The Best of K-Drama & Movies: Kinocine

The long-unseen Spanish masterpiece El sur (The South) by Víctor Erice has recently been released in Seoul theaters. Until now, Erice’s films could only be encountered in cinematheques or among cinephiles — quiet treasures of film history. Yet The South is also an unfinished work, halted during production. What story did the director intend to tell, and what part of it remains untold? Can a truncated film still convey the essence of what the filmmaker envisioned? This is a film that quietly proposes what a “good story” and a “good film” might mean. Set in northern Spain in the 1950s, the film unfolds through the memories of a girl named Estrella, who recalls the years 1950 and 1957. At fifteen, she wakes to her mother calling for her missing father, Agustín, who has vanished without explanation. The narrative then shifts to Estrella at eight, preparing for her First Communion. Her family lives in solitude on the border between town and countryside — a kind of no-man’s land. On the roof...

During the 2026 Lunar New Year season in Seoul, Ozu Yasujiro’s 1959 masterpiece Good Morning (Ohayo) returned to theaters. Known for his "tatami shots," Ozu is celebrated for a style that contemplates life through fixed low-angle cameras, restrained editing, and repetitive daily dialogues. Unlike Akira Kurosawa, who depicted grand history and passion, Ozu captured the lives of common people with a minimalist eye. Good Morning is a vivid manifestation of this aesthetic. The setting is a newly developed suburban housing complex in 1950s Tokyo. The film unfolds through the landscapes of narrow alleys where small misunderstandings and rumors drift between tightly packed houses. Children play pranks on their way to school and gather at a neighbor's house after class to watch sumo wrestling on television. Their longing for modern gadgets reflects the rapid modernization and the dawn of a consumer society in Japan. At the heart of the story are two brothers, Minoru and Isamu, wh...