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SOUTH KOREA

Chihwaseon- Im Kwon-Taek
Im Kwon-Taek, South Korea's most famous director, brings us his finest masterpiece.
It is a fiery portrait of the renowned 19th-century painter "Ohwon" Jang Seung-Up, an artist who rose from modest roots to great heights. Ohwon's lowly caste, wild lifestyle and rough appetites placed him on the fringes of the stratified, moralistic Korean society. He was an unapologetic philanderer and worked in a haze of alcohol, but his creative prowess and devotion to his art were immense and he left a legacy that remains an inspiration and a treasure today. Ohwon's life expressed the tensions of his age-internal dissent in the Chosun Dynasty, the growing threat of Western imperialism and the rise of "Eastern Learning," which sought to overturn the caste system. Restless and beholden only to his art, Ohwon sought inspiration from wine, women and life-and in the process created timeless masterpieces. Choi Min-sik's portrayal of Ohwon captures the roiling turbulence of this great man's life. "As Ohwon looked to his art to transcend his own mortality, Im looks to this misfit's creative power to reveal truths about Korea's experience as a nation."-Toronto International Film Festival. Co-winner of the Best Director Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. (117 mins.) Print courtesy of Kino International.
Selected Filmography: The Deserted Widow (73), Gilsottum (85), Sopyonje (93), The Taebaek Mountains (94), Chunyang (00).
Showtime: 2/16, 4:45pm WH