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...

  In Islamic eschatology, the **'Sirāt'** is a bridge spanning the abyss of Hell, described as being thinner than a hair and sharper than a sword’s edge. Only the righteous, those whose souls are unburdened, can traverse it to reach Paradise. Oliver Laxe’s latest masterpiece, *Sirāt*, transforms this religious metaphor into a visceral, dust-choked journey across the desolate landscapes of Southern Morocco and the disputed territories of Western Sahara. The film opens with the hypnotic thrum of a desert rave. Here, among a sea of campers and vans, wanderers lose themselves in the relentless beat of techno and synthesizers. Amidst this drug-fueled euphoria, Louis (Sergi López) and his young son Estefan search for Mar, a daughter long lost to the desert's vastness. Their quest is interrupted by the sudden intrusion of reality: rumors of World War III crackle over the radio, and soldiers arrive to announce the party is over. Yet, driven by a father’s desperate hope, Louis pushe...