The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston presents Korean Film Nights

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Photo courtesy of The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will screen six critically-acclaimed films from the South Korean film industry during the Korean Film Nights series. All films are screened with English subtitles.

Screenings Schedule

  • November 2: Cobweb (Geomijip) - Set in the 1970s, this chaotically entertaining comedy about filmmaking finds a director causing upheaval when he decides to reshoot the ending of his latest movie, confident it will then be a masterpiece.
  • November 3: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA) - Continuing the Korean Film Nights tradition of the Consul General’s Choice, the Honorable Young-ho Jung, Consul General of the Republic of Korea, has chosen an early Park Chanwook thriller to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korea/USA Alliance. When gunfire breaks out in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers are killed. However, a wounded South Korean soldier flees to safety. With the tenuous peace at risk, a neutral team of investigators - led by Swiss Army Major Sophie Jean (Lee Yeong-ae, Lady Vengeance) - is dispatched to determine what really happened.
  • November 4 (4 pm): The Man Who Paints Water Drops (Mulbang-ul-eul geulineun namja) - One of the most recognized artists in Korea, Kim Tschang-yeul (1929-2021) was known for his abstract paintings of water droplets. An exquisite and piercing essay film by the artist’s son explores their relationship while reflecting on their differences in culture, age, and temperament. The documentary also illuminates Tschang-yeul’s lifetime obsession with painting water drops - the symbol of a certain serenity that will gradually reveal a tragic origin, anchored in the history of Korea.
  • November 4 (6 pm): Walk Up (Tab) - Filmmaker Byungsoo (Kwon Haehyo) tours a building owned by an established designer (Lee Hyeyoung) with his aspiring interior-designer daughter (Park Miso). As Byungsoo makes his way up the floors of the building, Hong Sangsoo fills these spaces with a profusion of everyday details spanning art, love, career, religion, diet, and home renovations.
  • November 4 (8:30 pm): Hunt (Heon-teu) - A 1980s-set espionage action thriller stars Squid Game’s Lee Jung Jae (also making his directorial debut) as head of the foreign unit of the South Korean Agency for National Security Planning. He and the Domestic Unit chief (Jung Woo Sung) in Washington, D.C., must uncover a North Korean spy deeply embedded within their agency. When a plot to assassinate the president is uncovered, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.
  • December 3: Extreme Job (Geukhanjikeob) - A team of young narcotics detectives and their squad chief (Ryu Seung-ryong) work undercover in a chicken joint to bust a gang of organized criminals. Things take an unexpected turn when a new recipe suddenly transforms the rundown restaurant into the hottest eatery in town. After the screening, the audience is invited to stay for a discussion with actor Ryu Seung-ryong, led by University of Houston professor Karen Fang.

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, will screen six critically-acclaimed films from the South Korean film industry during the Korean Film Nights series. All films are screened with English subtitles.

Screenings Schedule

  • November 2: Cobweb (Geomijip) - Set in the 1970s, this chaotically entertaining comedy about filmmaking finds a director causing upheaval when he decides to reshoot the ending of his latest movie, confident it will then be a masterpiece.
  • November 3: Joint Security Area (Gongdong gyeongbi guyeok JSA) - Continuing the Korean Film Nights tradition of the Consul General’s Choice, the Honorable Young-ho Jung, Consul General of the Republic of Korea, has chosen an early Park Chanwook thriller to mark the 70th anniversary of the Korea/USA Alliance. When gunfire breaks out in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea, two North Korean soldiers are killed. However, a wounded South Korean soldier flees to safety. With the tenuous peace at risk, a neutral team of investigators - led by Swiss Army Major Sophie Jean (Lee Yeong-ae, Lady Vengeance) - is dispatched to determine what really happened.
  • November 4 (4 pm): The Man Who Paints Water Drops (Mulbang-ul-eul geulineun namja) - One of the most recognized artists in Korea, Kim Tschang-yeul (1929-2021) was known for his abstract paintings of water droplets. An exquisite and piercing essay film by the artist’s son explores their relationship while reflecting on their differences in culture, age, and temperament. The documentary also illuminates Tschang-yeul’s lifetime obsession with painting water drops - the symbol of a certain serenity that will gradually reveal a tragic origin, anchored in the history of Korea.
  • November 4 (6 pm): Walk Up (Tab) - Filmmaker Byungsoo (Kwon Haehyo) tours a building owned by an established designer (Lee Hyeyoung) with his aspiring interior-designer daughter (Park Miso). As Byungsoo makes his way up the floors of the building, Hong Sangsoo fills these spaces with a profusion of everyday details spanning art, love, career, religion, diet, and home renovations.
  • November 4 (8:30 pm): Hunt (Heon-teu) - A 1980s-set espionage action thriller stars Squid Game’s Lee Jung Jae (also making his directorial debut) as head of the foreign unit of the South Korean Agency for National Security Planning. He and the Domestic Unit chief (Jung Woo Sung) in Washington, D.C., must uncover a North Korean spy deeply embedded within their agency. When a plot to assassinate the president is uncovered, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.
  • December 3: Extreme Job (Geukhanjikeob) - A team of young narcotics detectives and their squad chief (Ryu Seung-ryong) work undercover in a chicken joint to bust a gang of organized criminals. Things take an unexpected turn when a new recipe suddenly transforms the rundown restaurant into the hottest eatery in town. After the screening, the audience is invited to stay for a discussion with actor Ryu Seung-ryong, led by University of Houston professor Karen Fang.

WHEN

WHERE

The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
1001 Bissonnet St, Houston, TX 77005, USA
https://www.mfah.org/calendar/series/korean-film-nights

TICKET INFO

$8-$10

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