Universal Film Magazine - Issue 8 - www.ufmag.biz

Universal FilmIssue 8 - 2013KIMJEEWOONLOVE IS ALLYOU NEEDby Jon PhilipsKim Jee Woon, the South Korean auteur, is about to exporthis creative vision to the West with his release of‘The Last Stand’ scheduled for January 2013. it will bethe directors much anticipated debut entry into theworld of Hollywood cinema.What do we know? Currently, very little... The Guv’norof Cali’ (arguably one of Schwarzneggers most brilliantmethod acting pieces) reprises his action hero status asan elderly sheriff of a small somnambulistic suburbantown on the state border, where he and the rest of thelocal law enforcement become the last line of defencewhen a violent fugitive and his entourage begin theirhigh paced journey towards the sanctuary of Mexico...What can you expect? Wild speculation... Jee Woon hasslowly built quite a reputation for himself, a critically acclaimeddirector and winner of multiple film festivals, hismovies playfully engage with many genres, from psychologicalhorror to comedy. One of his last ‘action’ filmsshared another very simple plot-line. A Bittersweet Lifecentred around an enforcer, who innocuously disobeyshis crime-lord boss and is disproportionately punishedfor his minor transgression which puts into motion theprotagonists quest for revenge and, more importantly,reason. Scratch Below the surface of this action packed,sometimes brutally violent, saga sandwiched betweentwo Zen proverbs and what you’ll find is actually a cautionarytale, deftly woven with visual irony, warning usto be very careful about the images we choose to identifywith. A point made with devastating effect as thecredits roll. Can we expect these kind of philosophicalmusings and original narrative techniques to underpinThe Last Stand or will this just be another prototypicalhollywood action-er?Scwarzneggers presence may be enough to disconcertsome but there’s no doubt that his return to the screenafter almost a decade away from playing a main role iscertainly going to pull in an audience and may alonebe enough to make it a commercial success. There’salso the almost ubiquitous presence of Johnny ‘Jackass’Knoxville throughout the trailer to further increaseones trepidation... Will Jee-Woon be able to maintainhis trademark artistic integrity in the western moviemaking complex? A luxury that he has previously enjoyedin his homeland with the only exception beinghis controversial ‘I saw the Devil’ which was met withthe wrath of Koreas censorship board. In describing thesubsequent re-edit of the movie, Jee-Woon explainedit was like “eating sushi without wasabi” hopefully the‘the last stand’ won’t leave an unpleasant taste in onesmouth like eating wasabi without sushi...STARRING PIERCE BROSNAN, TRINE DYRHOLMDIRECTED BY ACADEMY AWARD® WINNERSUSANNE BIERTo open at UK cinemas on 19 April 2013 ////LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED is a warm, funny, heartfelt meditationon the birth pangs of starting a new life. Set at a picture-perfectsummer wedding in Sorrento, the film stars Pierce Brosnan asPhilip, a lonely, middle-aged English widower and estrangedsingle father living in Denmark, and Trine Dyrholm as Ida, a Danishhairdresser recuperating from chemotherapy, who has justlearned that her husband is leaving her for a woman half his agefrom his accounts department. The fates of these two bruisedsouls intertwine as they embark for Italy to attend the weddingof his son, Patrick, to her daughter, Astrid. The bumpy path towardsthe union of their children, and the clashes and faux pas oftheir wedding guests, force Philip and Ida to reevaluate all theirnotions of family, love and happiness.Filmed on beautiful locations in Italy and Denmark, LOVE IS ALLYOU NEED is an uplifting tale of love, loss, absurdity and humourthat will leave only the hardest heart untouched. It is a film aboutthe simple yet profound pains and joys of moving on - and forward- with your life.LOVE IS ALL YOU NEED reunites the Academy Award® and GoldenGlobe® winning team of director Susanne Bier and writer AndersThomas Jensen for the fifth time, following Open Hearts (2002),Brothers (2004), Academy Award® nominee After the Wedding(2007) and Golden Globe® and Academy Award® winner In A BetterWorld (2010).UK cinema release date: April 19Certificate: tbcRunning time: 112 mins31www.ufmag.org