Archive

Night of the Living ¡®Duk-hu¡¯

Dead End

KIM Sung-soo

Korea199319min

Program Note

Do-chul accidentally witnesses a murder in an alleyway through the gap in his hospital room window and gets chased by the killer after making a call from a public phone booth. This short film, the directorial debut of Kim Sung-soo, was uniquely shot on 35mm at the time. It showcases the dark side of the city represented by narrow, dark alleyways and stylish lighting, highlighting Kim Sung-soo’s cinematic style early on. Through the deserted back alleys where crimes occur, the sirens signaling curfew, and people being chased into dead ends, the film captures the grim signs of the era. (MO Eun-young)

Diretor

KIM Sung-soo

Born in 1961, He majored in film directing at the graduate school of Dongguk University. He received acclaim for his short film Dead End (1993) and made his debut with Runaway (1995). Actor Jung Woo-sung, known as Kim’s persona, starred in more than half of Kim’s filmographies starting from 1993 that includes Beat (1997), City of the Rising Sun (1998), Musa-The Warrior (2001) and Asura: The City of Madness (2016). Kim’s latest film, Spring in Seoul (2023), won the Best Film, Best Director, and Best Actor awards at the Baeksang Arts Awards.