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San Sebastian invites Poetry and I Saw the Devil

The 58th San Sebastian International Film Festival has added a second Korean feature to its impressive line-up of films, inviting LEE Chang-dong’s Poetry to screen at the Spanish fest running this September 17-25.  The Cannes-winning director’s latest will screen as the opening film of the Zabaltegi Pearls section, while fellow countryman and star director KIM Jee-woon’s grizzly thriller I Saw the Devil screens in the competitive Official Selection section.   

As the two titles indicate, the directors’ styles place them at opposing poles in the diverse spectrum of Korean cinema fare.  LEE’s Poetry, which won Best Screenplay at Cannes this year, follows the path of woman in her 60s struggling with Alzheimer's disease who takes a poetry class and is tasked to write a poem.  KIM’s I Saw the Devil follows the bizarre path of revenge a secret agent takes on a savage psychopath after his fiancée is brutally murdered. 

The Official Selection offers awards in seven categories while the Zabaltegi Pearls section honors films that have previously won prizes at other prestigious festivals. 

Nigel D’Sa (KOFIC)