Im Kwon-Taek

<p>Korean cinema was virtually unavailable to the West during the Japanese colonial period (1910-1945) and no film made before 1943 has been recovered even though Korea had an active film-making industry that produced at least 240 films. For a period of forty years after Korea was liberated from colonialism a time where Western imports were scarce Korean cinema became an innovative force reflecting a society whose social and cultural norms were becoming less conservative. Im Kwon-Taek: The Making of a Korean National Cinema is a colleciton of essays written about Im Kwon-Taek better know as the father of New Korean Cinema that takes a critical look at the situations of filmmakers in South Korea.<br /><br />Written by leading Koreanists and scholars of Korean film in the United States Im Kwon-Taek is the first scholarly treatment of Korean cinema. It establishes Im Kwon-Taek as the only major Korean director whose life’s work covers the entire history of South Korea’s military rule (1961-1992). It demonstrates Im’s struggles with Korean cinema’s historical contradictions and also shows how Im rose above political discord. The book includes an interview with Im a chronology of Korean cinema and Korean history showing major dynastic periods and historical and political events and a complete filmography.<br /><br />Im Kwon-Taek is timely and makes a significant contribution to our understanding of Korean cinema.  These essays situate Im Kwon-Taek within Korean filmmaking placing him in industrial creative and social contexts and closely examine some of his finest films. Im Kwon-Taek will interest students and scholars of film studies Korean studies religious studies postcolonial studies and Asian studies.</p>