A dysfunctional family's heart of darkness is laid bare in the grimly humorous and then just plain grim meller Members of the Funeral. Feature bow by Baek Seung-bin heralds a dark wit and sleek intelligence guided by a creatively secure humility. A standout from the substandard HD fodder that generally clogs up Pusan's New Currents competish and so-called cutting-edge fests, Funeral is quietly riveting. A tad too restrained for midnight sidebars or commercial release, pic possesses an intensity that should secure fest berths.
A film adaptation of a play made by a high school drama club, directed by Yamashita Nobuhiro of Linda Linda Linda (2006). It’s essentially a coming-of-age film about teenagers made by teenagers. During summer vacation, at a high school, the PE teacher makes female students who skipped his class clean the outdoor swimming pool. The drained pool is full of sand blown in from a ne...