Happy Birthday, Kim Ki-duk! Born today in 1960, this South Korean filmmaker is noted for his idiosyncratic art-house cinematic works. His films have received many distinctions in the festival circuit, making him one of the most important contemporary Asian film directors.
Born in Bonghwa, North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, Ki-duk, years later, studied fine arts in Paris, France from 1990 to 1993.
After returning to South Korea, Ki-duk began his career as a screenwriter and won the first prize in a scenario contest held by Korean Film Council in 1995.
In the following year, Ki-duk made his debut as a director with the low budget 1996 South Korean drama/crime film 'Ag-o' ('Crocodile'). The creature feature later received sensational reviews from film critics in South Korea.
However, Ki-duk has said that his international breakthrough occurred with the 2000 South Korean drama/thriller film 'Seom' ('The Isle'). It premiered at the 25th Toronto International Film Festival in September of that year.
His fifth film, it was his first to gain notoriety for gruesome scenes that caused some viewers to vomit or faint when the film premiered at the 57th Venice International Film Festival.
That same year, the non-governmental organisation of The British Board of Film Classification delayed the release of Ki-duk's 'The Isle' in the United Kingdom because of instances of animal cruelty in the film.
Concerning scenes in which a frog is skinned after being beaten to death and fish are mutilated, Ki-duk stated, "We cooked all the fish we used in the film and ate them, expressing our appreciation. I've done a lot of cruelty on animals in my films. And I will have a guilty conscience for the rest of my life."
To an American interviewer who suggested that scenes such as these are "very disturbing and [seem] to place an obstacle to the films [sic] reception, or... distribution, to other countries", Ki-duk said, "Yes, I did worry about that fact. But the way I see it, the food that we eat today is no different.
In America you eat beef, pork, and kill all these animals. And the people who eat these animals are not concerned with their slaughter. Animals are part of this cycle of consumption. It looks more cruel onscreen, but I don't see the difference.
And yes, there's a cultural difference, and maybe Americans will have a problem with it - but if they can just be more sensitive to what is acceptable in different countries I'd hope they wouldn't have too many issues with what's shown on-screen."
Another controversy surrounds the director’s alleged misogyny, represented in his films supposedly, decried by feminists in his home country as being “dangerous penis fascism."
Three years later, Ki-Duk wrote and directed the 2003 South Korean drama/romance film 'Bom Yeoareum Gaeul Gyeoul Geurigo Bom' ('Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring').
The following year, Ki-duk received Best Director awards at two different film festivals, for two different films.
At the 54th Berlin International Film Festival in February, he was awarded for the 2004 South Korean drama film 'Samaria' ('Samaritan Girl').
He was later awarded and at the 61st Venice International Film Festival in September for the film of which he is best known for writing, producing and directing. This was the 2004 South Korean romance/drama film 'Bin-jip' (lit. 'Empty House' or '3-Iron').
Tae-suk (Jae Hee) is a lonely drifter who spends his nights in one empty vacation home after another.
However, he is not your usual squatter, as the courteous young man always makes sure to show his absent -- and unknowing -- hosts his gratitude by doing small household tasks or making simple improvements before moving on.
One day, Tae-suk mistakes a quiet home for an empty one and stumbles across abused housewife Sun-hwa (Lee Seung-yeon) in urgent need of his intervention.
In August 2009, Roger Ebert wrote of 'Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring': "Rarely has a movie this simple moved me this deeply. I feel as if I could review it in a paragraph, or discuss it for hours."
Two years later, Ki-duk's 2011 South Korean documentary/drama film 'Arirang' received an award for best film in the Un Certain Regard category from the 64th Cannes Film Festival in May.
In the film, Ki-duk himself addresses a personal crisis sparked by a tragic event during the making of his 2008 South Korean romance/mystery film 'Bi-mong' ('Dream').
One year after 'Arirang', his 2012 South Korean thriller/drama film 'Pietà' received the Golden Lion award at the 69th Venice International Film Festival.
This was the first Korean film to receive a "best film" honor at one of the top three international film festivals - Berlin, Cannes and Venice.
In 2017, an anonymous actress came forward with allegations that she had been assaulted by Ki-duk on the set of his 2013 South Korean horror drama/thriller film 'Moebius'.
She claimed that he had hit her several times before pressuring her to participate in a sex scene she had not previously agreed to.
In 2018, at least three women accused Ki-duk of sexual assault. He later filed false accusations and defamation suits against the accusers.
Two years later, Ki-duk passed in Riga, Latvia on December 11, 2020. He was 59.
The cause was COVID-19 and related heart complications. This had occurred just nine days before his birthday.
His production company, Kim Ki-duk Film, said. "According to the company, he had undergone two weeks of treatment for the disease at a hospital in Latvia, where he had recently relocated and was reported to have been scouting locations for his next film."
One of the most controversial Korean directors, Ki-duk was a self-taught but brash, undeniably talented filmmaker who prided himself on his outsider status, openly setting himself apart from contemporaries.
These included South Korean film director and screenwriter Hong Sang-soo and South Korean film director, screenwriter, and novelist Lee Chang-dong, of whom Ki-duk considered too intellectual.
Ki-duk's films have drawn vitriol for their subject matter and praise for their technique.
He has often been compared to his predecessor, South Korean film director Kim Ki-young ('The Housemaid'), who was also self-taught and whose films bore a much less brutal, but equally eccentric, personal stamp.
Ki-duk had been active from 1993–2020.
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