Strong Reviews for THE AGE OF SHADOWS and ASURA : THE CITY OF MADNESS
Korean films made a big splash at the Toronto International Film Festival this year, with several new works from acclaimed filmmakers drawing broad acclaim. These included the latest films of auteurs
HONG Sang-soo and
KIM Ki-duk in the Masters section,
Yourself and Yours and
THE NET, respectively.
Fresh from its world premiere in Venice, The Age of Shadows, a stylish period spy thriller romp set in the Japanese Colonial Era, continued to draw praise from critics. In their Venice review, Variety said that director KIM “surpasses himself, returning to the screen after a three-year hiatus with an electrifying double-agent drama.”
In Toronto, Cinema Scope was just one of the many critics highlighting the film’s central train sequence, “To merely call it an exciting set piece on a train running between Shanghai and Seoul doesn’t quite capture the extent of its classical meticulousness.”
Variety also had kind words about
Asura : The City of Madness, KIM Sung-soo’s first film since
The Flu (2013), as they wrote: “Splattered with Korean aesthetics of troglodytic violence and blighted by irredeemable characters, KIM Sung-soo’s
Asura : The City of Madness is a stygian crime thriller that casts a jaundiced eye at South Korean regional politics.”
They also focused on the performance of lead
JUNG Woo-sung, “With eyes hollowed out like coal pits and face puckered with world-weariness, JUNG conveys the soul’s damnation with electrifying physical presence.”