Onuri and Other Shorts

DIR: Lee Sung-Gang | S. Korea | 1995-2003 | 66min
In Korean with English subtitles.

SHOWTIMES:
Tues. Sept. 28 | 12:30pm | Pacific Cinematheque
Thurs. Sept. 30 | 7:00pm | Pacific Cinematheque

Part of the Dragons & Tigers' special focus on animation this year, this program of shorts is effectively a retrospective of the work of independent animator Lee Sung-Gang (who also has feature in this year's festival, My Beautiful Girl, Mari. Most of the shorts have a dreamy, ethereal look and pacing but simultaneously address concrete worldly problems like depression in urban life. Onuri, the most recent of the shorts, is based on a folktale, and is wonderfully innocent fantasy work. The range of styles showcased in this program is impressive; there's video-gamey computer animation, Miyazake-esque hand-drawn animation, and manipulated real video - all very well executed. Largely due to the inclusion of a short computer-animated sequence that was produced for an independent feature and a trippy music video, the program has an uneven feel when redrawn in the mind, but the animation itself is so strong that its sometimes has the ability to drown out all pesky outside thoughts.