october february south korean film director known intensely melodramatic horror films focusing psychology female characters kim born seoul colonial period raised interested theater cinema korea end world war studied involved theater korean war propaganda films discarded movie produce films success films kim formed production company produced popular rest decade expression mature style featured powerful character widely considered best korean films time golden age 1960s 1970s low point history korean cinema governmental censorship decrease audience attendance working independently kim produced eccentric cinematic creations era films successful time highly influential younger generations south korean filmmakers time release years later 1980s kim popularity gone decline output decreased second half decade neglected mainstream 1990s kim cult figure south korean film internet forums early 1990s widespread international interest work stimulated career retrospective international film festival kim films previously little known totally unknown outside south_korea shown gained enthusiastic new audiences united_states germany france preparing come film wife killed house fire berlin international film festival gave kim posthumous retrospective screened kim films newly rediscovered restored efforts previously lost films continue rediscovered restored current prominent south korean filmmakers including directors sang claim influence careers biography early life born neighborhood seoul october family lived seoul generations grandfather guard kim family educated inclined father english teacher mother han teacher graduate painted hobby family daughters son sisters graduated art major dance sisters encouraged young kim develop creativity family moved stayed years kim showed exceptional talent music painting writing nature earned nickname professor physics student kim poems published japanese newspaper awarded prize painting competition despite artistic talents kim main interest medicine applied entrance medical school graduation high school failed gain kim moved japan planning study save money medical school theater cinema grew lifetime interests time kim went attended stage productions saw international films morocco particularly strong impression influence mature film style kim returned korea initially planning work instead study drama time particularly interested classical greek theater avoid conscription japanese military kim returned japan briefly returned studied theories acting founded theatrical group called little kim enrolled graduated major attending university theatrical activities continued founded group staged works western theater including ghosts robots shakespeare merchant venice works main actress kim worked university later wife film career kim working intern korean war broke went june day north korean army retreated kim met young fellow graduate later write screenplay popular film wedding day producing helped kim job writing organization help kim able job working job helped shape kim life ways increase pay received able marry son born daughter born second son born remained married rest lives supported husband filmmaking career dental practice giving unique degree independence korean filmmakers era pursue personal visions career retrospective year life kim commented wife support years times seen films cried money rare moments like retrospective emotional recognizing finally worthwhile kim filmed documentaries titles diary navy truck liberty news title given award training equipment kim gained working propaganda enabled direct commercial film box death kim expired film stock manually operated camera debut feature anti communist melodrama war film lost showed stylistic influences italian neo korean film employ sound success film kim able direct second feature historical costume drama primitive equipment obtained kim claimed based film traditional song learned mother exact source story found suspected director story modeling traditional stories remake recently major success rebirth korean cinema province second successful korean film popular success critics time kind called film work bad taste said dignity korean cinema surviving film 1950s sheds considerable light early career era korean film critics considered realism important lost ending dead lovers ascend heaven beam light harshly criticized light kim later career critics today believe cut scene displays recognizable characteristics kim mature style interest fantastic blending genres motifs explored depth kim later work found animal imagery particularly use representation fertility sexuality kim started productions began making popular film genre south_korea time independent production touch kim living near red light district atmosphere neighborhood influenced films woman war twilight train snow kim moved melodrama socially conscious realism defiance teenager followed style defiance teenager kim successful respected early works attended showing film critical year south_korea marking end rule civilian april revolution military authoritarian general ascend power rule south_korea nearly decades short period relative freedom known time filmmakers took advantage governmental control film industry create experimental works director film bullet dates period major breakthrough melodrama set eerie house involving sexual murder rats film kim mature style fully evident widely regarded greatest korean films film domestic thriller telling family destruction introduction sexually predatory household composer moved story house wife children wife exhausted working machine support family composer hires help work house new strangely catching rats hands composer eventually pregnant composer wife convinces induce falling flight stairs incident behavior increasingly erratic kills composer son persuades composer commit suicide rat poison film ends composer reading story newspaper wife narrative film apparently told composer warns film audience sort thing happen marked kim break realism main style korean cinema time version plot themes character names set revisited kim repeatedly later career film official consists later films ways remakes story template kim able emphasize different aspects scenario concentrate different details aspects central situation new telling mid career kim solidified break cinematic realism following films exploring styles mixing genres radically new korean cinema time sea knows roots standard anti japanese world war film distinctive examination humanity greed lust power sexuality box office success film enabled kim buy house district seoul dealt similar subject matter ballad directed filmmaker kim compared kim version story marked mixing genres example frames story deals ancient tradition elders abandoned die modern lecture birth control characteristic traits kim mature style seen films gothic excess horror sexuality stark contrast realism harmony balance typical korean cinema time kim films eccentric way deal realities postwar south korean society psychology having firmly established status films kim unique vision began films later 1960s 1970s south_korea film industry low point government censorship poor state local film industry cinema attendance south_korea dropped drastically high point 1960s working independently movie like genre films began produce innovative personal works time kim fully regained spirit second trilogy use color particularly reds blues express anxiety desires film characters distinguished film original dark black white photography film kim named actress given special mention best actress festival popular critics kim independently produced films box office successes era films harmed heavy governmental interference kim film sell tickets seoul won kim best director prize critically acclaimed financially successful independent filmmaker kim immune governmental pressure filmed banned time released minutes footage censored government kim making anti communist propaganda film resulting film love blood relations bounds propaganda portraying communist agent kim typical characters kim later commented north south capitalist communist ideology far interesting things divide sexes film professor programmer calls kim best film variety seoul correspondent calls korean cinema compelling depictions forces examination environmental religious social sexual film scene calls shocking sequences shot korean filmmaker later life kim associates characterize director eccentric individual tokyo international film festival programming director recalls kim way writing screenplay walk away home months shut cheap hotel listen neighborhood gossip write night dark south korean film critic remembers kim shoes material pleasures high quality coffee unconventional nature prevented participating south_korea mainstream film industry official title held film community member joined friendships journalists career early 1960s status greatest original korean film directors doubt stylistic sexuality horror melodrama earned kim nickname monster 1980s kim career fallen neglect continued fascination movie exploitation themes increasingly obsessive subversive nature films resulted isolation film community financial failures box office trilogy baroque retelling basic story filmed numerous times previous decades mid-1980s kim film output slowed finally stopped early 1990s kim work began rediscovered south korean cult film fans discussed films internet exchanged hard find copies noticing growing domestic cult art house theater seoul programmed retrospective showing kim films profile high korean film society kim work began attract international attention films screened tokyo international film festival career highlighted second international film festival work found enthusiastic new audiences international film community strongly positive reception kim work international audiences surprised festival organizers immediately began receiving requests overseas kim career renewed interest kim began work comeback film titled invited attend showing films kim started work film attended festival wife killed house fire caused electrical short circuit february death stop revival interest films film retrospective kim career shown san_francisco twice year kim films screened belgrade international film festival london prints korean films 1970s survive point kim output considered lost worked find kim lost films restore damaged presented kim films newly rediscovered restored efforts lifetime kim gained supporters younger generation south korean directors reportedly directors kim followers years death kim influence korean cinema continued seen work current generation south korean filmmakers including prominent directors sang calls kim mentor favorite director names films influenced career says able find portray beauty destruction humor violence terror filmography
Kim Ki-young