2002 / Lee Chang-dong > One of the greatest, if not arguably the most unexpected, love stories ever captured on film, Oasis is a tour de force of emotion from one of Korea’s finest directors. It’s an awkward but endearing tale of discovery between a woman with cerebral palsy and a man, fresh out of jail, who seems to be not completely there. Both Moon So-ri’s performance as the woman and Sol Kyung-gu as the man are arguably the best duo seen in Korean film in the last five years.

In direct contrast to Lee’s Peppermint Candy, which delved into the psyche of the modern Korean man, here he brings forth the universal ideal that everyone deserves to love and be loved. There are many occasions during the film where it becomes hard, even painful, to watch, but the sense of payoff is grand when the credits roll. Oasis is a true testament to the power of film.

2005 / Lee Jun-ik > Nicknamed “The Korean Brokeback,” The King and the Clown surprised box office analysts when it became the highest grossing film in Korean history earlier this year. Made for a modest USD$4.5 million, Lee’s film draws considerably more parallels to Kaige Chen’s epic period drama Farewell My Concubine than it does to its nickname-sake.

The first half of the film is simply brilliant, telling the story of two small-time minstrels who journey to Seoul to escape abuse in the countryside. The first thing one notices is the acting: Marriage is a Crazy Thing’s Kam Woo-seong and often underrated Jeong Jin-yeong, who plays the tyrannical king, give two of the strongest performances seen in Korean film since arguably Lee Chang-dong’s Oasis. Second is the fact that the performances the minstrels give out in public are absolutely hilarious and thoroughly enjoyable, and that alone takes the film a notch above the ho-hum fanfare that plagues so many period dramas.

Inevitably, however, the film falls into the trap of becoming so incredibly melodramatic halfway through that one has to wonder if the screenplay is to blame or the direction. With the exception of a phenomenal operatic showcase, much of what happens inside the palace in the second half feels superfluous. But with all this being said, The King and the Clown is a must-watch for anyone curious enough to know what one in four people in South Korea took time to visit the theatre for.

2005 / Oh Seok-geun > Mismarketed as a romantic comedy, Love is a Crazy Thing follows the journey of a downtrodden woman with an incompetent husband (whose face we never see), two young sons and a stackload of debt into the wonderful world of Korean “karaoke.” Oh does a good job in not getting carried away with sex industry cliches, balancing properly the woman’s inner emotions with her outside influences. Played impeccably by Jeon Mi-seon, there’s a subtle radiance that grows on her throughout the film. It successfully builds multiple layers around her character and then peels them away. Moreover, the script grounds itself in reality until the climax, so the plausibility of the storyline is not questioned until it needs to be. By the end, there is little doubt that the title of the film, unlike its marketing, was indeed on the spot.