February 14, 2007

The San Francisco Film Society presents an evening with Korea’s critically acclaimed filmmaker Bong Joon-Ho (The Host, 2006) featuring screenings of Memories of Murder (San Francisco International Film Festival, 2004) and Barking Dogs Never Bite at Landmark’s Clay Theatre on Monday, March 5, 2007.

Bong, a fast-rising director from across the Pacific, has used highly commercial genres (black comedy, gritty and cringing crime drama and sci-fi thriller with a comic book feel) to offer pointed commentaries on Korean society.

“While his exhilarating third feature, the blockbuster monster film The Host confirms Director Bong Joon-ho’s place in the pantheon of genre benders, audiences at his policier Memories of Murder witnessed the emergence of one of Korea’s leading filmmakers,” said Linda Blackaby, the Film Society’s director of programming. “We are so pleased to welcome him back to San Francisco. His first feature Barking Dogs Never Bite has been hitherto unavailable here so I’ll certainly be in the front row.”

6:30 pm Memories of Murder A police investigation into a series of brutal murders in the 1980s becomes a powerful portrait of a repressive society. Based on Korea’s first serial killer case, this elegiac film offers a commanding sense of story and a tone balanced neatly between grim humor and tragic helplessness. (2003, 127 min)

Director Bong will engage with the audience following the screening of Memories, and introduce Barking Dogs.

9:45 pm Barking Dogs Never Bite Bong’s feature debut is a drily amusing, character-driven comedy about a lazy college lecturer driven to distraction by a constantly yipping dog. When he takes action against the annoying canine, a variety of friends and associates offer their own thoughts on the matter. (2000, 106 min)

Bong’s latest film The Host mixes genuine jolts with generous heaps of humor while spinning out a convincing and moving family melodrama. It sold out at the inaugural San Francisco International Animation Showcase last October, was the surprise hit of the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and is now the all-time box office champion in Korea. The Host is being distributed in the United States by Magnolia Pictures and is slated to open in San Francisco on March 9.

Online box office, www.sffs.org , opens Tuesday, February 20. General admission $11.00; senior/student/ person with disability $10.00; SFFS members $9.00, separate admission.

An Evening with Director Bong Joon-Ho is presented in association with the Korean Film Council (KOFIC).