ContemporAsian
The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters
The Museum of Modern Art – New York, NY., USA
Ongoing
Apparition. 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval
ContemporAsian, MoMA’s annual showcase of Asian cinema, features weeklong engagements of films that capture the various styles, histories, and changes in contemporary Asian filmmaking. This series includes recent independent gems by both new and established filmmakers, that received little exposure outside of their home countries or on the international festival circuit. In July we present Vincent Sandoval’s Apparition, a stylistically and thematically unique film from the exciting Philippine cinema scene. In August, Focus on South Korea, a special multifilm program, celebrates one of the most successful national cinemas on the global film circuit. The selections exemplify flourishing, idiosyncratic cinema with plenty of international appeal, one in which filmmakers engage in vivid critical analysis of social realities, explore subject matters rarely encountered in Korean films of the past, and confidently employ a wide variety of stylistic approaches.
Organized by Jytte Jensen, Curator, Department of Film.
Screening Schedule
MoMA Presents: ContemporAsian
July & August, 2013
Wednesday, July 10
7:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. The chaos leading up to Ferdinand Marcos’s 1972 declaration of martial law is palpable even within the cloistered walls of Adoration—a convent nestled in a lush forest outside of Manila. Eluding the careful watch of Mother Superior, doe-eyed newcomer Sister Lourdes begins attending political rallies in secret with Sister Remy, a young nun suffering a crisis of faith in the wake of her brother’s protest-related disappearance. Pitting prayer against political action, guilt against sin, Apparition explores the repercussions of (mis)interpreting the actions of men as the will of God. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. Introduced by Vincent Sandoval.
Thursday, July 11
4:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. (See Wednesday, July 10, 7:00)
Friday, July 12
7:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. (See Wednesday, July 10, 7:00)
Saturday, July 13
4:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. (See Wednesday, July 10, 7:00)
Sunday, July 14
2:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. (See Wednesday, July 10, 7:00)
Monday, July 15
7:00 Aparisyon (Apparition). 2012. Philippines. Directed by Vincent Sandoval. With Mylene Dizon, Jodi Sta. Maria, Fides Cuyugan-Asensio. In Tagalog; English subtitles. 87 mins. (See Wednesday, July 10, 7:00)
Monday, August 5
7:00 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. Joining in the global discourse on torture, Chung’s National Security provides an unrelenting look at the violent corruption behind South Korea’s military rule in the 1980s. Grounded in the real-life experience of torture survivor cum respected politician Kim Geun-tae, the film chronicles—in painstakingly visceral detail—the brutality he endured over a 22-day period in the notorious Nam Young-dong detention center. This is a hard-hitting reminder of the long-term repercussions of institutionalized torture at both the personal and national level. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min.
Tuesday, August 6
4:00 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min. (Monday, August 5, 7:00)
Wednesday, August 7
7:00 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min. (Monday, August 5, 7:00)
Thursday, August 8
4:00 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min. (Monday, August 5, 7:00)
Friday, August 9
4:00 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min. (Monday, August 5, 7:00) Filmmaker present.
7:00 Jam Mot Deu-neun Bam (Sleepless Night). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Jang Kun-jae. With Kim Su-hyun and Kim Joo-ryoung. A languorous chronicle of the daily—and nightly—routines of a thirty-something couple comfortably settled in their second year of marriage, Sleepless Night paints a refreshingly naturalistic portrait of intimacy. Dutifully working menial jobs during the day, the couple spends their evenings eating, talking, cooking, sleeping, arguing, and making love, all the while contemplating the pros and cons of procreation. Like any meaningful relationship, the film’s quiet power lies in the cumulative effect of the quotidian. Fittingly shot with an unobtrusive and unadorned lens, the film evokes plenty of sentiment without ever getting sentimental. Winner of the Grand Prize and Audience Award at the 2012 Joenju International Film Festival. In Korean; English subtitles. 65 min.
Saturday, August 10
1:30 Nam-yeong-dong (National Security). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Chung Ji-young. With Park Weon-sang, Lee Kyeong-yeong, Kim Gye-nam. In Korean; English subtitles. 110 min. (Monday, August 5, 7:00)
4:00 White Night. 2012. South Korea. Directed by Lee Songhe-il. With Won Tae-hee; Lee I-Kyeong. After living abroad for two years, flight attendant Won-gyu returns to Seoul on a one-night layover seeking not just companionship, but revenge on the thugs who perpetrated a hate crime against him before he left the city. What begins as a simple sexual encounter with a young motorcycle courier evolves into a complex relationship, as the young men become lovers, friends, enemies, and strangers, all in the course of a single evening. Refusing both romanticism and neat closure, Lee opts form a subtle but frank approach and a minimalist aesthetic— managing to say a lot with very few words. In Korean; English subtitles. 75 min.
7:30 Gong-jeong-sa-hoe (Azooma). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Lee Ji-Seong. With Jang Young-nam, Ma Dong-seok, Hwag Tae-gwang. Frustrated by the apathy and utter incompetence of the police investigating her daughter’s rape and kidnapping, Azooma decides to take matters into her own hands—and mere imprisonment begins to seem an inadequate punishment. This unrelenting, fast-paced thriller unfolds in fragmented flashbacks, as Azooma adopts a policy of rogue justice—and puts her experience as a dental hygienist to sadistically satisfying use. In Korean;English subtitles. 74 min.
Sunday, August 11
2:00 Jam Mot Deu-neun Bam (Sleepless Night). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Jang Kun-jae. With Kim Su-hyun and Kim Joo-ryoung. In Korean; English subtitles. 65 min. (See Friday, August 9, 7:00)
5:00 El Kkon-do-reu-Pasa (El Condor Pasa). 2012. South Korea. Directed by Jeon Soo-il. With Cho Jaehyun, Bae Jeon-hua. “Who listens to confessions of priests and forgives them?” whispers Soo-hyeun to Father Park after learning about the “special” relationship he had with her recently murdered and molested younger sister. Veteran director Jeon’s eighth feature, a psychologically complex examination of guilt and forgiveness that extends far beyond the parameters of penance, renders the suffering of its main characters through beautifully austere images and a whitewashed color scheme reminiscent of the films of Michael Haneke. In Korean, English subtitles. 100 min.
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