ACF 213: Korean Films Made During Japanese Occupation continues

Today is the next-to-last day of the series Korean Films Made During Japanese Occupation. The seven films, the earliest extant examples of Korean cinema were discovered in China in 2003 and 2004. Since they were made under Japanese occupation, their content was shaped by the censorship of the time (the 1930' and 40's), and some are uncomfortably pro-Japanese. Nonetheless, their aesthetics and experimentation transcend the limitations imposed by Japanese colonialism.

The series is jointly presented by The Korea Society and The Museum of Modern Art. All screenings will be at The Roy and Niuta Titus Theaters at MoMA.

Spring in the Korean Peninsula (1941), from which the still above comes, will be shown at 1:00 PM. The story concerns a backstage romance between a director and an actress that falls into crisis when the director is jailed. The film is an adaptation of a traditional Korean program.

At 3:00 PM Straits of Chosun (sorry, no image available) will be screened. It was made in 1943 during the height of World War II, when Japanese censorship was at its tightest. It's a domestic melodrama about a marriage rent asunder.

Angels on the Street (1941), the third and final film of the day, will be shown at 5:00 PM. It concerns the efforts of a man who struggles to set up am orphanage for the city's street children. It's noted for its realistic depiction of the gritty poverty of contemporary Seoul.

Further information about the series and admission terms are available at moma.org and at koreasociety.org.