’s The Urban Suite, Jero Yun’s The Pig, and Forest Ian Etsler & Sébastien Simon’s One-Minded dwell on various themes, but those tell the story with ease within a short duration of time. It is worth noting that the short documentary entitled The Emotional Society on Stage directed by Kim Sookphyun and Cho Hje-jong proves that a documentary film can be made in a creative way without losing its ability to expose the problems of contemporary Korean society. Finally, Jin Mo-young’s documentary My Love, Don’t Cross That River portrays an elderly couple who was able to nurture their relationship in the midst of their struggle with age and time.

Although this program is only a glimpse of the diversity of the Korean cinema, we hope that all films leave a memory that remains in your mind for a long time just like a big splash in the water. This is why we name this programme Korean Cinema Splash.

Budi Irawanto