LKFF Review: 화이: 괴물을 삼킨 아이 (Hwayi: Gwimuleul Samkin Ahyi/Hwayi: A Monster Boy) and Q&A
Year: 2013
Country: South Korea
Language: Korean
Director: Jang Joon-Hwan
Producer: Lee Jung-dong
Studio: Showbox/Mediaplex
Screenplay: Park Joo-suk
Cinematography: Kim Ji-Yong
Soundscore: Mowg
Cast: Kim Yun-Seok, Yeo Jin-Goo, Lee Kyoung-Young, Jang Hyun-Sung, Cho Jin-Woong, Kim Sung-Kyun, Nam Ji-Hyun
Runtime: 125 min
Distribution: N/a
Film’s official website: N/a
Trailer: (Please note that the trailer reveals quite a lot of the plot – you may want to skip it.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EODuG-0Y9E
Seen at the 9th London Korean Film Festival. Special thanks go to the LKFF organisers for providing me with a press ticket.
Hwayi, an Oedipal action thriller that falls neatly into its genre as well as into Korean cinema (of the darker kind) more generally, comes as the long-awaited return of director Jang Joon-hwan, who last made a feature–length film in 2003 (지구를 지켜라!/Jigureul Jikyeora!/Save the Green Planet, 2003).